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GermanFORDUMmIES2ND01 9780470901014-ffirs.indd i‰EDITION12/22/10 7:06 PM

01 9780470901014-ffirs.indd ii12/22/10 7:06 PM

GermanFORDUMmIES2ND‰EDITIONby Paulina Christensen, Anne Fox,and Wendy Foster01 9780470901014-ffirs.indd iii12/22/10 7:06 PM

Disclaimer: This eBook does not include ancillary media that was packaged with theprinted version of the book.German For Dummies , 2nd EditionPublished byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.comCopyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IndianaPublished simultaneously in CanadaNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior writtenpermission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to theCopyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600.Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley& Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for theRest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making EverythingEasier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associatedwith any product or vendor mentioned in this book.LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NOREPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OFTHE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BECREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIESCONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THEUNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OROTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OFA COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THEAUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCEOF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSESTHE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS ITMAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THISWORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN ANDWHEN IT IS READ.For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer CareDepartment within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print maynot be available in electronic books.Library of Congress Control Number: 2010942180ISBN: 978-0-470-90101-4Manufactured in the United States of America10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 101 9780470901014-ffirs.indd iv12/22/10 7:06 PM

About the AuthorsPaulina Christensen has been working as a writer, editor, and translator foralmost ten years. She holds a degree in English and German literature andhas developed, written, and edited numerous German-language textbooksand teachers’ handbooks for Berlitz International. Her work as a translatorranges from new media art to science fiction (Starlog magazine). Sheoccasionally works as a court interpreter and does consulting and interpretingat educational conferences, as well as voice-overs for educational videosand CD-ROMs. Dr. Christensen received her M.A. and Ph.D. from DüsseldorfUniversity, Germany, and has taught at Berlitz Language Schools, New YorkUniversity, and Fordham University.Anne Fox has been working as a translator, editor, and writer for the pasttwelve years. She studied at Interpreters’ School, Zurich, Switzerland, andholds a degree in translation. Her various assignments have taken her toouter space, hyperspace, and around the world. She has also taught at BerlitzLanguage Schools and worked as a legal and technical proofreader in theeditorial departments of several law firms. Most recently she has beendeveloping, writing, and editing student textbooks and teacher handbooksfor Berlitz.Wendy Foster has been working as a teacher, writer, editor, and translatorfor longer than she can remember. She holds a degree in German from theLanguage and Interpreting Institute, Munich, Germany, an M.A. in Frenchfrom Middlebury College, and a public school teaching certificate for Germanand French. She studied in France for two years, and then settled in Munich,Germany, where she worked in various teaching and writing capacities atvarious institutions, including Siemens, Hypovereinsbank, Munich Chamberof Commerce, and a number of publishers. She recently returned to her NewEngland roots, where she works from her home overlooking a spectacularsalt marsh that constantly beckons her to go kayaking, swimming, walking,and bird watching.Berlitz has meant excellence in language services for more than 120 years.At more than 400 locations and in 50 countries worldwide, Berlitz offers afull range of language and language-related services, including instruction,cross-cultural training, document translation, software localization, andinterpretation services. Berlitz also offers a wide array of publishing products,such as self-study language courses, phrase books, travel guides, anddictionaries.The world-famous Berlitz Method is the core of all Berlitz languageinstruction. From the time of its introduction in 1878, millions have used thismethod to learn new languages. For more information about Berlitz classesand products, please consult your local telephone directory for the LanguageCenter nearest you or visit the Berlitz Web site at www.berlitz.com, whereyou can enroll in classes or shop directly for products online.01 9780470901014-ffirs.indd v12/22/10 7:06 PM

01 9780470901014-ffirs.indd vi12/22/10 7:06 PM

AcknowledgmentsWendy: I must thank Paulina Christensen and Anne Fox, who put so muchtime, effort, and knowledge into the first edition of this book. Thanks also tothe editorial staff at Wiley for their unwavering support and to the technicalreviewers, Tom Beyer and Chris Bellmann, who provided invaluable assistance. Finally, I would like to thank my friends at Fisherman’s Cove for theirfriendship, patience, and humor, especially Phil, Crista, and Kitty.01 9780470901014-ffirs.indd vii12/22/10 7:06 PM

Publisher’s AcknowledgmentsWe’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. Forother comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:Acquisitions, Editorial, and MediaDevelopmentProject Editors: Corbin Collins, Tracy BarrComposition ServicesProject Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery(Previous Edition: Mary Goodwin)Layout and Graphics: Mark Pinto, SDJumper,Christin SwinfordAcquisitions Editor: Michael LewisProofreaders: Linda Seifert, Dwight RamseyCopy Editor: Christine PingletonIndexer: Potomac Indexing, LLCAssistant Editor: David LuttonIllustrator: Elizabeth KurtzmanTechnical Editors: Thomas Beyer,Christian BellmannAssistant Project Manager: Jenny SwisherAssociate Producer: Josh FrankQuality Assurance: Doug KuhnCD Producer: Her Voice Unlimited, LLCEditorial Manager: Jennifer EhrlichEditorial Assistant: Jennette ElNaggarArt Coordinator: Alicia B. SouthCover Photo: iStockphoto.com / ihoe /Brian Chase / Amanda CottonCartoons: Rich Tennant(www.the5thwave.com)Publishing and Editorial for Consumer DummiesDiane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer DummiesKristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer DummiesEnsley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, TravelKelly Regan, Editorial Director, TravelPublishing for Technology DummiesAndy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General UserComposition ServicesDebbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services01 9780470901014-ffirs.indd viii12/22/10 7:06 PM

Contents at a GlanceIntroduction . 1Part I: Getting Started . 7Chapter 1: You Already Know a Little German . 9Chapter 2: The Nitty-Gritty: Basic German Grammar . 21Chapter 3: Hallo! Pronunciation and Basic Expressions . 41Chapter 4: Getting Numbers, Time, and Measurements Straight . 61Chapter 5: Talking about Home and Family . 73Part II: German in Action . 81Chapter 6: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk. 83Chapter 7: Asking for Directions . 101Chapter 8: Guten Appetit! Dining Out and Going to the Market . 119Chapter 9: Shopping Made Easy . 143Chapter 10: Going Out on the Town . 159Chapter 11: Taking Care of Business and Telecommunications. 179Chapter 12: Recreation and the Great Outdoors . 197Part III: German on the Go . 215Chapter 13: Planning a Trip . 217Chapter 14: Making Sense of Euros and Cents . 227Chapter 15: Getting Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis, and Buses . 235Chapter 16: Finding a Place to Stay . 253Chapter 17: Handling Emergencies. 269Part IV: The Part of Tens . 285Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Pick Up German Quickly . 287Chapter 19: Ten Things Never to Say in German . 291Chapter 20: Ten Favorite German Expressions . 295Chapter 21: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound German . 29902 9780470901014-ftoc.indd ix12/22/10 7:06 PM

Part V: Appendixes . 301Appendix A: Mini-Dictionary . 303Appendix B: Verb Tables . 321Appendix C: On the CD. 333Appendix D: Answer Key . 337Index . 34102 9780470901014-ftoc.indd x12/22/10 7:06 PM

Table of ContentsIntroduction . 1About This Book . 1Conventions Used in This Book . 2Foolish Assumption

method to learn new languages. For more information about Berlitz classes and products, please consult your local telephone directory for the Language Center nearest you or visit the Berlitz Web site at www.berlitz.com, where you can enroll in classes or shop directly for products online. 01_9780470901014-ffirs.indd v 12/22/10 7:06 PM. 01_9780470901014-ffirs.indd vi 12/22/10 7:06 PM .