Okay, you weren't lucky enough to have Sister Mary Catherine drill you and make you diagram countless sentences in seventh grade English. So you didn't learn all your grammatical terminology, and now you can't tell a perfect tense from a passive voice. If you have problems with grammar explanations because you don't understand the terminology, review these basic explanations.

How to use this chart: The terms are in alphabetical order in English, so you can scroll down to find the term you need. You can also use the "Find in Page" function on your browser. If you are looking up a German word, use the "Find in Page" option. There are links to other pages in the site which provide more explanations, examples and exercises for the highlighted terms. If a definition contains grammatical terms with which you are unfamiliar, just look them up on this chart, too.

  

Term	Definition	Examples	German
accusative	case for the direct object, the object of accusative prepositions, to express time without a preposition, to express destination with variable preposition	direct object Ich höre meinen Vater. accusative preposition Hier ist ein Geschenk für meinen Vater. time expression Nächste Woche kommt Vater zu Besuch. destination Vater und ich fahren aufs Land.	Akkusativ
adjective	modifies (describes) a noun There are predicate adjectives and attributive adjectives; this distinction is important in German.	good bad hot cold quick slow	das Adjektiv (-e)
adverb	a word which modifies (describes) a verb, adverb, or adjective, usually ending in "-ly" in English. In German, adverbs have the same form as adjectives.	Come quickly, really quickly.	das Adverb
article	words like "an" or "the" which signal nouns	a, an, the, der, die, das, ein, kein	der Artikel (-)
attributive adjective	an adjective directly in front of the noun it describes, or in a series directly in front of its noun in German attributive adjectives require suffixes indicating gender, number and case	We bathed in the warm, blue, clear water. Wir haben uns im warmen, blauen, klaren Wasser gebadet.	das attributive Adjektiv
auxiliary verb	helping verb, a verb used with another verb to form a tense, a mood or a voice in English most commonly "to have," "to be," "to do"; in German haben, sein and werden	We have seen them. Wir haben sie gesehen. (Perfekt) We had been driving too fast. Wir waren zu schnell gefahren. (Plusquamperfekt) That was done quickly. Das wurde schnell gemacht. (Passiv, Präteritum) Did he go? Ist er gegangen?	das Hilfsverbum, -verba
case Clicking here will take you to "An Explanation of Case"	describes the function of a noun or pronoun in a clause or phrase	doer, subject, nominative done-unto, direct object, accusative done-for, indirect object, dative linking noun to noun (that of that), possession, genitive	der Kasus
clause	a expression containing a subject and predicate can be independent (able to stand alone) or dependent (must be paired with an independent clause to convey meaning)	independent I'm listening to music. dependent when I'm listening to music . . .	der Satz, der Nebensatz (-sätze)
comparative	the degree or form of an adjective or adverb used to express comparisons	warmer, better, more often	der Komparativ (e)
complex sentence	a sentence containing at least two clauses, one independent or main clause, and one dependent or subordinate clause	I'll call you tomorrow when I wake up.	*
compound sentence	a sentence containing two or more independent clauses	I'll call you tomorrow and we'll make plans.	*
Term	Definition	Examples	German
conditional	subjunctive mood form, used to express wishes, predictions, polite requests in "if . . . , then . . . " (hypothesis/conclusion) statements, the conditional is preferred in the conclusion formed in English by the auxiliary verb "would" plus the infinitve form of the verb; in German, made of the subjunctive ("würde") forms of the auxiliary verb "werden" plus the infinitive	I wish you would come. Ich wünschte, dass du kommen würdest. If you came, we would go to the new restaurant. Wenn du kämest, würden wir ins neue Restaurant gehen. Would you please bring me a cup of coffee? Würden Sie mir bitte eine Tasse Kaffee bringen?	der Konditional
conjunction	combines clauses, phrases, words	and, but, because, when, whether	die Konjunktion (en)
conversational past	also called the perfect or present perfect, this is the past tense preferred for use in conversation in German like the narrative past, this tense can be translated as idiomatically appropriate with the simple past, the past progressive, the "used-to" form, the present perfect, or the past emphatic the modals, sein and haben use the simple past tense in conversation as well as narration	Ich habe das gemacht. simple past I did that. past progressive I was doing that. "used-to" I used to do that. present perfect I have done that. past emphatic I did do that.	das Perfekt
