Practice Makes Perfect: German Conversation

By Ed Swick

Practice the art of conversation in German!

Want to strike up a conversation with a native German speaker but are nervous that you're not ready? Practice Makes Perfect: German Conversation helps you overcome that obstacle, and—before you know it--you'll be speaking comfortably in your new language.

Inside you will find realistic conversational situations, from meeting people to talking about sports to discussing current events to just having fun. With these engaging dialogues as a starting point, each unit is packed with helpful instruction on correct grammar and word usage—in addition to lots of conversation-ready phrases that will be indispensable as your fluency increases.

Of course you'll get plenty of practice, practice, practice using your new conversational skills. Each dialogue is followed by a variety of exercises that not only give you the opportunity to put new concepts into action but also encourage you to construct personalized conversations. These lessons will reassure even the most hesitant speakers that they too can achieve a confident--and spontaneous--speaking style.

Practice Makes Perfect: German Conversation will help you

• Talk more like a native speaker and expand your vocabulary
• Master everyday German expressions through numerous realistic examples
• Reinforce your new conversational skills through extensive exercises

Before you know it, you'll be confidently speaking German with your German-speaking friends--or you'll be ready to make new ones!

• Language: English
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
• Release date: Aug 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9780071770927

Book preview

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Contents

Acknowledgment

Introduction

1 Greetings and introductions

Conversation: In der Hauptstraße (On Main Street)

Conversation: An der Ecke (On the corner)

2 Family

Conversation: Die Geburtstagsfeier (The birthday party)

3 Asking questions

Conversation: Was machst du? (What are you doing?)

Conversation: Die Geschäftsreise (The business trip)

4 Around the city

Conversation: Am Hauptbahnhof (At the main railroad station)

Conversation: Der Briefträger (The mail carrier)

5 Dining out

Conversation: Zum schwarzen Adler (The Black Eagle Restaurant)

6 School

Conversation: An der Bushaltestelle (At the bus stop)

7 Entertainment

Conversation: Der Urlaub ist vorbei (Vacation is over)

Conversation: Am Abend (In the evening)

8 Shopping

Conversation: Im Einkaufszentrum (At the mall)

Conversation: Im Turnstudio (At the fitness club)

9 Travel

Conversation: Die Ferienreise (The vacation trip)

Conversation: In der Großstadt (In the big city)

10 On the job

Conversation: Auf der Arbeit (At work)

Conversation: Der Arbeitslose (The unemployed man)

11 Sports and hobbies

Conversation: Spielen wir Karten! (Let’s play cards!)

Conversation: Mein Hobby (My hobby)

Answer key

Acknowledgment

Many thanks to Stefan Feyen for his advice and keen eye for detail.

Introduction

In the Practice Makes Perfect series of German books, the books are designed around a specific grammatical or structural topic. This book, however, is designed to provide linguistic scenarios that reinforce conversational language. Grammar and vocabulary are of course used in all foreign-language books and therefore appear in this book as well. However, the main goal here is to develop conversational skills in German, not just to practice grammatical structures and vocabulary.

How to use this book

Each chapter begins with a dialogue on a topic that is the basis for the content of the chapter. The dialogues are relatively short and are written in natural language appropriate for intermediate readers. Following each dialogue is a series of questions that check for a basic understanding of the dialogue and competence with new, important conversational structures.

Although lists of words and phrases are provided, they are not composed of random words and phrases but rather of terms that are linked to the topic of the chapter. Then the words and phrases are introduced again, but this time in complete sentences appropriate for a conversation on the topic of the chapter.

Numerous exercises are provided to give detailed practice with the new words and phrases. Some of the exercises repeat an important grammatical concept and simultaneously use that concept as a vehicle for manipulation of the new conversational material. Other exercises check for comprehension or the ability to use new words in a useful phrase.

The reader should not forget that this book practices conversational German. Therefore, it is important that every German word and phrase be pronounced out loud. Conversations, in any language, are not merely silent thoughts in one’s head. They are spoken entities. When working with the introductory dialogues, say each line out loud, and you cannot say them smoothly, practice them until you can say them with ease. And, of course, always think about the meaning of each line. Readers have to know what they are talking about.

Read all the lists of words, phrases, and sentences out loud as well and, again, practice them until you can say them smoothly. Do the same for the exercises. Write down the answers to the exercises, but don’t stop there. Read the exercise aloud and then practice reading your answers aloud until you can say them easily and naturally.

At the end of the book there is an Answer key. Be sure to check your answers againt the Answer key before practicing saying them out loud.

German alphabet and pronunciation

German, like English and many other European languages, is written using the Latin alphabet. Use the following descriptions of German letters and their pronunciations to guide you through this book. When in doubt about how to pronounce a word, ask a German-speaking friend or consult a dictionary.

Special letters

An umlaut is two dots that can be placed over any of three vowels to alter their pronunciation. These vowels are Ää, Öö, and Üü. In addition, there is a special letter, called ess-tset, which is a combination of the earlier forms of s and z and looks like this: ß.

The vowel Ää is pronounced very much like the German Ee. The vowel Öö sounds something like the English sound er in the word her, but with