© 2000–2003 Mike Wills Learning Services
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These revision notes are being written at the same time as I am attempting to learn German. The advantage of this approach is that they have been written from a learner's rather than an expert's point of view. As a consequence, these notes are certainly incomplete, probably wildly inaccurate and in need of constant revision. Please use them in this spirit. I will, of course, be happy to receive any comments, suggestions or corrections by e-mail. Additional materials, sound files and German language advice provided by Ursula Ghodrat (e-mail ughodrat@hotmail.com).
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Recommended books which will help you learn German, many of which you can purchase online.
Business - Auf Deutsch
| Susan Cox, Emer O'Sullivan und Dietmar Rösler (1990), Klett | This book is written for people who want to continue learning German at an advanced level in a business context. Its aim is to appeal to students' imaginations though the use of authentic texts taken from newspapers, periodicals, specialized literature and advertising. 
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Learn German
| Irving, Nicole (1992), Usborne | An ideal introductory book to German. Although primarily designed for a younger readership, it is ideal for adults as well. Your knowledge of German is built up gradually using a cartoon story and there are clear sections on grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. Quizzes and puzzles help you practise your skills without overburdening you, or the book, with exercises. 
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Unternehmen Deutsch
| Conlin, C (1995), Chancerel | A good intermediate level textbook on business German. Virtually the whole book is written in German and there are many examples of German in use as well as an excellent grammar section.
more about the textbook... |
more about the audiocassettes... |
more about the the answer key... 
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Collins German Dictionary
| Terrell, Peter et al (1999) 4th edn, Collins | A comprehensive German–English, English–German dictionary which incorporates the latest German spelling reform and has an excellent section on language in use. There are many good examples, idioms and proverbs included in the definitions. Also suitable for Germans learning English — published by PONS in Germany. 
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501 German Verbs
| Strutz, Henry (1998) 3rd edn, Barron's Educational Series | Includes a list of conjugated verbs, weather and idiomatic expressions, and an English-German index. 
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2001 German and English Idioms
| Strutz, Henry (1995) new edn, Barron's Educational Series | Defines English and German idioms and offers illustrative sentences for each term or phrase in both languages. 
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Practice in German Grammar (B2005)
| Jones (1992), Nelson Thornes | An introduction to German grammar intended to bridge the gap between GCSE/Standard Grade and A/Higher level. It starts with the empirical knowledge acquired through GCSE and Standard Grade topic work, and leads to an understanding of patterns and structures.
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This glossary is under construction
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Accusative - is the case taken by nouns, pronouns and adjectives when the noun or pronoun is the direct object of a verb. It is also used after certain prepositions.
Adjective - a word that describes something, usually a noun, for example, 'blue' as in: "a blue hat".
C
Case - indicates the different forms taken by nouns, pronouns and adjectives depending on whether they are subjects, direct objects or indirect objects. In English, only pronouns are affected by case and take the same form for both direct and indirect object.
D
Dative - is the case taken by nouns, pronouns and adjectives when the noun or pronoun is the indirect object of a verb. It is also used after certain prepositions.
Direct object - is the noun or pronoun that directly receives the action of a verb. For example, in: "He gives the book" — 'book' is the direct object of the verb 'gives'. Also see indirect object.
G
Genitive - is the form of an adjective, noun or pronoun which is used to indicate ownership, as in "These are my books", "Bert's hat", "That coat is hers".
Grammar - a set of rules that summarise how a language works.
I
Indirect object - is the noun or pronoun that indirectly receives the action of a verb. For example, in: "He gives the book to the girl" — 'girl' is the indirect object of the verb 'gives'. You can normally tell an indirect object because it will either have, or it will be possible to insert, a preposition such as 'to', 'at' or 'from' in front of it. Also see direct object.
Infinitive - the basic form of a verb as in 'to make', 'to run' and 'to eat'. Dictionaries usually list verbs in their infinitive form.
N
Noun - a word for a thing, animal, person or idea, for example 'book', 'concept', 'discovery', 'dog', 'boy'.
O
Object - is the noun or pronoun that directly or indirectly receives the action of a verb. Also see direct object and indirect object.
P
Preposition - a word like 'to', 'for', 'towards, or 'near' that links words or phrases together.
Pronoun - a word that stands in for a noun. For example, in the sentence: "Tom stole the sweets and gave the sweets to Ursula", can be written as: "He stole them and gave them to her", where 'he' stands-in for 'Tom', 'them' stands-in for 'the sweets' and 'her' stands-in for 'Ursula'.
S
Subject - A noun or a pronoun is the subject of a sentence when it is doing the action. For example, 'He' is the subject in "He gives".
T
Tense - the form of a verb that shows when the action takes place.
V
Verb - an action word as in 'make', 'run', 'think' and eat. Verbs can change depending on who (the subject) is doing the action as in 'I make' but 'he makes'. Verbs also have different tenses. The basic form of the verb is the infinitive.