About This Lesson
Use Learning Guitar to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Ich habe vor Kurzem angefangen, Gitarre zu lernen.
ikh HAH-buh fohr KOORTS-um AHN-guh-fahng-en, gee-TAH-ruh tsoo LAIR-nen. I recently started learning guitar.
B
Nimmst du Unterricht?
nimst doo OON-ter-rikht? Are you taking lessons?
A
Ich nehme nach der Arbeit Online-Unterricht.
ikh NAY-muh nahkh dair AR-bite ON-line OON-ter-rikht. I'm taking online lessons after work.
B
Ist es für Anfänger schwierig?
ist ess fyoor AHN-feng-er SHVEE-rikh? Is it difficult for a beginner?
A
Der Rhythmus ist schwierig, aber ich mache es gern.
dair RIT-moos ist SHVEE-rikh, AH-ber ikh MAKH-uh ess gairn. The rhythm is hard, but I enjoy it.
B
Wie oft übst du?
vee oft OOBST doo? How often do you practice?
A
Ich übe am Abend, wenn mein Zimmer ruhig ist.
ikh OO-buh ahm AH-bent, ven mine TSIM-er ROO-ikh ist. I practice in the evening when my room is quiet.
B
Eine feste Zeit sollte dir helfen, besser zu werden.
EYE-nuh FES-tuh tsight SOLL-tuh deer HEL-fen, BES-er tsoo VAIR-den. A regular time should help you improve.Word by Word
Ich
“Ich” means “I” and refers to the person speaking. It is used as the subject in “Ich habe vor Kurzem angefangen” and “Ich nehme nach der Arbeit Online-Unterricht.” A new example is “Ich spiele Gitarre.”
habe
In “Ich habe vor Kurzem angefangen”, “habe” contributes the meaning “have” and helps express that the speaker has started something. This is the first-person form of haben used with “angefangen”; a reusable pattern is “Ich habe ... angefangen.”
vor
In “vor Kurzem”, “vor” contributes the idea of time before now, so the whole expression means “recently”. This expression is useful when describing something that began a short time ago, such as “vor Kurzem angefangen.”
Kurzem
In the expression “vor Kurzem”, “Kurzem” helps express that something happened recently. The capitalized form appears because it is used as part of this fixed time expression. A reusable pattern is “vor Kurzem + verb.”
angefangen
“Angefangen” means “started” in “Ich habe vor Kurzem angefangen, Gitarre zu lernen.” It is used after “habe” and is followed by the activity with “zu”, so a reusable pattern is “Ich habe angefangen, ... zu ...”.
Gitarre
“Gitarre” means “guitar”, the instrument the speaker has started learning. In “Gitarre zu lernen”, it names the activity being learned. A new example is “Ich spiele Gitarre.”
zu
In “Gitarre zu lernen”, “zu” marks “lernen” as the activity connected to “angefangen”. It belongs to the pattern “anfangen, ... zu ...”, so the object or activity comes before “zu lernen.”
lernen
“Lernen” means “to learn” in “Gitarre zu lernen”. It names the activity that the speaker has started, and it follows “zu” in this construction. A new example is “Ich möchte Deutsch lernen.”
Nimmst
“Nimmst” means “take” in the question “Nimmst du Unterricht?” and asks whether someone attends lessons. It is the form used with “du” and commonly appears with “Unterricht” in this meaning. A new example is “Nimmst du Gitarrenunterricht?”
du
“Du” means “you” when addressing one person directly. In “Nimmst du Unterricht?” it is the person being asked about taking lessons. A new example is “Übst du jeden Abend?”
Unterricht
“Unterricht” means lessons or instruction in “Nimmst du Unterricht?” and “Online-Unterricht”. It is used with nehmen in the pattern “Unterricht nehmen”, meaning to take lessons. A new example is “Ich nehme Deutschunterricht.”
nehme
“Nehme” means “take” in “Ich nehme nach der Arbeit Online-Unterricht.” It is the first-person form used with “Ich” and combines with “Unterricht” in the reusable pattern “Ich nehme ... Unterricht.”
nach
“Nach” means “after” in “nach der Arbeit”, showing when the online lessons take place. It commonly introduces the time or event that follows, as in the reusable pattern “nach + time or event.”
der
In “nach der Arbeit”, “der” means “the” and accompanies “Arbeit” in the phrase for “after work”. The complete time expression is “nach der Arbeit”, which can be reused before an activity or event.
Arbeit
“Arbeit” means “work” in “nach der Arbeit”. Together with “nach der”, it identifies the time after work, and the reusable expression is “nach der Arbeit + verb.”
Online-Unterricht
“Online-Unterricht” means online lessons or instruction in “Ich nehme nach der Arbeit Online-Unterricht.” It is the type of Unterricht the speaker takes, so it can be reused after “nehmen”, as in “Ich nehme Online-Unterricht.”
Ist
“Ist” means “is” in the question “Ist es für Anfänger schwierig?” It appears at the beginning because the sentence asks whether something is difficult. A new example is “Ist es schwierig?”
es
“Es” means “it” in “Ist es für Anfänger schwierig?” and refers generally to learning the instrument in the conversation. It is used as the subject with “ist” in the pattern “Ist es ...?”
für
“Für” means “for” in “für Anfänger”, identifying the people for whom the activity may be difficult. It commonly introduces the intended person or group, as in the reusable pattern “schwierig für ...”.
Anfänger
“Anfänger” refers to beginners or people new to an activity in “für Anfänger”. It identifies the learners being considered in the question. A new example is “Der Kurs ist für Anfänger.”
schwierig
“Schwierig” means difficult or hard in “Ist es für Anfänger schwierig?” and describes the level of difficulty. It can be reused with “für” to identify who finds something difficult, as in “Das ist schwierig für Anfänger.”
