About This Lesson
Use Living with Family and a Pet to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Lebst du mit deiner Familie?
LAYPST doo mit DYE-ner fa-MEE-lee-uh? Do you live with family?
B
Ich lebe mit meinem Kind.
ikh LAY-buh mit MY-num kint. I live with my child.
A
Gibt es zu Hause auch ein Haustier?
GIPT ess tsoo HOW-zuh owkh ine HOWS-teer? Is there a pet at home too?
B
Wir haben einen kleinen Hund.
veer HAH-bun EYE-nun KLY-nun hoont. We have a small dog.
A
Wie verstehen sie sich?
vee fair-SHTAY-un zee zikh? How do they get along?
B
Sie spielen jeden Tag zusammen.
zee SHPEE-lun YAY-dun tahk tsoo-ZAHM-un. They play together every day.Word by Word
Lebst
Lebst means “live” in the question Lebst du mit deiner Familie? It is the present-tense form used with du, so the verb comes before the subject in this yes-or-no question. Use it when asking one person informally about their living situation.
du
Du means “you” when speaking to one person informally. In Lebst du mit deiner Familie?, it is the subject of the question and follows the verb. Use du with friends, family members, children, and other people you address informally.
mit
Mit means “with” and introduces the person or group someone lives together with. In mit deiner Familie and mit meinem Kind, it is followed by a dative form. Use mit for relationships or shared situations, such as living with someone.
deiner
Deiner means “your” in the phrase mit deiner Familie. It is the form of dein used with Familie after mit. Use it before a person or group when addressing one person informally and referring to something connected with them.
Familie
Familie means “family” in deiner Familie. It is the group that the speaker asks about living with. Use Familie with possessive words or other descriptions when talking about someone’s family.
Ich
Ich means “I” and is the subject of Ich lebe mit meinem Kind. It identifies the person giving the information. Use Ich at the beginning of a statement about your own actions or situation.
lebe
Lebe means “live” in Ich lebe mit meinem Kind. It is the form of leben used with ich in this present-tense statement. Use it to say where or with whom you live.
meinem
Meinem means “my” in mit meinem Kind. It is the form of mein used with Kind after mit. Use it before a person or thing belonging or relating to you when the surrounding construction requires this form.
Kind
Kind means “child” in meinem Kind. It is the person the speaker lives with. Use Kind after a possessive word or another description when talking about a child.
Gibt
Gibt means “is” or “exists” as part of the question Gibt es zu Hause auch ein Haustier? Together with es, it asks whether something is present. Use Gibt es to ask if something exists or is available in a place.
es
Es is the required placeholder in the existence expression Gibt es, which means “is there” in this question. It does not refer to a specific object by itself here. Use it directly after Gibt when asking whether something is present.
zu
Zu contributes to the expression zu Hause, meaning “at home.” In Gibt es zu Hause auch ein Haustier?, it helps identify the location being discussed. Use the complete expression zu Hause when saying that someone or something is at home.
Hause
Hause means “home” as part of the fixed expression zu Hause. The expression zu Hause identifies the place where the pet might be. Use zu Hause when talking about being or having something at home.
auch
Auch means “also” or “too” in Gibt es zu Hause auch ein Haustier? It adds the pet as another thing considered at home. Use auch when adding a person, object, or fact to information already being discussed.
ein
Ein means “a” in ein Haustier. It introduces one unspecified pet in the question. Use ein before a singular noun when referring to one non-specific item or living being.
Haustier
Haustier means “pet” in ein Haustier. It names an animal kept at home, and here it is the thing whose presence is being asked about. Use Haustier when discussing having or caring for an animal at home.
Wir
Wir means “we” and is the subject of Wir haben einen kleinen Hund. It refers to the speaker and the child together in this dialogue. Use Wir when describing an action or possession shared by the speaker and at least one other person.
haben
Haben means “have” in Wir haben einen kleinen Hund. It expresses possession of the dog here and is the form used with wir. Use haben before the thing or person that someone possesses or has.
einen
Einen means “a” in einen kleinen Hund. It introduces one unspecified dog and is the form used before this masculine object after haben. Use einen before a singular masculine noun when it is the object of a statement such as Wir haben einen kleinen Hund.
kleinen
Kleinen means “small” in einen kleinen Hund. It describes the dog and takes this form in the phrase einen kleinen Hund. Use it before a noun when describing something as small, keeping the form matched to the surrounding noun phrase.
Hund
Hund means “dog” in einen kleinen Hund. It identifies the pet the speakers have. Use Hund when talking about a dog as someone’s animal or in another everyday situation involving dogs.
Wie
Wie means “how” in Wie verstehen sie sich? It asks about the way the child and dog relate to each other. Use Wie at the beginning of a question about manner, condition, or the quality of a relationship.
verstehen
Verstehen contributes the meaning “get along” in the expression Wie verstehen sie sich? With sich, it describes the relationship between the child and the dog rather than simple understanding. Use this reflexive expression when asking or saying how people or animals relate to one another.
sie
Sie means “they” here and refers to the child and the dog in Wie verstehen sie sich? The lowercase form is the plural subject in this dialogue, not the formal address Sie. Use sie for more than one person or thing when they are the subject of the sentence.
sich
Sich means “each other” in Wie verstehen sie sich? Together with verstehen, it makes the expression about how the two subjects get along. Use sich in this expression when describing the relationship between plural subjects.
spielen
Spielen means “play” in Sie spielen jeden Tag zusammen. It is the form used with the plural subject sie. Use it when talking about a child, animal, or group taking part in play.
jeden
Jeden means “every” in jeden Tag. It shows that the activity happens on each day, not only once. Use jeden before Tag in the common time expression jeden Tag when describing a daily routine.
Tag
Tag means “day” in jeden Tag, which means “every day.” It identifies the time period during which the child and dog play. Use Tag in time expressions when talking about a day or a repeated daily activity.
zusammen
Zusammen means “together” in Sie spielen jeden Tag zusammen. It shows that the child and dog play with one another. Use zusammen when describing an activity shared by two or more people or animals.
Grammar Points
Es gibt + Akkusativ
Es gibt ein Haustier.
ess gipt ine HOWS-teer.There is a pet.
German uses es gibt to say that something exists; the thing after it is in the accusative.
sich verstehen
Sie verstehen sich.
zee fair-SHTAY-un zikh.They get along.
Sich is a reflexive pronoun and is part of the phrase meaning that people get along.
German Vocabulary
auch
adv
owkh
also; too
Familie
noun
fa-MEE-lee-uh
family
geben
verb
GAY-bun
to give; there is/are in the phrase „es gibt“
Gibt es
haben
verb
HAH-bun
to have
Haustier
noun
HOWS-teer
pet
Hund
noun
hoont
dog
Kind
noun
kint
child
klein
adj
kline
small
kleinen
leben
verb
LAY-bun
to live
Lebst
mit
prep
mit
with
sich verstehen
phrase
zikh fair-SHTAY-un
to get along
verstehen sie sich
zu Hause
phrase
tsoo HOW-zuh
at home
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Do you live with family?
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Lebst du mit deiner Familie?I live with my child.
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Ich lebe mit meinem Kind.We have a small dog.
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Wir haben einen kleinen Hund.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
to have
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habenalso; too
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auchfamily
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Familieto live