was |
1. pron. (interrogative) what | |
Was machst du heute? - What are you doing today? | |
2. pron. (relative) which ((referring to the entire preceding clause)) | |
Sie tanzte gut, was er bewunderte. - She was a good dancer, which he admired. | |
3. pron. (relative) that, which ((referring to das, alles, etwas, nichts, and neuter substantival adjectives)) | |
Das ist alles, was ich weiß. - That's all that I know. | |
Das ist das Beste, was mir passieren konnte. - That's the best that could have happened to me. | |
4. pron. (relative, colloquial) that, which ((referring to neuter singular nouns, instead of standard das)) | |
Siehst du das weiße Haus, was renoviert wird? - Do you see that white house, which is being renovated? | |
5. pron. (indefinite, colloquial) something, anything ((instead of standard etwas)) | |
Ich hab was gefunden. - I've found something. | |
6. pron. (interrogative, dated) why (with emphasis, astonishment or disapproval) | |
Was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht? - Why on earth are you hiding your face so fearfully? | |
7. adv. (colloquial) a little, somewhat | |
Ich komm was später. - I'll arrive a little later. | |
8. adv. (interrogative, colloquial) why, what for | |
Was bist du heute so stumm? - Why are you so silent today? | |
Werden |
1. n. (gerund of werden); becoming (coming into being) | |
2. v. (auxiliary) will; to be going (to do something); forms the future tense | |
Ich werde nach Hause gehen. - I will go home. | |
3. v. (auxiliary) would; forms the subjunctive tense of most verbs | |
4. v. (auxiliary) to be done; forms the passive voice | |
Das Buch wird gerade gelesen. (present tense) - The book is being read. | |
Ich wurde in Europa geboren. (preterite tense) - I was born in Europe. | |
Er war geschlagen worden. (past perfect tense) - He had been beaten. | |
5. v. (copulative, past participle geworden) to become; to get; to grow; to turn | |
Es wird heißer. - It's getting hotter. | |
6. v. (with a dative object and certain adjectives) to begin or come to feel or experience (a condition) | |
Usage: In this sense werden is always conjugated in the third person singular and takes a dative noun. The impersonal subject es may be present, but is often taken as implied. (See the usage no | |
Wird dir kalt? - Are you getting cold? | |
Den Kindern wird langweilig. - The children are getting bored. | |
Von Mayonnaise wird mir schlecht. - Mayonnaise makes me sick. (Literally: From mayonnaise I become sick.) | |
7. v. (copulative, colloquial) to be, to happen, to occur (in the future) | |
Wir werden zusammen glücklich. - We will be happy together. | |
Was wird aus mir? - What will become of me? | |
8. v. (colloquial) to be going to work | |
Das wird so nichts. - It will not work like that. | |
Sie |
1. pron. you (polite; singular and plural) | |
Was möchten Sie, Frau Wagner? - What would you like to have, Mrs. Wagner? | |
2. pron. she | |
Ist sie noch krank? - Is she still sick? | |
Das ist meine Katze. Sie heißt Lili. - This is my cat. Her name is Lili. | |
Ich suche Vanessa. Hast du sie gesehen? - I'm looking for Vanessa. Have you seen her? | |
3. pron. it (when the object/article/thing/animal etc., referred to, is feminine die) | |
Scheint die Sonne noch? Nein, sie ist schon untergegangen. - Is the Sun still shining? No, it has already gone down. | |
Ich suche meine Brieftasche. Hast du sie gesehen? - I'm looking for my wallet. Have you seen it? | |
4. pron. he (when the grammatical gender of the noun being referred to and designating a male person, is feminine die) | |
Die Geisel Richard Meier versuchte, sich zu befreien, aber sie schaffte es nicht. - The hostage Richard Meier tried to break free, but he didn’t succeed. | |
Die Wache Michael Müller beschädigte ihr Gewehr, wofür ihr Vorgesetzter sie bestrafte. - The guardsman Michael Müller damaged his rifle, and his supervisor punished him for that. | |
5. pron. they; them | |
es |
1. pron. Nominative and accusative neuter third-person singular personal pronoun | |
Wo ist das Buch? Es liegt auf dem Tisch. - Where's the book? It’s on the table. | |
Wo ist das Kind? Ich habe es. - Where is the child? I have it. | |
Welche Farbe hat das Pferd? Es ist weiß. - What color is the horse? It is white. | |
Ich bemerkte ein merkwürdiges bärtiges Individuum und beschloss, es im Auge zu behalten. - I remarked a strange bearded individual and decided to keep an eye on him. | |
Das Mädchen wusste nicht, dass es beobachtet wurde. - The girl didn’t know that she was being observed. | |
Jedes Vorstandsmitglied kann das Wort ergreifen, wenn es dies wünscht. - Any board member may take the floor if they so wish. | |
2. pron. (Impersonal pronoun used to refer to statements, activities, the environment etc., or as a placeholder/dummy pronoun) — it | |
Das kann es nicht geben. - This is nothing that could possibly exist. | |
Sie begann zu laufen, und ich tat es auch. - She began to run, and I did it also. | |
Es war einmal eine schöne Prinzessin. - There was once a beautiful princess. | |
Es ist gut zu leben! - It's good to be alive! | |
Es regnet. - It’s raining. | |
Es ist sicher, dass morgen die Sonne scheinen wird. - It's certain that the sun will shine tomorrow. | |
Wie geht es dir? - How are you doing? | |
Ich bin es, Michael. - It's me, Michael. | |
Es spielt das Fernsehorchester. - The television orchestra is playing. | |
Sie wird es noch weit bringen. - She is going to go far. | |
3. art. (regional, colloquial) alt form-lite, das | |
Soll ich es Fenster zumachen? - Should I close the window? | |
sich |
1. pron. Reflexive pronoun of the third person singular: herself, himself, itself, oneself (direct or indirect object). | |
2. pron. Reflexive pronoun of the third person plural: themselves (direct or indirect object). | |
Als |
1. n. creek, drainage channel | |
2. conj. (subordinating, referring to time of occurrence) at (approximately) the same moment; when; while; as | |
Als er ankam, öffnete sie die Tür. - When he arrived, she opened the door. | |
Als wir jung waren, spielten wir im Wald. - We played in the forest when we were young. | |
3. conj. (used with a comparison or as an exception) than | |
Zwei ist größer als eins. - Two is greater than one. | |
Die Kopie sieht anders aus als das Original. - The copy looks different than the original. | |
Er sagt nichts anderes als die Wahrheit. - He tells nothing other than the truth. | |
4. conj. as; like; in the function of; in the form of | |
Als Polizist muss ich es tun. - As a policeman, I must do it. | |
Wir sind Feinde, aber im Moment müssen wir uns als Freunde verhalten. - We are enemies, but for now we must act like friends. | |
Sie verkleidete sich als Krankenschwester, um das Krankenhaus zu betreten. - She disguised herself as a nurse to enter the hospital. | |
5. conj. as if | |
6. conj. (after negative pronoun) but, other than | |
nächstes |
1. adj. form of nah, stes | |
ausdenken |
1. v. to come up with, to think up, to make up (a story, a plan, a strategy, lies etc.) | |
Ich habe mir den Plan ausgedacht. - I came up with the plan. | |