Learn German via English: Key Grammar for Beginner (Lesson 2)

我的中文版德语笔记：新编大学德语1、柏林广场A1

专栏前言

[0. Preface](#0. Preface)

[1. Nominative Personal Pronouns](#1. Nominative Personal Pronouns)

[2. Present Tense Verb Conjugation](#2. Present Tense Verb Conjugation)

[Regular Verbs (e.g., arbeiten = to work)](#Regular Verbs (e.g., arbeiten = to work))

[Irregular Verbs (Common Examples)](#Irregular Verbs (Common Examples))

[3. Nominative Possessive Adjectives](#3. Nominative Possessive Adjectives)

[4. Sentence Structure (Verb in 2nd Position)](#4. Sentence Structure (Verb in 2nd Position))

[5. Common Question Words](#5. Common Question Words)

专栏前言

考虑到我已经写了2个专栏的中文版德语学习笔记，这个教材的笔记就打算用英文来写，毕竟对于英语基础好的人，用英语学德语效率会更高.

第一课是发音，这里省略，从第二课开始

0. Preface

If you're starting German and prefer learning with English explanations, this post breaks down core Lesson 2 grammar --- personal pronouns, verb conjugation, possessives, and sentence structure.

1. Nominative Personal Pronouns

These pronouns act as subjects or predicates in sentences. Use wer (who) for questions about the subject.

Person	Singular	Plural	English Meaning
1st	ich	wir	I / we
2nd (informal)	du	ihr	you (sing./pl.)
2nd (formal)	Sie	Sie	you (polite)
3rd	er/sie/es	sie	he/she/it / they

2. Present Tense Verb Conjugation

Most verbs follow this stem + ending rule (irregular verbs like sein /wissen have unique forms):

Regular Verbs (e.g., arbeiten = to work)

Person	Ending	Example (arbeiten)
ich	-e	ich arbeite
du	-st	du arbeitest
er/sie/es	-t	er arbeitet
wir/sie/Sie	-en	wir arbeiten
ihr	-t	ihr arbeitet

Note: If the verb stem ends in t/d/ffn/chn/gn , add e before -t/ -st* (e.g., öffnen → du öffnest).*

Irregular Verbs (Common Examples)

Verb	English	ich	du	er/sie/es	wir/sie/Sie	ihr
sein	to be	bin	bist	ist	sind	seid
wissen	to know	weiß	weißt	weiß	wissen	wisst
werden	to become	werde	wirst	wird	werden	werdet

3. Nominative Possessive Adjectives

These describe "who something belongs to." They agree with the gender/number of the noun (add e for feminine/plural):

Person	Singular	Plural	English Meaning
ich	mein	unser	my / our
du	dein	euer (→ eure)	your (sing./pl.)
er/sie/es	sein/ihr/sein	ihr	his/her/its / their
Sie	Ihr	Ihr	your (polite)

4. Sentence Structure (Verb in 2nd Position)

German sentences follow V2 word order (verb is always the 2nd element):

Statement : Subject + Verb + ... (e.g., Horst liest. = Horst reads.)
Inverted Statement (emphasize something): Emphasized word + Verb + Subject + ... (e.g., Im Koffer sind Bücher. = In the bag are books.)
Question : Verb + Subject + ... (e.g., Liest Horst? = Does Horst read?)

5. Common Question Words

Use these to form questions (pair with V2 order):

German Word	English	Example Sentence
wer	who	Wer liest? (Who is reading?)
was	what	Was machst du? (What are you doing?)
wann	when	Wann kommst du? (When are you coming?)
wie	how	Wie geht es dir? (How are you?)
wo	where	Wo bist du? (Where are you?)
woher	where from	Woher kommst du? (Where are you from?)
wohin	where to	Wohin fliegst du? (Where are you flying to?)