Typical German Mistakes              

History of English: What’s English?

  • Germanic + Romance = English

Members of the nuclear Family and other members of the big family

Animals and meat

Jobs and professions

Everyday language (informal register) vs. words of culture (formal register)

 

Vocabulary Skills

  • Germanic and Romance: The language of doubles
  • German “machen”
  • Collocations
  • Register

formal / informal

the right language in the right social situation

  • False Friends
  • Easily confused words:

Bringen, leihen, Platz

  • Idioms

 

Grammar Skills

  • Tenses

Simple present  (70%) vs. present continuous (30%)

Rules /routines vs. Exceptions / current projects

  • Prepositions
  • The verb

Regular / irregular verbs

State / dynamic verbs

Link  (adjective)/ action verbs (adverbs)

 

  • Prepositions

German Bis

Period: to / until/ till

Deadline: by

Set a deadline / meet a deadline

at

 

 

 

Exercises

 

 

 

 

The verb

Past tense

Past participle

Ing-form

meaning

 

lie

lied

lied

lying

lügen

 

lie

lay

lain

lying

liegen

 

Lay                   laid                       laid      laying               legen                     

 

 

 

 

 

Lie (lügen)

Lie (liegen)

Lay legen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tables

 

Simple aspect vs. continuous aspect

Simple Present

Present Continuous

Rules / routines

exceptions

Statements / facts

current  activities

Permanent activities

Temporary activities

Time-table future

Planned and arranged future activities

No changes, rules

Changes, trends, developments

60 / 70 % frequency

30 % frequency

State / dynamic verbs

Dynamic verbs

 

 

Germanic

Romance

(Short) mono-syllabic words

(Long) multi-syllabic words

Spoken (informal) register

written (formal register)

High-frequency words

cultural words

Phrasal verbs

Prefixes /suffixed words

Infinitive

meaning

Past simple

Past Participle

ing

Lie

lügen

lied

lied

lying

Lie

liegen

 

 

 

lay

legen

 

 

 

 

 

1.      Number (singular vs. Plural)

2.      Processes

3.       Types of Decisions

Instant/spontaneous decisions

Planned decisions

Arranged decisions

will

Going to + infinitive

Present continuous

 

 

 

 

4.      Probabilities with will

Degree of probability

Word order

perhaps

 

maybe

 

I think

 

probably

 

 

P ossibly

 

 

 

5.      Predictions

Will predictions

usage

Going to predictions

usgae

 

 

 

Duality of simple and continuous

 

 

State Verbs

·         Verbs of mind and thinking

·         Verbs of possession

Have, own, belong to, want, require

Think, believe, guess, suppose

·         Verbs of emotions

Like, love, hate

1.      Verbs of dual function

Think, guess

Nuclear family (Germanic) mother, father...

Extended family (Romance) aunt, uncle, niece, nephew

 

Germanic       Romance

Cow                beef

Calf                            veal

Sheep             mutton

Deer               venison

Sow /swine     pork

 

Committed to environmental issues

Commitment

Vintage car

Personal  vs. Personnel

Appraisal

 

Oversee  overlook

Overhear hear by accident

Courses of studies