The logic of the German language

There are stereotypes that German is not melodic, and grammar in terms of complexity can compete with Chinese. If the first is a matter of taste (we personally like it), then the second is a typical delusion. German in grammar is not more difficult than English, and for Russian-speaking people it’s even easier. There are only 6 temporary forms, of which only a few are actively used.

In German there is a familiar conjugation: verbs vary depending on the number and face. This is done in most cases by a simple template. Also, there are the usual cases: the nominative (who? What?) Is Nominativ, the accusative (who? What?) Is Akkusativ, the dative (to whom? To?) Is Dativ and the genitive (whose?) Is Genetiv. They respond to their Russian counterparts, but there are questions that do not answer in the Russian language. For example, in German, the question “where?” answers the case of Dativ, and the question “where?” responds Akkusativ.

Thus, many proposals can be made up by a direct translation from the Russian language.

We must not forget that in German there is a strict order of words: the predicate (verb) is always used in the second place, if there is no separate word that changes the word order. Also, some prepositions (with, on, through …) are not used in the same way as in Russian: “mit dem Bus fahren” (“ride with a bus”, not “ride a bus”), “anrufen + Akkusativ” ( “call someone”, and not “call someone”).

Another feature of the language is that the sentence must necessarily have a subject and a predicate: one who does the action and the action itself. German language does not tolerate understatement. You can not just say: “It’s cold today” (there is neither action nor the one who performs it), it is necessary to say: “Heute ist es kalt”, which literally translates as “Today it’s cold”.

Before moving on, let’s recall the basic concepts from the school curriculum and translate them into German:

Noun – who? what?;
Adjective – Adjektiv – what ?;
Numeral number – Zahlwort – how many? which the?;
Pronoun – Pronomen – replaces the noun (he, she, it, they, etc.);
Verb – Verb – what to do? what to do?;
Adverb – “where?”, “When?”, “Where?”, “Where?”, “Why?”, “Why?”, “How?”
Preposition – Präposition – in (in), on (auf), for (für);
Union – Konjunktion – and (und), since (weil), etc.