Glossary

Akkusativ; one of the four cases used for the declension of articles, nouns, pronouns and adjectives

typical question: Who/What is the direct recipient of the action?

Handlungsverb; describes an active/consciously performed action

(compare: Processual verb, Stative verb)

Aktiv; a sentence in which the subject itself is "actively" doing something

(compare: Passive)

Adjektiv; an adjective describes the characteristic of a noun, verb or another adjective.

typical question: How is something/someone?

(see also: Adverbial adjective, Attributive adjective, Predicative adjective)

Adverb; expresses information about place, time, reason or manner, does not get declined or conjugated

typical question: Where/When/Why/How?

Adverbiale Bestimmung; can consist of an adverb or a group of words, gives details about a place, time, reason or manner

typical question: Where/Where to/Where from/How far/(Since/By) when/How (much/often/long)/From what/With what/By what/What for/About what/Why?

Adverbiales Adjektiv; defines a verb more closely (except seinto be, werdento become or bleibento stay); in English this is simply called adverb

typical question: How (walks, laughs, ...) someone/something?

Adverbialsatz; subordinate clause instead of an adverbial, is usually introduced by a subjunction

Adversativsatz; adverbial clause which expresses a contrast

typical subjunction: whereas

Artikel; is placed before the noun, there are definite articles (der, die, das); indefinite articles (ein, eine) and possessive articles (mein, dein, unser)

Attribut; gives more details about a noun, can be an adjective, another noun, a possessive article, a location, a time or a whole subordinate clause

typical question: Which?

Attributives Adjektiv; defines a noun more closely, gets an ending added onto it and gets declined

typical question: What kind of ...?

Attributsatz; a subordinate clause that gives more details about a subject or an object (usually in form of a relative clause)

typical question: Which?

Hilfsverb; auxiliary verbs are the verbs habento have, seinto be and werdento become and are used when forming compound tenses and the passive

(compare: Full verb)

Kausal; stating a reason

typical question: Why/How come/For what reason?

Kausalsatz; adverbial clause that states a reason

typical subjunction: since, as, because

Satzteilkonjunktion; is used to incorporate an adjective into a sentence which serves to express a comparison

Komparativ; is used in comparisons with als, the ending er is added onto the original form of the adjective

see also: Superlative

Verbalkomplex; a predicate which consists of multiple verbs, for example in multi-part verbs like einkaufen gehento go shopping, in compound tenses, the passive voice and modal verbs

Konzessivsatz; adverbial clause which expresses an unsuccessful counter-argument for the action expressed in the main clause

typical subjunction: obwohlalthough

Konditionalsatz, if clause; adverbial clause that expresses a condition

typical subjunction: falls, wennif

Konjugation; the finite form of verbs when used with a pronoun

Konjunktion; is used to string together main clauses

Syntax: conjunction + subject + finite verb + ...

(compare: Subjunction, Infinitive conjunction, Conjunctional adverb, Clause conjunction)

Konjunktionaladverb; adverb which connects two clauses by expressing a relation between two situations

Syntax: conjunction + finite verb + subject + ...

Konjunktionalsatz; a subordinate clause which is introduced by a subjunction (subordinate conjunction)

Konsekutivsatz; adverbial clause which expresses a consequence

typical subjunction: dassthat, sodassso that

Konsonant; a letter or sound that is not a vowel

(compare: Vowel)

Dativ; one of the four cases used for the declension of articles, nouns, pronouns and adjectives

Deklination; use of the cases, inflection of nouns, articles and adjectives

Bestimmter Artikel; an article that refers to a specific noun

Demonstrativpronomen; emphasises something that was (usually) mentioned before

Akkusativobjekt, direktes Objekt; is used in conjunction with certain verbs, in sentences with multiple objects the direct object is usually the thing with which an action is carried out

typical question: Who/What is the direct recipient of the action?

Direkte Rede; rendition of a statement in the original wording, is always used in German with a colon and quotation marks

(compare: Indirect speech)

Feminin; grammatical gender of articles, nouns and pronouns

Finalsatz; adverbial clause which expresses an objective/a purpose

typical subjunction: damitso that

Finites Verb; inflected verb, conjugated verb

Vollverb; a verb which expresses an action, a process or a state of being

(compare: Auxiliary verb)

Futur I; tense to express the future, it expresses an intention for the future or an assumption about the present or future

Futur II; completed future, it expresses the assumption that an action will have been completed by the time of speaking or by a particular point in the future

Genus; shows if a noun or pronoun is masculine, feminine, or neuter

Genitiv; one of the four cases used for the declension of articles, nouns, pronouns and adjectives

typical question: Whose?

but: der Hund des Mannes (the man's dog; genitive); sein Hund (his dog; no genitive but a possessive article)

Genitivobjekt; is used in conjunction with certain verbs

typical question: What of/from/…?

