German for English speakers Bakery · Lesson 1

Drinking

Discuss drinks in German — Trinkst du heißen oder kalten Tee? (Do you drink hot or cold tea?) — with the verb trinken and adjective endings.

Conversation

  1. Yaya Yaya

    Trinkst du deinen Tee warm oder kalt?

    Do you drink hot or cold tea?

    Tip: <Trinkst du deinen ..> = It is important that all pronouns agree in politness, e.g., du" and "dein".

  2. Magicat Magicat

    Normalerweise warm.

    Usually hot.

  3. Yaya Yaya

    Vor oder nach dem Frühstück?

    Before or after lunch?

    Tip: <vor> = means "before" in a temporal sense, but only in when connecting two nouns. It can never be used to join two sentences.

  4. Magicat Magicat

    Normalerweise trinke ich den Tee nach dem Frühstück, aber manchmal auch davor.

    Usually after lunch, but sometimes before it too.

    Tip: If an adverb comes at the beginning of a sentence, then the verb must follow in the second position.

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How do German adjective endings work?

Adjectives change based on case, gender, and article. Heißen Tee (accusative masc): -en ending. A core grammar point in German.

How do you say 'usually' in German?

Normalerweise or meistens — both common for habitual statements. Meistens warm = 'usually warm'.

Common German drinks?

Der Tee (tea), der Kaffee (coffee), das Wasser (water), das Bier (beer), der Wein (wine), die Milch (milk), der Saft (juice).

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