An important aspect to consider when learning a language is that every word has its own specific grammatical ‘behavior’. Instead of learning general rules of grammar, look at the grammatical behavior of lexical elements in context, and don’t spend too much time trying to memorize words individually outside a context of use. Learning word lists rarely results in being able to use them. It mainly results in passive knowledge of word recognition. Instead, look at how words ‘behave’ in contexts of use. How do they fit in structurally? With which other words do they most commonly co-occur?
Category Archives: Vocabulary
Adjektive (1)
We will start with looking at very basic but not uncommon structures.
Zahlen 1 bis 100 (A1)
The first 10 numbers
The biggest challenge with the first ten numbers will most likely be pronunciation. Find sources on the internet to hear how they are pronounced – one is provided below.
German Compound Verbs and Their Grammatical Behavior
This is a post I wrote on my Language Cabinet blog for a more advanced learner of mine. However, verbs with a particle (often prepositions) attached as a prefix (in the spelling of the infinitive) come up early in conversation and thus have to be dealt with earlier than teacher had intended. And maybe this idea of grading language items according to an assumed difficulty level is too restrictive. If more complex stuff comes up in early stages so be it. Who am I to interfere and claim ‘that’s too difficult for now’. You want it – you get it :-).