coordinating conjunction	a conjunction which joins two or more independent clauses in a compound sentence, such as or, and or but aber, oder, denn, und, sondern	I'm studying German, but Franz is studying English. Ich studiere Deutsch, aber Franz studiert Englisch. Are you looking for a job or going to the university? Suchst du einen Job oder gehst du an die Uni? Put on your jacket, because it is cold! Zieh deine Jacke an, denn es ist kalt!	die koordinierende Konjunktion
dative	case of the indirect object, object of dative preposition, or to express location or time with variable prepositions	indirect object Gib mir deine Hand. object of prepositionn Komm her zu mir. location am Strand time in einer Stunde	Dativ
definite article	the	der, die, das, den, dem, den, des	der bestimmte Artikel
dependent clause	depends upon a main (independent) clause to make a complete sentence; unlike an independent clause, cannot stand alone as a sentence introduced by a subordinating conjunction, interrogative, or relative pronoun which joins it to an independent clause contains a subject and predicate	When the film starts . . Wenn der Film beginnt, . . . . . . because I want to . . . , weil ich will . . . who were here yesterday . . . , die gestern hier waren If you thought so, . . . Wenn du so dächtest, . . .	der Nebensatz, -sätze
direct object case	receives the action done by the subject and described by the predicate accusative case in German	Max Schmidt is building the house. Rebekah singt das Lied.	das Objekt
future	used to talk about occurrences or actions in the future formed in English by the auxiliary verbs "will" or "shall" (often shortened in contractions to "-'ll") plus the infinitive stem of the verb; formed in German by the present tense of the auxiliary verb "werden" plus the infinitive	I'll call you. Will you be at home tomorrow? We shall see. Ich werde dich anrufen. Wirst du morgen zu Hause sein? Wir werden sehen.	das Futur
gender	German nouns come in three varieties, masculine (der), feminine (die) and neuter (das), which have almost nothing to do with biological gender. each gender has a different "der"- and "ein"-word pattern in the singular, but all share the same pattern in the plural	der Tisch (table, masculine), die Tür (door, feminine), das Kind (child, neuter) die Tische, die Türen, die Kinder (the tables, doors, children, plural)	das Genus
genitive	case showing possession, associated with the idea "of"	Wo liegt das Haus deiner Eltern? Hier ist das Haus meines Vaters, und dort ist die Wohnung meiner Mutter. Where's your parents' house? Here's my father's house and there is my mother's apartment.	Genitiv
gerund	a verb which has been transformed into a noun by the suffix "-ing." German forms gerunds by turning the infinitive into a neuter noun.	The singing and dancing were great. Das Singen und Tanzen waren toll.	das Gerundium, Gerundia
idiom	combinations of words which "sound right" together	correct idiom in English: to have fun, to take a walk auf Deutsch: Spaß machen, spazierengehen	das Idiom, die Redewendung, die Redensart
imperative mood	a verb form used to order, command or request someone to do something	Come here! Please sit down.	der Imperativ
Term	Definition	Examples	German Term
indefinite article	a, an	ein, eine, einen, einem, einer, eines; kein, etc.	der unbestimmte Artikel
independent clause	a clause containing a subject and predicate which can stand alone	I'm listening to music. Max is playing cards. I'm listening to music and Max is playing cards.	der Satz, Sätze
indirect object case	the "beneficiary" of the action of the subject on the predicate dative case in German	Show me your work. I sent them a check. I'm buying myself some new shoes.	das abhängige Objekt
infinitive phrase	a phrase composed of the infinitive form of the verb with objects and modifiers	to go to sleep now, to study with classmates tomorrow	der Infinitivsatz (-sätze)
infinitive	the verb form found in dictionaries and vocabulary lists; the basic form an "infinitive " is the verb not limited by person or number the verb stem is the infinitive minus "to" in English the stem is the infinitive minus "-n" or "-en" in German	to go gehen to see sehen to hike wandern to do tun	der Infinitiv (-e) die Stammform (-en)
interrogative pronoun	who, whom (wer, wen, wem, wessen)	Who visited you? Whom did you see?	das Fragepronomen
interrogative	words used for questions seeking information	who, what, where, when, why	das Fragewort, -wörter
modal verb	verbs used with other verbs to express the "mode" of the action or state described	to be able to, can, können; to have to, must, müssen; to want to, wollen; to be permitted to, may, dürfen; to be supposed to, should, sollen; would like to, möchten	das Modalverbum, Modalverba
modifier	a word or set of words, such as adverbs, adjectives, definite or indefinite articles, or prepositional phrases, which modify, qualify or describe another word	The tall tree with the broken limbs was severely damaged in the violent storm.	*