Numerus; hypernym for singular/plural

see Personal pronouns, Demonstrative pronoun

Imperativ; expresses commands and requests, can be used with du, ihr, Sie, wir

Unbestimmter Artikel; an article which refers to an unspecified noun

Hauptsatz; a clause that can stand by itself

Indikativ; standard verb form in the various tenses; is used to declare facts

(compare: Subjunctive)

Indirektes Objekt, Dativobjekt; is used in conjunction with specific verbs

In sentences with multiple objects, the indirect object is usually a person for whom the action is intended.

typical question: To whom?

Indirekte Frage; a question which is embedded in a declarative sentence as a subordinate clause, is introduced by ob or an interrogative

Reported speech, indirekte Rede; correct rendition of a statement (not in its original wording), usually the verb is in the subjunctive mood, sometimes time and place specifications have to be altered

(compare: Direct speech)

Infinitiv; uninflected/non-finite verb, basic form of the verb

Infinitivsatz; subordinate clause that uses an infinitive with zu

Infinitivkonjunktion; connects parts of sentences with an infinitive construction

Flexion; conjugation of verbs, declension of articles, nouns, pronouns, adjectives

(compare: Declension, Conjugation)

Interrogativadverb; is used to ask for other types of adverbs

(compare: Adverb)

Interrogativpronomen; is used to ask for the subject or object, replaces the noun that is asked for in the question

Intransitives Verb; a verb which is used in a sentence without a direct object

lokal; statement of a place

typical question: Where/Where to/Where from?

Lokaladverb; adverb of a place

typical question: Where/Where to/Where from?

Lokalsatz; adverbial clause instead of a statement of place

typical subjunction: Where/Where to/Where from?

Maskulin, männlich; grammatical gender for articles, nouns and pronouns

Gemischtes Verb; a verb which keeps its regular conjugated ending but changes its stem, the past participle is formed with ge...t

(compare: Weak verb, Strong verb)

statement of manner

typical question: How?

Modaladverb; adverb for stating manner

typical question: How?

Modalsatz; adverbial clause which expresses manner

typical subjunction: as, by

Modalverb; a verb which influences the content of another verb and expresses ability, wishes or constraint

Modal verbs are: dürfen (to be allowed to), können (to be able), möchten (would like to), mögen (to like), müssen (to have to), sollen (to be supposed to), wollen (to want)

Neutral, sächlich; grammatical gender of articles, nouns and pronouns

Nominativ, one of the four cases used for the declension of articles, nouns, pronouns and adjectives

typical question: Who/What is performing the action?

Nicht trennbares Verb; a verb which is extended by a prefix and cannot be separated from this prefix in the finite verb form

(compare: Separable verb)

Nomen, Substantiv; a declinable word usually used with an article to indicate a person, animal, thing, place or idea

Objekt; a noun (often including article and adjective) or pronoun which is not the subject of a sentence but stands, in conjunction with certain verbs, in the accusative, dative or genitive

Objektsatz; subordinate clause instead of an object

Partizipialsatz; subordinate clause using the present or the past participle

Teilreflexives Verb; a verb which can occur as a normal and as a reflexive verb, whereby the meaning is different

Passiv; the subject itself is not active, who or what caused the action is unimportant, unknown, or assumed to be generally known

(compare: Processual passive, Statal passive)

Partizip II; verb form which is used to construct the compound tenses for the past and the passive

Plusquamperfekt; tense to express actions that took place before a certain point in the past

Personalpronomen; the pronouns ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie and the declined forms mich, mir, dich, dir etc.

expresses multiple things, nouns, articles, adjectives, verbs and pronouns can be used in the plural

(compare: Singular)

Entscheidungsfrage, yes-no question; a question without an interrogative word, can be answered with yes/no

Höflichkeitsform, honorific; is used when addressing a person in the polite Sie-form

Positive Form, basic form of an adjective; expresses a characteristic, is also used for comparisons like genauso ... wie (as ... as), the adjective stays in the basic form

Possessivartikel; stands in front of a noun and indicates possession/belonging

Possessivpronomen; pronoun indicating possession

is usually used instead of a noun but sometimes also as a possessive article

Prädikat; verb form in a sentence, can be one or multiple verbs, for example in compound tenses, passive, modal verbs or compound verbs

Prädikatives Adjektiv; defines the verbs sein (to be), werden (to become) and bleiben (to remain) more closely

typical question: How is/becomes/remains someone/something?

