German · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 8 of 12
Food and shopping
Essen und Einkaufen
Buy food at a German market: say what you'd like, ask for quantities, use den and einen, and form plurals.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Ask politely for what you'd like
- Buy food in kilos, grams and bottles
- Use den and einen for the thing you buy
- Recognise the main plural endings
Listen
On Saturday morning, Birgit buys fruit and vegetables at a market stall in Frankfurt. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Seller
Guten Morgen! Was darf es sein?
Good morning. What can I get you?
Birgit
Guten Morgen. Ich hätte gern ein Kilo Tomaten.
Good morning. I'd like a kilo of tomatoes.
Seller
Gern. Sonst noch etwas?
Certainly. Anything else?
Birgit
Ja, sechs Eier. Und den Salat da, bitte.
Yes, six eggs. And that lettuce there, please.
Seller
Die Äpfel sind heute sehr gut.
The apples are very good today.
Birgit
Dann nehme ich auch ein Kilo Äpfel.
Then I'll take a kilo of apples too.
Seller
Möchten Sie eine Tüte?
Would you like a bag?
Birgit
Nein, danke. Ich habe eine Tasche. Was macht das?
No, thanks. I have a bag. How much is that?
Seller
Das macht zehn Euro vierzig.
That's ten euros forty.
Understand
Ich hätte gern … and ich möchte …
Both mean “I'd like …” and both are polite. is very common in shops and at the market. (I want) sounds blunt when you ask for something, so avoid it.
German doesn't need a word for “of” with quantities: (a kilo of tomatoes), (a bottle of water). and stay the same after a number: , .
- Ich hätte gern 500 Gramm Tomaten.I'd like 500 grams of tomatoes.
- Ich möchte zwei Flaschen Wasser.I'd like two bottles of water.
The accusative: den and einen
The thing you want, buy, take or have is the object of the sentence. In German the object uses a form called the accusative. You already know it: , , .
The good news: only masculine nouns change. becomes and becomes . Feminine, neuter and plural nouns stay the same. , , , and the other words from chapter 5 follow :
| Use | masculine | feminine | neuter | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject | ||||
| object: “the” | ||||
| object: “a” |
Plurals
In the plural, “the” is for all three genders. The noun itself changes in several ways, and some nouns also add an umlaut (the two dots: a → ä, o → ö, u → ü). There are patterns, but it's easiest to learn each noun with its plural.
Sound tips: ä sounds like the “e” in “bed” (). In pf you say both letters, p and f, quickly together. The long ö in is “ay” said with rounded lips.
| Plural ending | Example |
|---|---|
| -n / -en | → |
| -e | → |
| -er | → |
| umlaut only | → |
| -s | → |
| no change | → |
More in the grammar: Cases: nominative and accusative · German numbers: from 0 to a million · Modal verbs: können, müssen, wollen … · Plural of nouns · Possessives: mein, dein, sein … · The German alphabet and pronunciation
New words
- Was darf es sein?What can I get you? (in shops)
- Ich hätte gern …I'd like … · = gladly; = Certainly.
- das Kilokilo · neuter, plural: ; after a number:
- die Tomatetomato · feminine, plural:
- das Eiegg · neuter, plural:
- der Salatlettuce; salad · masculine, plural:
- der Apfelapple · masculine, plural:
- heutetoday
- nehmento take · , ,
- die Tüte(shopping) bag, paper or plastic · feminine, plural: ; in Austria
- die Taschebag, handbag · feminine, plural:
- das Grammgram · neuter, plural: ; after a number: 500
- die Flaschebottle · feminine, plural:
- das Brötchenbread roll · neuter, plural:
Practise
1.Which is the polite way to ask for tomatoes at the market?
2.Write or .
I'll take the lettuce.
3.Write , or .
I'd like an apple.
4.Write the plural of .
I'd like two apples, please.
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.I'd like a kilo of tomatoes.
6.Match the German with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Ich hätte gern ein Kilo Äpfel.
I'd like a kilo of apples.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.