About This Lesson
Use Pointing and Belonging to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Was ist das hier?
vahs ist dahs HEER? What is this?
B
Was ist das dort?
vahs ist dahs DOHRT? What is that?
A
Wer ist das?
vair ist dahs? Who is that?
B
Welches ist deins?
VEL-khuhs ist DINES? Which one is yours?
A
Das hier ist meins.
dahs HEER ist MINES. This one is mine.
B
Das da gehört dir.
dahs dah guh-HURT DEER. That one is yours.Word by Word
Was
“Was” means “what” in “Was ist das hier?” and “Was ist das dort?”. It asks for the identity or nature of an item, so you use it when asking someone to identify something.
ist
“ist” means “is” in “Was ist das hier?” and the other identification questions. It connects what is being asked about with the requested identification, and is useful in simple questions or statements about what something is.
das
“das” refers to the item or person being pointed to in “Was ist das hier?”, “Was ist das dort?”, and “Wer ist das?”. It is used here as the thing being identified, whether the question asks what it is or who it is.
hier
“hier” means “here” in “Was ist das hier?”. It indicates that the item is near the speaker or in the current location, so it is useful when pointing out something nearby.
dort
“dort” means “there” in “Was ist das dort?”. It indicates a location farther away or separate from the speaker, so it is useful when asking about something over there.
Wer
“Wer” means “who” in “Wer ist das?”. It asks for a person’s identity, so you use it when pointing to or referring to someone whose identity you want to know.
Welches
“Welches” means “which one” in “Welches ist deins?”. It selects one item from several possible items and is useful when asking someone to identify a particular one.
deins
“deins” means “yours” in “Welches ist deins?”. It refers to the item that belongs to the person being addressed, and it can stand alone when the item itself is already clear from the situation.
meins
“meins” means “mine” in “Das hier ist meins.”. It identifies the nearby item as belonging to the speaker, so you use it when claiming or identifying something as your own.
da
“da” means “there” or points out “that one” in “Das da gehört dir.”. It helps identify the particular item being indicated and is useful when distinguishing one visible item from others.
gehört
“gehört” means “belongs” in “Das da gehört dir.”. It expresses belonging to someone and is used with the person who owns the item, here together with “dir”.
dir
“dir” means “to you” in “Das da gehört dir.”. It identifies the person to whom the item belongs, so you use it with an expression of belonging when addressing one person.
Grammar Points
gehören + Dativ: Das gehört dir.
Das gehört dir.
dahs guh-HURT DEER.That belongs to you.
With gehören, the person who owns something is in the dative: dir.
Possessive pronouns used independently: deins / meins
Welches ist deins?
VEL-khuhs ist DINES?Which one is yours?
deins means “yours” and stands alone when the owned noun is understood.
German Vocabulary
da
adv
dah
there
das
pron
dahs
that; this
deins
pron
DINES
yours
dir
pron
DEER
to you
dort
adv
DOHRT
there
gehört
verb
guh-HURT
belongs
hier
adv
HEER
here
ist
verb
ist
is
meins
pron
MINES
mine
Was
pron
VAHS
what
welches
pron
VEL-khuhs
which one
Wer
pron
VAIR
who
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
What is this?
Show Answer
Was ist das hier?What is that?
Show Answer
Was ist das dort?Who is that?
Show Answer
Wer ist das?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
here
Show Answer
hierthere
Show Answer
dortyours
Show Answer
deinsmine