Rhythmus
“Rhythmus” means rhythm in “Der Rhythmus ist schwierig”. It identifies the musical element that the speaker finds hard. A new example is “Der Rhythmus ist schnell.”
aber
“Aber” means “but” and connects the difficulty of the rhythm with the speaker’s enjoyment in “Der Rhythmus ist schwierig, aber ich mache es gern.” It introduces a contrast between two statements. A new example is “Es ist schwierig, aber ich übe weiter.”
mache
In “ich mache es gern”, “mache” means “do” and refers to the activity already being discussed. The whole expression “ich mache es gern” means that the speaker enjoys doing it; a reusable pattern is “Ich mache es gern.”
gern
“Gern” means gladly or with enjoyment in “ich mache es gern”. Together with the verb phrase “mache es”, it shows that the speaker likes doing the activity. It can also follow another activity verb, as in the new example “Ich übe gern.”
Wie
“Wie” means “how” in “Wie oft übst du?” and begins a question about frequency. It combines with “oft” in the reusable question pattern “Wie oft ...?”
oft
“Oft” means often or frequently in “Wie oft übst du?” and asks how regularly the practice happens. The combination “Wie oft” is used to ask about frequency before the subject and verb.
übst
“Übst” means “practice” in “Wie oft übst du?” and refers to practicing the guitar. It is the form used with “du”; a reusable pattern is “Wie oft übst du?”
am
In “am Abend”, “am” contributes the meaning “in the” for a time of day. It is commonly used before a part of the day, as in the reusable expression “am Abend + verb.”
Abend
“Abend” means “evening” in “am Abend”. Together with “am”, it specifies when the speaker practices. A new example is “Am Abend lese ich.”
wenn
“Wenn” means “when” in “wenn mein Zimmer ruhig ist” and introduces the condition or time connected with the practice. It links the main activity to a situation, as in “Ich übe, wenn ...”.
mein
“Mein” means “my” in “mein Zimmer” and shows that the room belongs to or is associated with the speaker. It is placed directly before “Zimmer” in the reusable pattern “mein + noun.”
Zimmer
“Zimmer” means “room” in “mein Zimmer”. It identifies the place that is quiet while the speaker practices. A new example is “Mein Zimmer ist klein.”
ruhig
“Ruhig” means quiet in “mein Zimmer ruhig ist”. It describes the room as having little noise, which is the situation in which the speaker practices. A new example is “Das Zimmer ist ruhig.”
Eine
“Eine” means “a” or “one” at the beginning of “Eine feste Zeit”. It introduces one regular time as the suggested practice routine. A reusable pattern is “Eine + adjective + noun.”
feste
“Feste” means fixed or regular in “Eine feste Zeit”. It describes a time that is kept consistently for practice. A new example is “Eine feste Routine hilft.”
Zeit
“Zeit” means time in “Eine feste Zeit”. Here it refers to a regular time set aside for practicing. A reusable pattern is “Zeit für + activity or noun.”
sollte
“Sollte” means “should” in “Eine feste Zeit sollte dir helfen” and presents the regular time as a helpful suggestion or expectation. It is followed by “helfen” in the pattern “sollte ... helfen.”
dir
“Dir” means “to you” in “sollte dir helfen” and identifies the person who benefits from the help. It is used with “helfen” in the reusable pattern “jemandem helfen”, such as “Das hilft dir.”
helfen
“Helfen” means “help” in “sollte dir helfen, besser zu werden”. It is followed by “dir” for the person receiving help and by the activity or result connected with “zu werden.”
besser
“Besser” means better in “besser zu werden” and describes the improvement the learner is expected to make. It is used with “werden” in the reusable pattern “besser werden”, meaning to improve.
werden
“Werden” means “become” or “get” in “besser zu werden”, describing the process of improving. It follows “zu” because it is the result connected with “helfen”; a new example is “Ich möchte besser werden.”
Grammar Points
wenn + Verb am Ende
Wenn du oft übst, wird der Rhythmus besser.
ven doo oft OOBST, veert dair RIT-moos BES-er.When you practice often, the rhythm gets better.
In a wenn-clause, the conjugated verb usually comes at the end: wenn du oft übst.
gern + Verb
Ich übe gern.
ikh OO-buh gairn.I enjoy practicing.
Gern comes after the conjugated verb and expresses that you enjoy doing something.
German Vocabulary
anfangen
verb
AHN-fahng-en
to start
angefangen
Ich habe vor Kurzem angefangen.
Anfänger
noun
AHN-feng-er
beginner
für Anfänger
Arbeit
noun
AR-bite
work
nach der Arbeit
Gitarre
noun
gee-TAH-ruh
guitar
Gitarre zu lernen
lernen
verb
LAIR-nen
to learn
Gitarre zu lernen
nach
prep
nahkh
after
nach der Arbeit
nehmen
verb
NAY-men
to take
Nimmst
Nimmst du Unterricht?
Online-Unterricht
noun
ON-line OON-ter-rikht
online lessons
Ich nehme nach der Arbeit Online-Unterricht.
Rhythmus
noun
RIT-moos
rhythm
Der Rhythmus ist schwierig.
schwierig
adj
SHVEE-rikh
difficult
Ist es für Anfänger schwierig?
Unterricht
noun
OON-ter-rikht
lessons; instruction
Nimmst du Unterricht?
vor Kurzem
adv
fohr KOORTS-um
recently
Ich habe vor Kurzem angefangen.
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Are you taking lessons?
Show Answer
Nimmst du Unterricht?I'm taking online lessons after work.
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Ich nehme nach der Arbeit Online-Unterricht.Is it difficult for a beginner?
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Ist es für Anfänger schwierig?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
guitar
Show Answer
Gitarreafter
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nachto take
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Nimmstlessons; instruction