SACE Stage 2 German (continuers) flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

du vs. Sie

German has two address systems. Use du with friends, family, peers and children; use Sie with strangers, officials and most adults. Verb endings and possessives must stay consistent within one exchange.

Formal letter opening

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren when the name is unknown; Sehr geehrte Frau Müller or Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt when known. The matching close is Mit freundlichen Grüßen.

Informal letter closing

Liebe Grüße, Viele Grüße or Bis bald close informal letters to friends and family. They pair with openings such as Liebe Anna or Hallo zusammen, not with Sehr geehrte.

Konjunktiv II politeness

Forms like Könnten Sie…?, Ich hätte eine Frage, Wäre es möglich…? soften requests and make them formal. Combined with bitte and particles such as mal or doch, they sound natural rather than blunt.

Asking for repetition

Repair phrases keep a conversation going: Wie bitte? Entschuldigung, das habe ich nicht verstanden. Können Sie das bitte wiederholen? Was bedeutet dieses Wort? These signal the listener needs help.

Hedged disagreement

German speakers often concede before objecting: Da stimme ich dir teilweise zu, aber… or Einerseits… andererseits… A bare Nein, das ist falsch sounds abrupt in discussion.

Modal particles in dialogue

Particles such as doch, mal, ja, eigentlich and halt add tone rather than meaning: Komm doch mal vorbei. They are typical of spoken German and rarely translated directly.

Turn-taking signals

Na ja, also, übrigens and ach so mark openings, topic shifts and reactions in conversation. Genau and stimmt work as back-channels showing the listener is following.

Text-type recognition

Layout and structure identify a text: Anzeigen are short with price and contact; Leserbriefe give opinion plus greeting and sign-off; Berichte use past tense and neutral third person.

Skimming then scanning

Read headline, first sentences and bolded words for gist; then locate specific names, numbers, dates and places. This two-stage method answers detail questions faster than word-by-word reading.

Supported inference rule

An answer is correct only if the text states it or it follows necessarily from it. Options that are merely plausible or true in real life are distractors.

Negation traps

Watch nicht, kein, nie, kaum, ohne…zu, statt…zu and weder…noch; each reverses the proposition. Check polarity of the statement before matching it to an option.

Connector logic

Weil and da signal cause; deshalb and daher signal consequence; obwohl signals concession; damit signals purpose; sodass signals result. Connectors reveal how two clauses relate.

Tense signals in texts

Präteritum marks written narrative; Perfekt marks spoken or informal report; Konjunktiv II marks hypothetical or polite statements. Tense choice signals whether a claim is factual.

Compound-word decoding

German compounds take their gender and core meaning from the last element: Umweltschutz is der Schutz, Haustür is die Tür. Separable prefixes such as an-, auf-, ein- change verb meaning.

Attributing opinion

When summarising, mark whose view it is: laut Text, die Autorin meint, dem Bericht zufolge. Separating the author's claim from reported fact is required for accurate response.

Verb-second rule

In main clauses the finite verb occupies position two: Heute fahre ich mit dem Bus. If a time or place phrase opens the sentence, subject and verb invert.

Verb-final in subordinates

After weil, dass, obwohl, wenn and als the finite verb moves to the end: Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin. The comma separates the clauses.

Perfect with sein

Use sein with motion and state-change verbs: gehen, fahren, kommen, werden, bleiben, aufstehen, einschlafen. Most other verbs take haben, including all transitive verbs.

um…zu and ohne…zu

Infinitive constructions express purpose, absence or substitution: Ich lerne, um die Prüfung zu bestehen. Er ging, ohne sich zu verabschieden. Statt…zu means instead of doing.

Cohesive connectors

Vary linking words: zunächst, außerdem, darüber hinaus for addition; dennoch, trotzdem for contrast; folglich for consequence; abschließend for conclusion. Repetition of und and aber weakens style.

Adjective endings after articles

After der/die/das the ending is -e in nominative all genders and accusative feminine/neuter, otherwise -en. After ein-words nominative is -er, -es, -e.

Time–manner–place order

Adverbials follow time, then manner, then place: Ich fahre morgen mit dem Zug nach Berlin. Deviating from this order is possible only for emphasis.

Leserbrief structure

A reader's letter opens with an address, states a position, supports it with reasons and examples, may rebut an opposing view, and closes with a sign-off. Register is usually formal.

Du/Sie historical shift

Since the 1970s du has spread into workplaces, advertising and among younger adults. Sie remains standard with officials, in formal letters and with unfamiliar older adults.

Regional greetings

Grüß Gott is used in southern Germany and Austria, Moin in northern Germany, Servus in Bavaria and Austria, and Hallo nationwide informally. Choice signals regional identity.

German-speaking countries

German is official in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, with regional status in Belgium, Italy and Denmark. Germany has 16 Bundesländer; the capital is Berlin.

Abitur and Ausbildung

The Gymnasium ends with the Abitur, which opens university admission. The duale Ausbildung combines company apprenticeship with vocational school and is a respected alternative pathway.

Mülltrennung

German households sort waste into separate bins for Papier, Verpackung/Plastik, Bio and Restmüll, and bottles carry a Pfand deposit. These everyday routines reflect environmental policy.

Politeness norms

Pünktlichkeit, formal Sie on first contact and hedged disagreement are widely expected. Directness is valued, but blunt contradiction is usually softened with concessions.

Swiss German spelling

Swiss Hochdeutsch replaces ß with ss, so Strasse and gross appear instead of Straße and groß. Swiss German dialects also differ markedly from standard German.