Lederhosen: Now the truth can be told!

Guys wearing Lederhosen

A question arose in class as to why "Lederhosen" or, actually, "lederhosen" (in English, not capitalized) is plural.  In German this traditional Bavarian article of clothing is referred to as "eine Lederhose", but in English, it is used only in the plural, "lederhosen".  This is, linguistically, something called the "plurale tantum" (plural as such, plural only).  Think of "scissors," for which there is no singular form!  Alles klar?  

Additional Practice for Various Topics on the Final

Here are some links to resources from GROW (German Resources on the Web) to review some of the topics that will be on the final:

The Imperative

Modal Verbs

Prepositions: von or aus?

Dative prepositions 

Dative prepositions

Dative prepositions

Two-way prepositions: accusative or dative - this is a good one to review the concepts introduced in connection with these prepositions

Two-way prepositions: the verbs liegen/legen/ stehen/stellen hângen/stecken.  Note: Herr Curtis put in an incorrect "correct" answer for No. 4.  It is "stecken".

Two-way prepositions (location only)

German 10B: Topics for final presentation on 5/19

The presentation should be not less than 5 minutes but no longer than 6 minutes in length.  Therefore, it is important to run through your prepared presentation and time yourself before presenting it.  Choose from one of these topics, based on the material covered in chapters 4-6.  

Kapitel 4: Mein Tag.  Describe your day from morning to evening, creating a smooth narrative that includes time designations (um ... or von ... bis, or jeden Montag, etc.  See page 142 for a list.)   Include mealtimes and what you have for each meal.  2) use at least two modal verbs, saying what you have to do, are supposed to do, may not do, etc.).  You could look at Übung 1, p. 126, for some inspiration.  How interesting can you make your day sound to your classmates?  What is your mood during the day?  Please include one "Unterhaltung", which can be something as simple as watching a show on TV (give the name of the show).  Of course, this narrative does not have to reflect reality, word for word!  For some vocabulary on how to describe your (bad) mood (and just for fun), go here.     

Kapitel 5:  Einkaufen.  Bring in 2 (2) articles of clothing and/or accessories.  Prepare a 3 minute description of each: where did you purchase this (use the present perfect tense in each case here), what is it made of (Der Hut ist aus Wolle, u.s.w.), what color it is, what size, does it fit you (use the dative), do you like it (use the dative) and why (use "denn"), in what situation, in which season, would you wear such an item?  How long have you had these items? Anything else you can think of.  Tell a story about these articles!  

Kapitel 6:   Wir gehen aus.  Go to Yelp Deutschland (yelp.de), go to Berlin, and research and find a restaurant or cafe in Berlin that you might like to one day visit and eat at.  Describe the menu, give 2 examples each of: Vorspeise, Hauptgericht, Beilage, Nachspeise, Getränke.  How much would the typical meal cost?  What days and times is it open?  Include one of the Yelp reviews (read excerpts to the class).  If there are photos, use some adjectives to describe the interior, the restaurant's atmosphere.  Or put photos on a flashdrive to show the class.  Describe the general area that the restaurant is located (z.B.: Es liegt in der Mitte Berlins, zwischen .... und .....)  How would you get the restaurant (see "Route Berechnen" on Yelp.)  Bring a printout of the restaurant's menu!  Or show photos of the restaurant on a laptop. Your choice need not serve "German" food, but could be international in flavor. 

Above all, have fun with this! 

German 1B: General topics for the final, Spring 2015

Here are the topics in general for the final exam, so that you can focus on the essentials.  

I.  A) Listening section on favorite activities and b) identify seasons 

II.  1. Write sentences on the following: 1.  Your daily routine, what you have to do
                                                             2.  What you are wearing
                                                              3.  Your leisure time activities 
                                                              4.  What you like to eat for various meals 

2.  Which words don't fit? 

3.  Match vocabulary to definitions 

III.  Grammatik

a.  Personal pronouns: accusative and dative fill in blanks

b.  Fill in blanks with correct forms of verbs, include modals and separable prefix verbs.

c.  Connect sentences using coordinating conjunctions

d.  Write sentences answering questions wo or wohin using two-way prepositions.  Review the verbs used for placement and location, Kapitel 6. 

e.  Write sentences describing activities using the present perfect tense (haben or sein + past participle)

f.  Comparisons using "als" 

g.  Sentences using the imperative (command) form. 

IV.  A reading passage 

V.  A "Kultur" question based on one of the Landeskunde Info passages 

German 1B/10B: Assignment for 5/12: Kapitel 7

Continue to work on Kapitel 7, workbook/lab manual.  These are to be handed in on the evening of the final, so that you can use them as study guides.  10B students, please hand in the lab manuals on the evening of the final. 
   
THEMA 3, p. 212 

Die Jahreszeiten- Das Wetter 

Write answers to A, 1-7 and complete B, 1-6, match with the pictures below. 

Study Neue Wörter, p. 213 and Wortschatz, das Wetter, pp. 232-233.  Make flashcards with Quia or some other program that you might know of for your smart phone. 

Akt. 7, p. 214.  Write correct alphabet answers, using the map as your reference. 

Listen to Akt. 8, p. 215 and check answers.  Be sure to note the temperatures.  

Read "Landeskunde-Info", p. 215.  

WRITE a 2-3 sentences for Akt. 9, p. 215 to read to the class.  Give the weather for your actual "Heimatstadt", rather than where you currently live. 

THEN, write a brief weather report for a day in the past: Gestern, Vorgestern.  Use the present perfect tense.  Write 2 sentences using the comparative and als. You can use the present perfect or not.    Beispiel: Heute ist es wärmer in Oakland als in San Francisco. 

THEN,  watch the short video (at the end of this page) and describe the weather.  Magst du solches Wetter oder nicht?  Warum oder warum nicht?  

Grammatik im Kontext: 

Read "Expressing comparisons: The Comparative".  p. 226: review notes, esp.  at bottom of p. 226, "als" and fill in the blanks for Übung 13, write comparative sentences using the example as a guide for Übung 14.  Note: you could use actual weather conditions for answers to 5-7.    

Note that, unlike in English, you would not try to form the comparative in German using "mehr" (the equivalent of "more").  

Read Expressing Equality, p. 228 and write 7 sentences for Übung 15.  

Übung 16 will be done in class, but it would be helpful if you formulate questions beforehand.  

Review of assigned sections of Kapitel 7 test.  

The general topics for the final and final presentation (1B/10B, respectively) will be posted separately.