Getting to class | Learn German in English

About This Lesson

Use Getting to class to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Wo wohnst du?

VOH VOHNTST doo? Where do you live?

Ich wohne in der Nähe.

ikh VOH-nuh in dair NAY-uh. I live nearby.

Wie kommst du hierher?

VEE KOMST doo HEE-er-hair? How do you get here?

An sonnigen Tagen fahre ich mit dem Fahrrad.

ahn ZON-ih-gen TAH-gen FAH-ruh ikh mit daym FAH-raht. I ride my bike on sunny days.

Und an Regentagen?

Oont ahn RAY-gen-tah-gen? What about rainy days?

Ich nehme den Bus, wenn es regnet.

ikh NAY-muh dayn BOOS, ven ess RAYG-net. I take the bus when it rains.

Word by Word

Wo “Wo” means “where” and asks for a place in “Wo wohnst du?”. It commonly begins a question about someone’s location, as in “Wo wohnst du?”.

wohnst “wohnst” means “live” in “Wo wohnst du?”. It is the form used with “du”; the citation form is “wohnen”. Use it in the question pattern “Wo wohnst du?”.

du “du” means “you” when addressing one person in “Wo wohnst du?”. It appears together with the verb form “wohnst” in this question. Use “du” when speaking directly to one person.

Ich “Ich” means “I” at the beginning of “Ich wohne in der Nähe.”. The same pronoun appears as lowercase “ich” later in “fahre ich mit dem Fahrrad.” because it is not at the beginning of that sentence. Use it as the subject when talking about yourself.

wohne “wohne” means “live” in “Ich wohne in der Nähe.”. It is the form used with “Ich”; the citation form is “wohnen”. The pattern “Ich wohne in ...” gives a place where you live.

in “in” means “in” and is part of the location phrase “in der Nähe”, meaning “nearby”. In this dialogue, it introduces the place expression after “wohne”. Reuse the complete pattern “in der Nähe” to say that something is nearby.

der “der” is the article used before “Nähe” in the location phrase “in der Nähe”. Together, “in der Nähe” means “nearby”. Keep this article in the reusable expression “in der Nähe”.

Nähe “Nähe” means “nearby area” or “vicinity” in “in der Nähe”. The citation form is “die Nähe”. Use it in the common location phrase “in der Nähe” after a verb of location.

Wie “Wie” means “how” and asks about the way or means of getting somewhere in “Wie kommst du hierher?”. It commonly begins a question about how an action happens. The dialogue uses the pattern “Wie kommst du hierher?”.

kommst “kommst” means “come” or “get” in “Wie kommst du hierher?”. It is the form used with “du”; the citation form is “kommen”. It appears in the question pattern “Wie kommst du hierher?”.

hierher “hierher” means “to here” in “Wie kommst du hierher?”. It shows movement toward the place where the speaker is. Use it with a verb of movement when asking or saying that someone comes to this place.

An “An” means “on” or “at” in the time expression “An sonnigen Tagen”. The same word appears as lowercase “an” in “Und an Regentagen?” because it is not at the beginning of that sentence. In these expressions, “an” introduces the type of day being discussed.

sonnigen “sonnigen” means “sunny” in “An sonnigen Tagen”. It describes the days in this time expression. Reuse the phrase “an sonnigen Tagen” to talk about what happens on sunny days.

Tagen “Tagen” means “days” in “An sonnigen Tagen”. The citation form is “der Tag”; “Tagen” is the form used in this expression. “An sonnigen Tagen” means “on sunny days”.

fahre “fahre” means “ride” or “travel” in “fahre ich mit dem Fahrrad”. It is the form used with “ich”; the citation form is “fahren”. Use it with “mit” and a means of transport, as in “fahre ich mit dem Fahrrad”.

mit “mit” means “with” or “by means of” in “mit dem Fahrrad”. Here it introduces the means of transport. The complete phrase “mit dem Fahrrad” means “by bike”.

dem “dem” is the article used before “Fahrrad” in the transport phrase “mit dem Fahrrad”. Together, “mit dem Fahrrad” means “by bike”. Keep “dem” in this reusable expression.

Fahrrad “Fahrrad” means “bike” or “bicycle” in “mit dem Fahrrad”. It is a noun and is capitalized in German. Use it after “mit dem” in the expression “mit dem Fahrrad”.

Und “Und” means “and”, and here it introduces a follow-up question about another situation in “Und an Regentagen?”. It connects this question to the previous mention of sunny days. At the start of a follow-up, “Und ...?” can ask what applies in a different situation.

Regentagen “Regentagen” means “rainy days” in “Und an Regentagen?”. The citation form is “der Regentag”. Use the complete phrase “an Regentagen” when referring to rainy days.

nehme “nehme” means “take” in “Ich nehme den Bus”. It is the form used with “ich”; the citation form is “nehmen”. Use it in the transport pattern “Ich nehme den Bus” to say that you take the bus.

den “den” is the article used before “Bus” in “Ich nehme den Bus”. Together, “Ich nehme den Bus” means “I take the bus”. Keep this article in the phrase “den Bus”.

Bus “Bus” means “bus” in “Ich nehme den Bus”. It is used here as the means of transport being taken. The reusable pattern is “Ich nehme den Bus”.

wenn “wenn” means “when” in “wenn es regnet” and introduces the time or condition for taking the bus. It starts the clause that explains when “Ich nehme den Bus” applies. Use it before a clause describing when something happens, as in “wenn es regnet”.

es “es” means “it” in the weather expression “es regnet”. Here it is the required subject of the statement about rain, not a reference to the bus. Use the fixed weather expression “es regnet” to say “it is raining”.

regnet “regnet” means “rains” in “wenn es regnet”. The citation form is “regnen”. It is used with “es” in the weather expression “es regnet”, which can follow “wenn” to say “when it rains”.

Grammar Points

mit + Dativ: mit dem Fahrrad

mit dem Fahrrad

mit daym FAH-raht

by bicycle

The preposition mit always takes the dative case. Das Fahrrad becomes dem Fahrrad.

Adjektivendung im Dativ Plural: sonnigen Tagen

sonnigen Tagen

ZON-ih-gen TAH-gen

sunny days

In the dative plural, the adjective usually ends in -en, and the noun often ends in -n: sonnigen Tagen.

German Vocabulary

fahren verb

FAH-run to ride; to drive fahre

Fahrrad noun

FAH-raht bicycle

hierher adv

HEE-er-hair here; to here

kommen verb

KOM-un to come; to get kommst

Nähe noun

NAY-uh nearby area; vicinity

nehmen verb

NAY-mun to take nehme

Regentag noun

RAY-gen-tahk rainy day Regentagen

sonnig adj

ZON-ikh sunny sonnigen

Tag noun

TAHK day Tagen

wie adv

VEE how

wo adv

VOH where

wohnen verb

VOH-nun to live wohnst

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Where do you live?

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Wo wohnst du?

I live nearby.

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Ich wohne in der Nähe.

How do you get here?

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Wie kommst du hierher?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to live

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wohnst

sunny

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sonnigen

to come; to get

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kommst

day

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Tagen