German · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 4 of 12
Getting around
Unterwegs in der Stadt
Ask where places are in a German town, ask if there is a pharmacy or supermarket nearby, and understand simple directions.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Ask where a place is
- Ask if there is a shop or service nearby
- Understand left, right and straight on
- Put the verb in the right place in statements and questions
Listen
Chiara is visiting Dresden and asks a man in the street for help. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Chiara
Entschuldigung, gibt es hier einen Supermarkt?
Excuse me, is there a supermarket around here?
Man
Ja. Gehen Sie hier geradeaus und dann rechts.
Yes. Go straight on here and then right.
Chiara
Ist das weit?
Is it far?
Man
Nein, nur fünf Minuten.
No, only five minutes.
Chiara
Und wo ist der Bahnhof?
And where is the station?
Man
Gehen Sie hier links und dann immer geradeaus.
Go left here and then keep going straight on.
Chiara
Gibt es da auch eine Apotheke?
Is there a pharmacy there too?
Man
Ja, da gibt es eine Apotheke.
Yes, there's a pharmacy there.
Chiara
Vielen Dank!
Thank you very much.
Man
Gern geschehen.
You're welcome.
Understand
Wo ist …? or Gibt es …?
Use …? (where is …?) with , or when you know the place exists:
Use …? (is there … here?) when you don't know if there is one. means “there is” or “there are”. It works like ordering in chapter 3: masculine becomes ; and stay the same.
| Question | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where is …? | |||
| Is there …? |
The verb comes second
In a German statement, the verb is always the second item. The first item can be the subject (the person or thing doing the action) or something else, like (here), (there) or (then). If something else comes first, the subject moves behind the verb: , not “Da es gibt”.
Polite instructions are the exception: they start with the verb, followed by :
| 1 | 2 (verb) | rest |
|---|---|---|
Asking questions
There are two kinds of question. With a question word such as (where), (what), (how) or (where from), the question word comes first and the verb second, just as in a statement:
Questions you answer with or start with the verb, and the subject comes right after it: English often needs “do” in a question; German never does: means “Do you come from Vienna?”.
| Question word | Verb | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| – | ||
| – | ||
| – |
Sound tip: st and sp
At the start of a word or word part, st sounds like “sht” and sp like “shp”: (SHTRAH-seh), , . In the middle or at the end of a word, st is said as in English: , .
- die Straßethe street
- Stimmt so.Keep the change.
More in the grammar: Asking questions · Cases: nominative and accusative · The German alphabet and pronunciation · Word order
New words
- Entschuldigung!Excuse me! / Sorry!
- Gibt es hier …?Is there … here? / Are there … here? · = there is, there are
- der Supermarktsupermarket · masculine, plural:
- Gehen Sie …Go … (polite)
- geradeausstraight on · = keep going straight on
- dannthen
- rechts(on the) right
- weitfar
- nuronly, just · = only five minutes
- der Bahnhof(train) station · masculine, plural:
- links(on the) left
- die Apothekepharmacy, chemist's · feminine, plural:
- Gern geschehen.You're welcome.
- das Museummuseum · neuter, plural:
Practise
1.You don't know if there's a pharmacy nearby. What do you ask?
2.Write , or .
Is there a supermarket here?
3.Put the verb in second position. Complete with .
There's a pharmacy here.
4.Put the words in order. Start with Da.
Tap the words below in the right order.There's a museum there.
5.How do you ask “Is the station far?”
6.Match the directions.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Entschuldigung, wo ist der Bahnhof?
Excuse me, where is the station?
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.