First week at the Praktikum: du, Sie, „ich melde mich“, and a Friday invitation
You have just started a six-week Praktikum at a mid-sized company in Munich. On your first morning your Betreuerin, Frau Krüger (mid-fifties), says to the team: „Wir sind hier alle per du.“ Later she writes in the internal chat: „Kommst du morgen um 9 in die Teeküche? Ich melde mich.“ On Wednesday a fellow intern, Jonas (26), asks: „Wir machen Freitag nach der Arbeit bei mir was zu essen – kommst du mit? Ab 19 Uhr, bring gern was zu trinken mit.“ You already have a concert ticket for Friday evening. On Thursday you share a lift with Herrn Bauer, the Geschäftsführer, whom you have never met; he holds the door and says „Guten Morgen.“ Frau Krüger later asks about your weekend and, when you mention the concert, says: „Ah, schade, dann nächstes Mal.“
1. How do you address (a) Frau Krüger, (b) Jonas, (c) Herrn Bauer in the lift?
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(a) Frau Krüger: du. She has offered it on behalf of the team („wir sind hier alle per du“), and answering with „Sie“ would now read as a rebuff, not as politeness. Use „du“ and her first name only if the team does; „Frau Krüger“ plus „du“ is the normal compromise.
(b) Jonas: du, without hesitation - same level, same age group, and he has already used it.
(c) Herr Bauer: Sie. The du was offered by your direct supervisor and applies inside the team she introduced you to. A Geschäftsführer you have never met receives „Guten Tag, Herr Bauer“ and „Sie“ until he offers otherwise. The asymmetry is the point: a senior person can offer du downwards; an intern cannot claim it upwards. Guessing wrong here is a visible social error, while a correct „Sie“ that is later relaxed costs nothing.
2. What exactly do „Ich melde mich“ and „ab 19 Uhr“ commit you to?
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„Ich melde mich“ means I will get back to you - it is a promise to make contact, not a fixed appointment. You do not need to sit by the phone at 9, and you should not treat the meeting as confirmed either. The safe response is a short question that pins it down without pressuring her: „Sagst du mir dann kurz Bescheid?“
„ab 19 Uhr“ means any time from 19:00 onwards. Arriving at 19:15 or 19:30 is normal and expected; arriving at 18:45 puts a host who is still cooking in an awkward position. Compare „um 19 Uhr“, which is a fixed point and where five minutes late already needs a word of apology. The exam tests precisely this pair: „ab“ opens a window, „um“ closes it to a moment.
3. Decline Friday's dinner, and explain what the host's „bring gern was zu trinken mit“ expects of you.
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A German refusal works best when it is clear, brief, with a reason and an alternative: „Schade, Freitag passt es bei mir leider nicht – ich habe schon Karten für ein Konzert. Aber nächste Woche gern!“ This declines the invitation, not the person, and gives Jonas something to accept.
What to avoid: „Mal sehen“, „vielleicht“ or a silent non-answer. Those read as a lukewarm yes, so the host plans for you and the no arrives too late. Frau Krüger's „dann nächstes Mal“ confirms the same convention - a clean refusal is closed politely and not held against you.
„Bring gern was zu trinken mit“ is a literal, friendly instruction, not a formula. Bring drinks for a small group - a bottle of wine, or juice and water if you do not drink alcohol. Turning up empty-handed after that sentence is not rudeness on the scale of a missed appointment, but it is noticed.