mood	describes the various ways verbs are used: to request or command (imperative), to talk about objective reality (indicative), to make wishes, conjectures or polite requests (subjunctive), or to express the idea of the verb in general (infinitve)	imperative: "come here"; indicative: "when will you come?"; subjunctive: "he would be happy if you came, too." infinitive: "to come"	der Indikativ, der Imperativ, der Konjunktiv, der Infinitiv
Term	Definition	Examples	German
morpheme	a set of letters less than a word, usually just a syllable or two, which conveys a meaning; often used as a prefix or suffix	unusual, anti-gravity, deconstruct, kindness, childish	das Präfix, die Vorsilbe (-n); das Suffix, die Nachsilbe (-n)
narrative past	also called the preterite or the simple past tense, this is the tense preferred in German for use in narration examples of narration, telling a series of related events occurring in the past: a story, a magazine or newspaper article, a book this tense is the one most often seen in print, although it does appear in speech when narrating like the conversational past, this tense can be translated as idiomatically appropriate with thesimple past, the past progressive, the "used-to" form, the present perfect, or the past emphatic	Ich machte das. simple past I did that. past progressive I was doing that. "used-to" I used to do that. present perfect I have done that. past emphatic I did do that.	das Imperfekt, das Präteritum
nominative	case of the subject appears in dictionaries and vocabulary lists; also used for predicate nominative	Der Tisch, die Lampe und das Sofa sind alle neu. The table, the lamp and the sofa are all new. She is a good person. Sie ist ein guter Mensch.	Nominativ
noun	names a person, place, thing, quality or action	Mom, Germany, chair, heat, cooking	das Substantiv(-e)
object of a preposition case	the noun which is linked to the preposition in a phrase	to the store, in the jar, on the sofa, during the winter, etc.	das Objekt der Präposition
participle	verb forms used as adjectives, adverbs or to form various tenses and voices. See also "past participle" and "present participle."	crying, laughing, sold, painted,weinend, lachend, verkauft, gemalt	das Partizip
past participle	used to form perfect tenses and passive voice, and as adjectives or adverbs formed by adding "-ed" to the infinitive stem in English in German usually formed by adding the prefix "ge-" and the suffix "-t" (for weak verbs) or "-en" (for strong verbs) to the infinitve stem there are many irregular forms in both German and English	baked, turned, taken, bought, gebacken, gedreht, genommen, gekauft	das Partizip der Vergangenheit
past perfect	a tense used to indicate that an event took place in the past, prior to another event in the past in English, formed of the auxiliary verb "had" and the past participle in German, formed with the past tense of the appropriate auxiliary verb, "sein" or "haben" and the past participle	Bevor Mutter uns besuchte, hatte ich das ganze Haus geputzt und war mehrmals auf den Markt gegangen. ** Before Mother visited us, I had cleaned the whole house and had gone to the market several times.	das Plusquamperfekt
past subjunctive	used to talk about wishes, conjectures, or hypothetical situations in the past	If I had had more friends, I would have been happier. Wenn ich mehr Freunde gehabt hätte, wäre ich glücklicher gewesen.	der Konjunktiv der Vergangenheit
present perfect	a verb form containing two parts: an auxiliary verb and a participle, used to indicate events in the past In English the auxiliary verb is "to have," in German it is either "haben" or "sein." .the conversational past in German	Have you seen her? Hast du sie gesehen? Have you driven to the city? Bist du in die Stadt gefahren?	das Perfekt
positive	an adjective in its basic form	warm (not warmer, warmest)	der Positiv
Term	Definition	Examples	German
predicate	a verb which has been modified as necessary (person, number, tense, mood, and voice) for use in a sentence.	to see: I see Max and Max sees me. We saw each other yesterday, too. We have seen each other every day this week. We can be seen at noon in the park. You would see us if you came.	das Prädikat
predicate adjective	an adjective connected to the noun it describes by the predicate, usually sein, werden, heißen, or scheinen	Das Wasser ist warm.	*
predicate nominative	a noun identified with another noun by the predicate, usually to be, or sein predicate nominatives are in the nominative case	Mr. Schimmel is my neighbor. Herr Schimmel ist mein Nachbar.	*
prefix	a morpheme added to the front of a word to alter its meaning	preview, review, undisturbed	*
preposition	small words preceding nouns, indicating the noun's relationship to other nouns, verbs, or adjectives	on, in, under, with, by, from, etc., usw.	die Präposition (-en)
