St. Amelie for a conversation about the best season for traveling in Germany.
At first you may think that summertime is the answer, but don't be so sure.
Then wait until summer comes.
When you travel in summer, the moon flowers bloom.
Only the moon flowers bloom?
Then wait until autumn comes.
When you travel in autumn, the leaves fall.
Only falling leaves?
Then wait until winter comes.
Winter?
Yes, when you travel in winter, the snow falls.
Only snow?
I have an idea.
Now you have everything.
This is my apartment, Amelie.
Can I close the door?
That's not necessary. The door will be closed.
Something like that?
May I close the windows?
That's not necessary. The windows will be closed.
Something like that?
I'll make coffee.
That's not necessary. Robby will bring the coffee.
Robby will bring the coffee?
Something like that?
Don't you want to drink your coffee?
Do I have to drink it? I think he'll get drunk.
I'm sorry, Amelie, but you have to drink it yourself.
Let's begin the pronunciation segment with another hiking song from Germany.
I'm sure you'll recognize the tune.
Here are the original lyrics.
My father was a hiker.
And it's in my blood.
That's why I'm hiking as long as I can.
And I wave my hat.
Hiking always creates fresh air.
It keeps the heart healthy.
My chest is breathing freely outside.
My mouth is singing happily.
That's why I carry the rope and the staff
far into the world.
And I will be a hiker
forever.
My father was a hiker.
And it's in my blood.
That's why I'm hiking as long as I can.
And I wave my hat.
And I wave my hat.
Hiking always creates fresh air.
It keeps the heart healthy.
My chest is breathing freely outside.
My mouth is singing happily.
That's why I'm hiking as long as I can.
Hiking always creates fresh air.
It keeps the heart healthy.
My chest is breathing freely outside.
My mouth is singing happily.
That's why I carry the rope and the staff
far into the world.
And I will be a hiker
forever.
That's why I'm hiking as long as I can.
Hiking always creates fresh air.
It keeps the heart healthy.
My chest is breathing freely outside.
My mouth is singing happily.
That's why I'm hiking as long as I can.
Hiking always creates fresh air.
That's why I'm hiking as long as I can.
Hiking always creates fresh air.
I want to travel.
To pronounce the short German O,
say the English word get
and then round your lips as if you were going to whistle.
Get, God, want.
Get, God, I want to travel.
Get, God, I want to travel.
Then wait until it is summer.
Then wait until it is summer.
The German A is like the sound
R in father.
Father, warten.
Father, dann warten sie bis es
Sommer ist.
Then just wait until it is winter.
Dann warten sie doch bis es Winter ist.
The German W is pronounced like
the V in the English word very.
Very, warten.
Very, Winter.
Very, dann warten sie doch
bis es Winter ist.
Ich möchte reisen.
Und wohin? Wo es schön ist.
Und wann?
Wenn es schön ist.
Vielleicht im Frühling.
Wenn sie im Frühling reisen,
blühen die Bäume.
Nur blühende Bäume?
Dann warten sie bis es Sommer ist.
Wenn sie im Sommer reisen,
blühen die Mondblumen.
Nur blühende Mondblumen?
Dann warten sie doch bis es Herbst ist.
Wenn sie im Herbst reisen,
fallen die Blätter.
Nur fallende Blätter?
Dann warten sie doch
bis es Winter ist.
Winter?
Ja, wenn sie im Winter reisen,
fällt der Schnee.
Ich habe eine Idee.
Jetzt haben sie alles.
The door is being closed.
Die Tür wird zugemacht.
The German Z is pronounced
like the English word pizza.
Pizza, zugemacht.
Pizza, die Tür wird zugemacht.
The coffee is being
brought by Robi.
Der Kaffee wird von Robi gebracht.
The German R following a consonant
as in the word gebracht
is slightly rolled.
Say a-ka first.
Then don't let your throat close completely on the K
and say a-cha.
Finally, keep your vocal cords buzzing
and say a-cha, a-cha, a-ra.
Gebracht.
A-ka, a-cha, a-ra.
Der Kaffee wird von Robi gebracht.
Das ist meine Wohnung, Amelie.
Aha.
Kann ich die Tür zumachen?
Das ist nicht nötig. Die Tür wird zugemacht.
Na so was.
Darf ich die Fenster schließen?
Das ist nicht nötig. Die Fenster werden geschlossen.
Na so was.
Ich koche Kaffee.
Das ist nicht nötig.
