German for English speakers Bakery · Lesson 0

Eating

German for eating habits — Isst du Gemüse zum Mittagessen? (Do you eat vegetables for lunch?) — with the verb essen and the negative nie (never).

Conversation

  1. Yaya Yaya

    Isst du Gemüse zum Mittagessen und Abendessen?

    Do you eat vegetables for lunch and dinner?

    Tip: <isst> = is an irregular conjugation of "essen" <zum Mittagessen> = lit. to the midday food <Abendessen> = lit. evening food

  2. Magicat Magicat

    NEIN! Ich bin eine Katze und esse nie Gemüse.

    NO! I am a cat. I never have vegetables.

    Tip: <nicht> = Just like with <nicht>, <nie> is also used to negate a sentence.

  3. Yaya Yaya

    Was isst du dann?

    What do you eat then?

    Tip: <isst du> = lit. eat you - verb and subject are inverted in order to create a question sentence. There are no helping verbs in this case.

  4. Magicat Magicat

    Ich esse Fleisch oder Fisch in der Mensa der Universität.

    I buy meat or fish at the university canteen.

    Tip: <Ich esse Fleisch oder Fisch> = if two nouns share the same verb, then you do not need to repeat the verb twice.

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How do you say 'do you eat ...?' in German?

Isst du ...? — du-form of essen (to eat). For Sie (formal): Essen Sie ...? Note: essen has a vowel change (e → i).

What does nie mean?

'Never'. Ich esse nie Gemüse = 'I never eat vegetables'. Adverbs of frequency: nie, selten (rarely), manchmal (sometimes), oft (often), immer (always).

Lunch and dinner in German?

Das Mittagessen (lunch, literally 'midday meal'), das Abendessen (dinner, literally 'evening meal'), das Frühstück (breakfast).

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