prepositional phrase	a set of words usually composed of a preposition, an object of the preposition and any articles or modifiers used with the object	in the big house, on the chair, to the store, under serious consideration	*
present tense	the forms of a verb used to talk about the present; there are three forms in English, but just one in German	ich gehe (nicht) present I go present progressive I am going present emphatic I do (not) go	das Präsens
present participle	the form of the verb used to make the progressive forms in English with the auxiliary verb "to be" also used as adjectives, adverbs or gerunds in German, formed by adding the suffix "-d" to the infinitive and used as adjectives or adverbs.	The sweating athletes are drinking lots of water. They were biking and before that they had been running. They will be getting tired soon. Wir gaben den laufenden Athleten Wasser.	*
preterite	another way of saying simple past tense, the verb form used to indicate events in the past	We studied at the university.	das Präteritum
pronoun	a word used as a substitute for a noun	she, it, they	das Pronomen, Pronomina
Term	Definition	Examples	German
relative clause	a clause introduced by a relative pronoun which refers to a noun in another clause of a complex sentence	Who was the man who was here? The teacher to whom you referred was Ms. Schmidt.	der Nebensatz, -sätze
relative pronoun	a pronoun used in a relative clause, referring to a noun in another clause of a complex sentence	who, whom, which, where, der, denen, dessen, etc.	das Relativpronomen, -pronomina
sentence	a set of words which can stand alone, containing at least one subject and one predicate in an imperative sentence, the subject (you) is usually implied, not stated	You're coming, right? Come!	der Satz, Sätze
simple past tense	also called the preterite, this is the form of the verb used to indicate actions or occurrences in the past it is simple because it is a one-word form in English usually the infinitve stem with the suffix "-d" or "ed," in German usually the verb stem with endings like the past tense of "haben" (weak verbs) or "sein," (strong verbs) though there are many irregular verbs in both languages used in German for narration (except for haben, sein and the modals)	We studied together. I went to bed. You knew her. Who visited them? ***Wir studierten zusammen. Ich ging ins Bett. Du kanntest sie. Wer besuchte sie?	das Imperfekt, das Präteritum
simple sentence	a sentence containing just one clause	I'll call you tomorrow.	*
subject case	the noun or pronoun which is the doer of the action (active voice), or described by the predicate (passive voice) German subjects are nominative case.	Max Schmidt is building the house. The house is being built by Max Schmidt	das Subjekt
subjunctive	a verb mood used to talk about wishes, conjectures, hypotheses, and polite requests In "if . . , then . . . " sentences (hypothesis/conclusion), the subjunctive is preferred for the hypothesis, and the conditional for the conclusion. in both English and German, the forms of the subjunctive are based on the simple past (preterite) forms of the verb	If you came, we would go to the new restaurant. Wenn du kämest, würden wir ins neue Restaurant gehen. If I knew, I would tell you. Wenn ich wüsste, würde ich es dir sagen. Would you like to go? Möchtest du hingehen? Would you be happy? Wärest du glücklich?	der Konjunktiv
subordinate clause	the same thing as a dependent clause	*	der Nebensatz
subordinating conjunction	a conjunction which links a dependent clause to a sentence	when, because, if, that, etc.	die unterordnende Konjunktion
suffix	something added to the end of a word to alter its meaning	playful, sleepy, Schönheit	das Suffix
superlative	degree of an adjective expressing its most extreme form	warmest, best, most often	der Superlativ
syllable	rhythmically speaking, a "beat" in word	a one-syllable word has one "beat" beat a two-syllable word has two beats let-ters a three- syllable word has three beats syl-la-ble a four-syllable word has four beats par-ti-ci-ple etc. usw.	die Silbe, Silben
tense	the various forms of a verb used to indicate the past, present or future	I go, I went, I've gone, I'll go	das Tempus, Tempa
verb	word for an action, existence or happening	I think, I am, I become	das Verbum, Verba
voice	describes the relation of the subject to the predicate when the subject is the do-er of the action, the voice is active when the subject is the receiver of the action (done-unto), the voice is passive	Active Max Schmidt is building the house. Passive The house is being built by Max Schmidt.	das Aktiv, das Passiv
weak masculine noun	a noun that takes an ending in all cases except the nominative, usually "-n" or "-en"	I'm intoducing Mr. Schmidt, a good person and my neighbor, to the president. Ich stelle dem Präsidenten Herrn Schmidt, einen guten Menschen und meinen Nachbarn, vor.	schwaches Maskulinum
Term	Definition	Examples	German

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