Der Kaffee wird von Robi gebracht.
Der wird von Robi gebracht?
Na so was.
Willst du deinen Kaffee nicht trinken?
Muss ich denn trinken? Ich denke, er wird getrunken.
Tut mir leid, Amelie, aber trinken
musst du ihn selbst.
At a time when so much information
is available to us, we need to be alert
that we don't end up merely sorting
and shuffling information.
One key to a healthy life is meaningfully
engaging your mind in worthwhile activities.
And one of the most rewarding activities
you can choose is learning a second language.
It does not matter how much time you can
afford to devote to it. Every little bit
of advancement. And forget about the old
inhibitions and prejudices. It is not true
that Europeans are more likely to study
another language because they live so
close to each other and have many more
opportunities than Americans to visit the
country whose language they are studying.
In fact, most Germans today study English,
yet only a few of them ever set foot on
it. The second language is a worthy goal
in its own way to eventually get first-hand
experience, no matter how far away you are.
In the last episode, you learned that the
subjunctive is the verb mood used to
express conditions and actions that are
hypothetical or imaginary, in other words,
unreal or contrary to fact.
The sample sentence used to illustrate the
contrary to fact clause was, if we had a
factory, then I could work here.
By using the subjunctive, the speaker makes
known that having a factory is just
hypothetical. In fact, the speaker implies
that the city does not have a factory and
therefore she cannot work here.
Until the subjunctive came up, all of the
sentences you heard in the earlier episodes
were in what is called the indicative mood.
Unlike the subjunctive or unreal mood, the
indicative mood is used to indicate a verb
action that really happens or is likely to
happen. In today's first scene, Max uses the
indicative mood to indicate a verb action
that really happens or is likely to happen.
In today's first scene, Max uses the
indicative, the real mood, when he says,
If you travel in spring, the trees will
bloom. Wenn sie im Frühling reisen,
blühen die Bäume.
As you can see from this sentence, the
indicative states a real possibility,
Wenn sie im Frühling reisen, blühen die Bäume.
Now let's take a closer look at the
structure of this sentence. If or then is
a subordinating conjunction leading into
a subordinate clause, which requires that
its verb to travel or reisen be last
within the clause object. In spring or
im Frühling is a prepositional phrase.
Im, you learned earlier, is used with
seasons and is a contraction of in and
the dative article dem. When you begin a
sentence with a subordinate clause, the
main clause follows after a comma and the
basic rule kicks in. And in this case,
that means that if you start the sentence
with a subordinate clause rather than
with a subject, then you have to invert
subject and verb in the main clause
because as you already know, the verb is
never third. So first comes the
subordinate clause, a complete phrase in
itself. Wenn sie im Frühling reisen,
followed by the verb bloom or blühen in
second place. And then comes the subject
of the main clause, the trees die Bäume.
When Amelie responds, just blooming trees,
nur blühende Bäume, she uses the
present participle blooming as an
adjective. Please note that in German you
form the present participle by adding a
D to the infinitive of the verb to arrive
at blühend. And since the plural article
D is not used in front of the adjective
blühend, its E ending must be added to
this new adjective, blühende Bäume.
Wenn sie im Frühling reisen, blühen die Bäume.
Nur blühende Bäume? In a second scene,
Max shows Amelie his apartment and informs
her, das ist meine Wohnung. And Amelie
responds, can I close the door? Kann ich
die Tür zu machen? Up to this point all of
the sentences you've learned, including
these, have been in what is called the
active voice. Active means that the
subject of a sentence is performing an
action and therefore the verb is in the
active voice. Kann ich die Tür zu
machen? Now look at Max's next statement,
which is in the passive voice. The door
is being closed. Die Tür wird
zugemacht. You can see that in a passive
sentence the subject does not perform an
action, rather something is being done
closed. In English the passive consists
of a form of to be and the past
participle. German uses a form of werden
instead of to be, together with a past
participle, which itself is always at the
end of the sentence. Die Tür wird
zugemacht. Kann ich die Tür zu
machen? Das ist nicht nötig, die Tür
wird zugemacht. Let's look at one more
example of the passive voice. When Max
informs Amelie that the coffee is being
brought, he again uses the passive form,
which makes the subject, here the coffee,
the receiver of the action. Der Kaffee
wird gebracht. And this time he adds the
performer of the action, Robi, who is
introduced by the word by or von. The
performer is called the agent and is
placed before the past participle, the
past participle of course being last in
the sentence. Der Kaffee wird von Robi
gebracht. Der Kaffee wird von Robi
gebracht. You've probably been to the
theater and maybe you've even seen many
first-rate performances, but I bet
you've never gone to the opera with a
friend or spouse with just one ticket
for the two of you. Is this common in
Europe? Well, watch and see how Julian
and Franziska manage with only one seat.