Präfix; a syllable which is added onto the beginning of a word in order to form a new word

Präposition; indicates the relationship between two situations, defines the case of the corresponding noun

Partizip I; verb form where the letter "d" is added onto the infinitive

The present participle is primarily used for the formation of adjectives and instead of clauses

Perfekt; a tense for completed actions in the past, it is usually used when focusing on the result of the action, is constructed with the auxiliary verbs haben/sein

Präsens; a tense which is used to express actions in the present (but sometimes also for the future)

Ergänzungsfrage; a question with an interrogative word

Vorgangspassiv; a passive form which expresses an action

(compare: Statal passive)

Vorgangsverb; describes a procedure which is not consciously carried out by someone

(compare: Action verb, Stative verb)

Pronomen; replaces an already known or previously mentioned noun and thus helps to avoid repetition

Pronouns are declined and match their ending according to the gender of the noun

Reziprokes Verb; uses the reflexive pronoun with the meaning "einander" (each other)

Reflexivpronomen (sich); is used in conjunction with reflexive and reciprocal verbs

Reflexives Verb; a verb which is used with a reflexive pronoun sich (self) in the sense of "oneself" or "itself"

(compare: Partly reflexive verb, Unreal reflexive verb, Reciprocal verb)

Relativsatz; a clause introduced by a relative pronoun in which the last noun from the previous clause is specified more closely

Relativpronomen; a pronoun which introduces a relative clause

Trennbares Verb; a verb which can be extended by a prefix but where the prefix can be separated in the finite verb form

(compare: Non-separable verb)

Präteritum, Imperfekt, past tense, preterite; a tense which is used to express actions that took place in the past, usually used when writing

expresses one single thing, nouns, articles, adjectives, verbs and pronouns can be used in the singular

(compare: Plural)

Zustandspassiv; a passive form which describes a state after a completed action

(compare: Processual passive)

Zustandsverb, a verb which describes a state

(compare: Action verb, Processual verb)

Starkes Verb; a verb with an irregular past tense form, the past participle is constructed with ge...en, often also with a vowel change in the present tense

(compare: Mixed verb, Weak verb)

Subjekt; a noun (usually including article and adjective) or a pronoun used in the nominative, performs an action in active sentences

Subjektsatz; subordinate clause instead of a subject

Subjunktion; connects sentences, whereby the clause which is introduced by a subjunction is a subordinate clause

Syntax: Conjunction + Subject + ... + finite verb

Konjunktiv; special verb form, is used to express wishes or requests, for conditional clauses and for the indirect speech

Konjunktiv I; one of the two subjunctive forms, is used for idiomatic expressions and the indirect speech

Konjunktiv II; one of the two subjunctive forms, is used to express wishes, unreal conditional clauses and particularly polite questions or statements

Is used for indirect speech when the subjunctive I can't be used because it is the same as the indicative

Nebensatz; a clause which, in its own form, is not an independent sentence but has to be used in conjunction with a main clause

a syllable added to the end of a word to form a new word

Superlativ; is used for comparisons to express what has the highest level of a certain characteristic

compare: Comparative

Silbe; component of a word which is voiced with one sound and where a word can be split up

the stating of time

typical question: When/How long/How often/Until when/Since when?

Temporalsatz; adverbial clause instead of stating a time

typical subjunction: before, after, since

Transitives Verb; a verb which is used with an accusative in a sentence and which can form the passive

Umlaut; the letters ä, ö, and ü

Unechtes reflexives Verb; a verb which can be used as a normal and as a reflexive verb whilst having the same meaning

a word which expresses an action, a process or a state of being

verbs get conjugated and used in different tenses

Vokal; a letter which, when spoken aloud, is pronounced without an additional sound

(compare: Consonant)

Schwaches Verb; regularly conjugated verb, the past participle is constructed with ge...t

(compare: Mixed verb, Strong verb)

Wortstamm; main component of a word after all endings and prefixes have been removed

By adding different syllables onto the word stem, verbs are conjugated, nouns declined, adjectives compared etc.

Würde-Form; the use of würde (would) and a full verb instead of a subjunctive