NZ Scholarship German flashcards

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

Verb-second rule

In German main clauses the finite verb occupies the second position; if a time or place phrase opens the sentence, the subject moves after the verb: 'Heute gehe ich.'

Verb-final in subordinates

After conjunctions such as weil, obwohl, dass, wenn, the finite verb goes to the end of the clause: '…, weil er krank war.'

Konjunktiv II forms

Hypothetical mood built from Präteritum stem + umlaut: wäre, hätte, würde, könnte, müsste; used for polite requests, unreal conditions, and hedging in essays.

Passive with werden

Process passive: werden + Partizip II ('Das Gesetz wird geändert'). State passive uses sein + Partizip II ('Das Gesetz ist geändert').

Nominalisation

Converting verbs or adjectives into nouns, common in formal German: 'durchführen' → 'die Durchführung', 'wichtig' → 'die Wichtigkeit'. Use for formal register.

Adjective endings after articles

After definite article: -e/-en pattern ('der gute Wein', 'mit dem guten Wein'). After indefinite: -er/-es/-e in nominative ('ein guter Wein').

Genitive prepositions

Prepositions governing genitive: wegen, trotz, während, statt, aufgrund, hinsichtlich. Example: 'wegen des Wetters' (not 'wegen dem Wetter').

Connectors for argument

Formal linking words: einerseits … andererseits, zwar … aber, folglich, infolgedessen, demzufolge, nicht zuletzt, im Hinblick auf. They signal logical relations.

halb acht meaning

'Halb acht' means 7:30, not 8:30. German counts half toward the next hour. Similarly 'halb drei' = 2:30.

Viertel vor/nach

'Viertel vor acht' = 7:45; 'Viertel nach acht' = 8:15. 'Dreiviertel acht' (regional) = 7:45.

Modal particle doch

Signals contrary expectation or insistence: 'Komm doch mit!' (come along, after all). In listening, indicates the speaker challenges an assumption.

Modal particle ja

Marks shared or obvious knowledge: 'Das ist ja bekannt.' In listening questions, signals information the speaker treats as given.

Modal particle wohl

Expresses probability or assumption: 'Er wird wohl kommen.' Signals the speaker is inferring rather than stating fact.

nicht … sondern

Correction construction: 'nicht A, sondern B' = not A but B. The second element carries the true information; common in listening distractors.

keineswegs

Emphatic negation meaning 'by no means' or 'not at all'. Stronger than 'nicht'; often tested in tone or attitude questions.

zunächst vs zuletzt

'Zunächst' = first, initially; 'zuletzt' = finally, last. These sequence markers structure listening passages and signal order of arguments.

im Gegensatz dazu

Discourse marker meaning 'in contrast to that'. Signals a contrast or counter-argument; useful for tracking structure in listening and reading.

allerdings

Concessive adverb meaning 'however' or 'admittedly'. Often introduces a qualification or limitation after a positive statement.

Falschfreund aktuell

'Aktuell' means current or up-to-date, not 'actual'. 'Die aktuelle Lage' = the current situation. A common reading trap.

Falschfreund eventuell

'Eventuell' means possibly or perhaps, not 'eventually'. 'Eventuell komme ich' = I may come. Distinguish from 'schließlich' (eventually).

Falschfreund bekommen

'Bekommen' means to receive, not to become. 'Ich bekomme ein Buch' = I receive a book. 'To become' is 'werden'.

Falschfreund Gift

'Gift' is a neuter noun meaning poison ('das Gift'), not a present. 'Das Geschenk' = gift. Gender and meaning both differ.

Extended participial phrase

A participle phrase placed before a noun: 'die von der Regierung beschlossene Reform' = the reform decided by the government. Unpack as a relative clause.

Konjunktiv II in reading

Forms like wäre, hätte, würde signal hypothetical or polite distance, not past fact. Misreading them as past tense distorts comprehension.

Cohesion pronoun dabei

'Dabei' means 'in doing so' or 'thereby' and refers back to a preceding action or clause. Identify the referent before answering reference questions.

Erzähler

The narrator of a literary text. Questions may ask about narrative perspective: first-person ('Ich-Erzähler') or third-person ('Er/Sie-Erzähler').

Rückblende

A flashback in narrative structure. Signals a shift to earlier events; track time markers such as 'früher', 'damals', 'zuvor'.

ch pronunciation rule

After a, o, u, au: 'ch' = [x] (Bach, Buch). After i, e, ä, ö, ü, ei: 'ch' = [ç] (ich, Mädchen, leicht).

z pronunciation

German 'z' is pronounced [ts], as in 'Zeit' [tsaɪt] and 'zwei' [tsvaɪ]. Never pronounce as English [z].

Compound stress

In German compounds the first element carries primary stress: 'HAUSaufgabe', 'UMwelt', 'KRANKenhaus'. Separable verb prefixes also take stress: 'AUFstehen'.

Repair phrase Wie sagt man

'Wie sagt man …?' = How do you say …? A repair phrase for speaking when a word is unknown; maintains fluency instead of switching to English.

Opinion frame meiner Meinung nach

'Meiner Meinung nach …' = in my opinion. A formal opinion frame for speaking and writing; followed by verb-second word order.