Why are you always so pessimistic?
Please pay. Yes, just a moment.
Listen, Franziska, we want to see
Daphne tonight and we will see
Daphne. Shall we bet?
Yes, good. I bet we won't see her.
One bottle of champagne?
Understood.
Sold out. One bottle of champagne,
Julian, you've lost the bet. It's
actually a shame, now we've
moved in so nicely.
I haven't lost the bet yet.
Unfortunately, I only have one card.
Great, we'll take it.
Please. Thank you very much.
For you. But no, you take the card.
You want to see Daphne. I could
go to the cinema and we could meet
and drink your bottle of champagne.
My bottle? You've lost the bet.
I said we would see Daphne and
here's your card. And you?
I'll see her. After the show
we'll meet in the theater canteen.
Where? Where's the theater canteen?
You'll find it.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
It's now twenty minutes before
the show starts.
Julian. Hello, Günther.
You must do me a favor.
Julian.
What are you saying?
You look strange.
I look strange?
I haven't dressed up
so that you can admire me
as a demon.
I admire you very much.
You never give up.
Cheers.
Thank you. That was a nice evening.
What shall we do tomorrow evening?
We could go to the theater.
Earlier you were introduced to the
subjunctive auxiliary verb
would or würden in polite requests
paired with another verb at the end
of the sentence.
You also learned that
würden combines with haben
and sein to form
the one word subjunctive forms
hätten and wären
respectively.
The same kind of combination happens
when the modal auxiliary können
is used with würden
merging into a one word
subjunctive könnten.
Listen carefully to
Franziska when she employs
the subjunctive form könnten
suggesting to Julian
I could go to the movies.
I could go to the cinema
and we could meet there.
As you can see,
Franziska is just speculating
hypothetically suggesting
that she go to the movies
thus leaving the one theater ticket
they were able to get for Julian's use.
She continues to employ
the subjunctive mood
when she speculates
and we could meet afterwards
and drink your bottle of champagne.
Und wir könnten uns danach treffen
und deine Flasche Sekt trinken.
She is implying
that Julian will have lost
their bet.
But you know by now
that Julian had already made sure
that Franziska would be able to attend
the theater performance.
Before you listen to Franziska
one more time, let me say
Auf Wiedersehen.
I know that the subjunctive and
the negative as well as the passive
and active voices are somewhat
difficult concepts to grasp.
But your step by step study
materials will assist you
in mastering them.
I could go to the cinema
and we could meet afterwards
and drink your bottle of champagne.
In November the 7th, 1835
the first German train
the Adler sets out from the city
of Nuremberg for the town of Furt.
Soon models
of this very first train
were on sale in the city.
Not so perfect as the ones
you see here.
They were made of wood, cardboard
and cheap tinplate.
Still model railway had arrived.
Nuremberg today, the center
of the German toy industry.
It still has three big
model railway factories.
The city was already well known
for its toys before the first train
ran here. So a toy train
was only to be expected.
There's only one other major
manufacturer outside Nuremberg
in Göppingen near Stuttgart.
This was their first driven by clockwork.
20 years
later this model came out.
To be followed
in 1930 by this one.
Their most famous item
around this time was the so called
crocodile. It was in the catalog
for more than 40 years.
But safe or not
you could hardly call
a system like this a toy.
It's the real thing
in miniature. You can hardly tell
the difference. And this
is what's made German model railways
famous throughout the world.
Their unparalleled attention to detail.
Absolute
precision from a combination of
highly skilled craftsmen
and the latest machine tools.
The tiny axles
screws and springs
weigh only a fraction of a gram each.
And while we're on
the subject of precision
just look at this.
No, not this splendid though it is.
But this
the smallest model railway in the world
the Mini Club. Its gauge
is only 6.5 millimetres.
The whole thing's on a scale of
220 to 1.
And it's light in weight too.
And
just for the sake of completeness
here's the other end of the range. Gauge
one. It's too big for most
drawing rooms or attics.
But
whatever size you decide on
the idea of playing with exact
replicas of real trains
and all the things that belong to a railway
is clearly attractive to
many people. And not just
children.