German, the Sexy Way (UNDER RECONSTRUCTION)

1.2: How old are you?

Sara from London and Ellen from Berlin are pen pals. One day, they manage to meet up with each other, having decided to let Sara visit Ellen in Germany first. Sara arrives at Ellen's door and they start chatting. 

Read the dialogue then follow the new grammar drill.

Ellen: Hi! Du bist Sara, richtig?

Sara: Richtig! Ich bin Sara. Sehr erfreut!

Ellen: Sehr erfreut. Komm bitte herein. 

Im Hause. 

Ellen: Möchtest du etwas zu trinken?

Sara: Ja, bitte! Ich möchte einen Apfelsaft. 

Ellen: Sicher! (Comes back with apple juice) Wie alt bist du, Sara?

Sara: 19 Jahre alt. Und du? 

Ellen: 20. 

Sara: Cool. 

Ellen: Hast du Tiere?

Sara: Nein, leider nicht. Du?

Ellen: Ja. Ich habe einen Hund! Er heißt Coco.

Sara: Hübsch!

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How was that? How much did you understand? Here is the direct translation:

Ellen: Hi! You're Sara, right?

Sara: Correct! I am Sara. Lovely to meet you!

Ellen: Nice to meet you, too. Do come in!

In the house. 

Ellen: Would you like something to drink?

Sara: Yes, please. I'd like an apple juice, please. 

Ellen: Of course! How old are you, Sara? 

Sara: I'm 19 years old. And you?

Ellen: 20. 

Sara: Cool. 

Ellen: Do you have any pets?

Sara: No, unfortunately not. How about you?

Ellen: I have got one dog! His name is Coco.

Sara: Cute!

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Grammar drill:

What is your name? Wie heißt du? (Informal) OR Wie heißen Sie? (formal)

My name is... Ich heiße... OR Mein Name ist...

In German, as you can see above, there is a certain way of asking someone's name, which literally means: how do you call yourself? 

The verb 'to call oneself' is heißen (High-ssen). All verbs end in 'en' or 'n' in the infinitive form, that is, when they are not conjugated. 

We will soon conjugate it, but let's learn our personal pronouns first.

 I-ich

You-du

You (formal)-Sie (zee) One 'S' is pronounced like an English 'z'. Since it's formal. the initial 'S' is always written in uppercase.

He-er (ay-er)

She-sie

It-es

We-wir (vee-yer)

You (plural, like saying: you lot!)-ihr (ear)

They-sie.

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So many Sie's! How to distinguish them? Look at two things:

1) The verb (each verb conjugates differently according the person). Like in English, when you add 's' to the third person singular: I eat, you eat BUT he eats.

2) If the 'sie' has a capital 'S' in the middle of the sentence, then you know it's the formal Sie, meaning 'You' referring to a teacher, police officer or anyone higher in status than you. Basically, it's used when you want to be polite.

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Asking questions & answering them:

How old are you? Wie alt bist du? (Inf) OR Wie alt sind Sie?(Fml)

I am...years old.-Ich bin...Jahre alt.

Would you like something to drink? Möchtest du etwas zu trinken?

Yes, please-Ja, bitte.

No, thanks-Nein, danke.

I'd like...-Ich möchte... (ich mur-ch-tuh)

Do you have any pets? Hast du Tiere? (Inf) OR Haben Sie Tiere? (Fml)

Yes, I have a dog-Ja, ich habe einen Hund.

No, unfortunately not-Nein, leider nicht.