German Alphabet and Grammar | Top Tips

Achieving a good level of German may not be easy but it is definitely possible! In our video we answer all your learning German questions, such as: "How long does it take to learn German?", "How many words do you need to be fluent in German?" and even "What is the best way to learn German?".

German Grammar

Is German grammar hard?

Some people regard German as a difficult language to learn because of the grammar. The complexity of the German linguistic 'cases' (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive) is a big reason for this perception. However, with the right study methods, you can learn these in a simple way. One helpful tip is to create a table, or chart, of the cases with different pronouns, like “his”: sein, seinen, seinem, seines.

German grammar rules are highly logical, and to a great extent, they can be mastered with a combination of repetitive learning and speaking practice.

Why does German have genders?

In contrast to English, all German nouns are given one of three genders. Nouns can be masculine, feminine, or neutral. Why? Historically, it seems gendered languages were developed to make communication more clear when it came to differentiating between different nouns mentioned close together - it is a way of classing nouns to make it more obvious which is being referred to.

If you use a noun without its gender, you won’t be using it correctly, so when you use a noun in a sentence, its gender identity has to precede it in some form. This may seem daunting at first if you only speak non-gendered languages such as English, but as long as you make a habit of learning the gender along with every noun you memorize, it’ll be straightforward.

Easy German

Function of German Umlauts

What do Umlauts do?

Umlauts are used to change the pronunciation of vowels in the German alphabet. They are essentially a blend of two vowels, so they simplify the pronunciation and appearance of two vowels that are directly adjacent in a word into one spoken phonetic sound and written character.

More specifically, Umlauts are used to inject variety into the German vocabulary, making words more clearly distinct from one another.

For example, grammatically, Umlauts are often used in German to distinguish singular from plural nouns, such as ‘Apfel’ and ‘Äpfel’ (‘apple’ and ‘apples’) or ‘Laden’ and ‘Läden’ (‘shop’ and ‘shops’).

Umlauts are sometimes used to indicate second/third person conjugations of German verbs. The word ‘fangen’ or ‘to catch’ has the present tense forms of ich fange (I catch), du fängst (you catch), and er fängt (he catches).

In German, strong verbs most often take an Umlaut when expressed in the subjunctive or hypothetical linguistic moods – so in ‘would’ phrases.

• haben – hatte – hätte (have – had – would have)
• Ich hätte Zeit… (I would have time)
• sein – war – wäre (be – was – would be)
• Das wäre cool (that would be cool)
• mögen – mochte – möchte (like – liked – would like)
• Ich möchte gerne einen Schwarzen Kaffee (I would like a black coffee – you might want to remember this one!)

Why are Umlauts important?

As we have learned from the above, using (writing and pronouncing) the German Umlauts correctly is essential to speaking the German language clearly and conveying the correct information to the listener.

How can I type German Umlauts?

To enter characters with Umlauts while typing on a German computer keyboard, you can simply type the umlauted form of the vowels a, o, or u that you will find right there on the keyboard - easy. (You’ll also find a key for the German character ß.)

When using Windows, you must ensure that Num Lock is enabled and then hold down the Alt key while entering the correct codes for each umlauted letter. The codes are:

For uppercase letters with an Umlaut:

• Ä: Alt + 0196
• Ö: Alt + 0214
• Ü: Alt + 0220

For lowercase letters with an Umlaut:

• ä: Alt + 0228
• ö: Alt + 0246
• ü: Alt + 0252

When using a Mac, you can type the umlauted vowels by pressing the Option key while pressing the letter you wish to add an Umlaut to; it may show you a pop-up window with various diacritic options. Some Macs work so that you must hold down the option key while pressing the letter you wish to umlaut, then release both the Option key and the letter before pressing the letter again, and the umlauted version will appear.

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