German Language Game - How German Works - Linking Nouns
Quick German Language Game: Linking Nouns
Test yourself on how to create German compound words, using eight nouns to combine.
In his usual humorous way, Mark Twain said about German compound words: "These things are not words, they are alphabetical processions. ... They block a [new student's] way. He cannot crawl under it, or climb over it, or tunnel through it. So he resorts to a dictionary, but there's not help there." ("The Awful German Language")
Don't let him throw you. Knowing a couple of rules, and with a little practice, you can ace the basics of German compound words.
Learn and practice 8 words and how they combine into new words:
- der Apfel - the apple
- der Saft - the juice
- die Gäste - the guests
- das Zimmer - the room
- die Nacht - the night
- das Leben - the life
- das Boot - the boat
- die Fahrt - the trip
Quick Tips for Linking Nouns:
1) When putting nouns together to form a new noun, it's the gender (der, die, das) of the LAST noun that tells you the gender of the new noun.
2) Some nouns require a connector (adding s, es, ens, or the plural form of the first noun).
3) Finally, pay attention to the whole sentence (i.e. does the noun function as a subject or an object of the sentence).
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