Maharashtra SSC German (MSBSHSE) flashcards

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

halb acht

German time expression meaning 7:30, not 8:30. 'Halb' counts toward the coming hour, so 'halb neun' is 8:30. This is a frequent listening trap in time questions.

vierzehn oder vierzig

Fourteen versus forty. 'Vierzehn' is stressed on the first syllable and ends in a clear -zehn; 'vierzig' ends in -zig. Confusing them changes prices, ages and platform numbers in listening tasks.

Durchsage

A public announcement, typically at a station or airport. Announcements open with 'Achtung, eine Durchsage' and give train, platform (Gleis) and delay information. Listening texts often use this frame.

Sie versus du

Formal versus informal address. 'Sie' with 'Ihnen/Ihr' signals a formal relationship such as customer and official; 'du' with 'dir/dein' signals friends, family or classmates. It identifies who is speaking to whom.

Negation cues nicht and kein

'Nicht' negates a verb, adjective or specific phrase; 'kein' negates a noun that would take ein or no article. In listening and reading, a negated statement usually makes the positive option false.

Signalwörter für Zahlen

Prepositions and adverbs that frame quantities: um (at, for times), gegen/etwa/zirka (approximately), ab (from), bis (until), nur (only). They tell you whether a number is exact or approximate.

Gleis

Railway platform or track. The standard announcement 'Der Zug nach Berlin fährt von Gleis drei ab' gives destination and platform. Questions often ask which Gleis is correct.

Gist before detail

A listening strategy: on the first playing, identify topic, speakers and setting; on the second playing, extract the specific number or word the question needs. It matches the usual two-play format.

Compound noun head

In German compounds the last element determines gender and basic meaning, while the first element modifies it. 'Haustür' is a door (Tür), feminine; 'Krankenhaus' is a house (Haus), neuter.

Separable verbs in main clauses

Verbs such as aufstehen, anrufen and einkaufen split in main clauses: the conjugated part stays in position 2 and the prefix goes to the end, as in 'Ich stehe um sechs Uhr auf'.

Passive without agent

The passive 'werden + Partizip II' (Das Fenster wird geöffnet) often omits who does the action. If a question asks 'who', check whether the text names an agent with von or durch.

Question word to text type

Mapping that speeds up scanning: wer asks for a person, wann for a time, wo for a place, warum for a reason (weil, denn, deshalb), wie viel for a quantity, wie lange for a duration.

nur für and ab Jahren

Restriction phrases on notices. 'Nur für Mitglieder' means members only; 'ab 16 Jahren' means from age 16. In matching tasks these constraints decide whether a person may use the offer.

Inference versus stated fact

An inference answer must be supported by the text. An option that is true in general knowledge but not mentioned in the passage is wrong for a reading comprehension item.

weil sends verb to end

Subordinating conjunctions weil, dass, obwohl, wenn and als place the conjugated verb at the end of the clause: 'Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin'. Recognising this helps parse long reading sentences.

Öffnungszeiten and Eintritt

Opening hours and admission fee, the two most common details in German notices and ads. They usually appear as times with bis/ab and prices with Euro or 'Eintritt frei' (free entry).

Formal letter frame

Salutation 'Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren' or 'Sehr geehrte Frau …', closing 'Mit freundlichen Grüßen' plus name. Used for offices, schools and businesses; no comma after the closing formula.

Informal letter frame

Salutation 'Liebe Anna' or 'Lieber Paul', closing 'Liebe Grüße' or 'Viele Grüße' plus first name. Used for friends and family; the du-form is kept throughout.

Date line with den

Formal letters begin with place and date: 'Pune, den 5. Mai 2025'. The word 'den' precedes the ordinal date and the comma after it is obligatory in the standard format.

Verb-second rule

In a German main clause the conjugated verb stands in position 2. If a time or place phrase comes first, the subject moves after the verb: 'Am Montag fahre ich nach Delhi'.

Perfekt in letters

Past events in personal letters use haben or sein plus Partizip II: 'Ich habe einen Kurs besucht', 'Ich bin nach Mumbai gefahren'. Present tense reports current facts and plans.

Modal verb at sentence end

With modal verbs the infinitive goes to the end: 'Ich möchte mich für den Kurs anmelden', 'Wir müssen heute früh losfahren'. The modal itself is conjugated in position 2.

Connectors for coherence

Linking words that sequence and contrast ideas: zuerst, dann, danach, außerdem, deshalb, trotzdem, zum Schluss. Using them explicitly raises the communicative-design mark in writing tasks.

Three writing criteria

Writing tasks are assessed on content (all listed points covered), communicative design (salutation, closing, structure, connectors) and language accuracy (grammar, spelling, vocabulary). Address each separately.

Two-way prepositions

in, an, auf, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen take the accusative for direction (Wohin? 'Ich gehe in die Schule') and the dative for position (Wo? 'Ich bin in der Schule').

Dative plural -n

In the dative plural the noun adds -n unless the plural already ends in -s: 'mit den Kindern', 'aus den Häusern', but 'mit den Autos'. The article is always 'den'.

sein in the Perfekt

The auxiliary sein is used with verbs of motion and change of state (gehen, fahren, kommen, aufstehen, werden) and with sein and bleiben: 'Ich bin geblieben', 'Er ist gekommen'.

Partizip II with ge-

Weak verbs form ge-…-t (gemacht, gespielt); strong verbs form ge-…-en with a vowel change (gesprochen, geschrieben). Verbs with inseparable prefixes drop ge-: besucht, verstanden, erzählt.

Modal verbs in Präteritum

Past forms: konnte, musste, wollte, durfte, sollte, mochte. Note that konnte and musste carry no umlaut, unlike the Konjunktiv forms könnte and müsste.

Dative personal pronouns

mir, dir, ihm, ihr, ihm, uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen. With two objects the dative usually comes before the accusative: 'Ich gebe ihm das Buch', 'Sie zeigt mir die Fotos'.

Irregular comparison

Frequent irregular forms: gut – besser – am besten, viel – mehr – am meisten, gern – lieber – am liebsten, hoch – höher – am höchsten. Comparison uses 'als': 'Er ist schneller als ich'.

Adjective endings after der

After the definite article the adjective takes -e in the nominative singular (der alte Mann, die junge Frau, das kleine Kind) and -en in the dative and genitive and in all plural cases.