mt german basic (eng only)

7/28/2019 MT German Basic (Eng Only)

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MICHEL THOMAS GERMAN (BASIC) COURSE, 8 CDs

TRANSCRIPT

This is an approximate transcript of the course, since Michel often changed his mind inthe middle of a sentence to be translated, or adapted his sentences for the students. Thebooklet that accompanied Michel's courses was wholly inadequate, so I have written thistranscript. I have found it useful, so maybe other people will, too.

Naturally, it would be foolish to try to learn the language using this transcript, withoutbuying the recordings.

Note that English is my native language, so I don't guarantee that there are no mistakes.Tracks and track times in the recording are shown in brackets.

Version 2, Jan 15th 2006Transcribed by JK

CD 1 (62.32)(1) 4.37(2) 6.58goodit isit is goodwhatwater(3) 7.58to drinkdo you want?what do you want?what do you want to drink?to eatwhat do you want to eat?to dowhat do you want to do?to comedo you want to come?with me(a second verb, which follows a handle verb, goes the end of the sentence)do want to come with me?today

do you want to come with me today?eveninggood eveningtodaythis eveningdo you want to come with me?what do you want to eat?do you want to come with me?


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(will you = do you want = wollen Sie)will you come with me tonight?(4) 5.30to bewhenherewhen do you want to be here?can you?can you come with me?(the first sentence is a request, but the second is a question, so the intonation is raised atthe end)will you please come with me?do you want to come with me?yesnopleasewhen do you want to come with me?

to seegoodbyeto heargoodbye (on the phone)(5) 6.58when do you want to see it?can you?can you see it?I canI wantdo you want?you wantifwhen do you want?if you wantwe wantto comeyou are comingwe are comingare you coming?when are you coming?when do you come?I come

soonI'm coming soondo you want?I wantcan you?can you come with me?(6) 4.31to stay


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we are staying(three ways to express the English present tense)we are staying herewe are staying here todaywe are staying here tonightyou are stayingare you staying?howto goto seewe are goingyou are goingare you going?I am going(7) 4.58notnow

not nowI wantI want to see itbutI want to see it but not nowcan you see it?I can see itI cannot see it(ich kann nicht es sehen also possible, but is stronger)I cannot see you(8) 8.16to understandto standwe understandwe understand yougood, wellveryvery good(to make a German vowel longer, either double it, or add an h. These two words soundthe same: mehr, das Meer)very goodit is very goodvery well

we understandwe don't understandwe don't understand itwe don't understand youwe don't understand you very welldo you understand?do you understand it?me


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do you understand me?don't you understand me?(9) 7.40can you understand me?I canI cannotI cannot understand youI'm sorryI'm sorry, butI'm sorry, but I cannot understand you(recording skips here)to staywe are stayingwe are not stayingwe are not staying herelong (in the sense of time)we cannot stay here long

howhow longhow long can you stay here?I mustI must see itI must stay herebut I cannot stay here longI must go soon(10) 5.06me (to me)medo you understand me?to cometo bringto findI'm sorry but I cannot find itwhitewhite wineI knowI know itI don't know itwhere


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I don't know where it is, I cannot find it

(end of recording)


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CD 2 (57.22)

(1) 5.03to bringto cometo findto seeto goto understandI understandI understand you very wellI don't understand you very wellI cannot understand you very welldo you understand me?will you bring it to me?can you bring it to me today?to havewe have

we have itwe don't have itdo you have?do you have it?why?why don't you have it?(2) 7.32with mefor mecan you come with me?do you have it for me?what do you have for me?it is for mecan you understand me?why can't you understand me?whata little, somethingcan you bring me something now?what can you bring me?why can you not bring it to me now?(3) 6.08to havewe have

we have itwe don't have itwhy don't you have it for me?I mustI must have itunfortunatelyunfortunately, I cannot do it nowI'm sorry, but I don't have it for you now


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youyou (to)I cannot bring it to you nowbecause, forbecause I don't have it now(4) 7.03what do you have for me?what can you bring me?for mewith mefor youwith youI cannot bring it to you today, because I don't have itI must have itto have toto be able towe have to

you have toyou have to come with me(5) 8.50to givewe giveyou giveI am givingI am giving it to youbut I cannot give it to you today, because I don't have itwhen do you want to have it?when can you have it?when can you have it for me?to smokeforbiddenalsome tooI don't smoketo needI need itI don't need itI don't need it nowto needdo you need it?

when do you need it?


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when do you want to have it?I can bring it to you today(6) 3.38I want to have itwill (future tense)we will have ityou will have itwhen will you have it for me?I will have it for you todayI will have it todayI will see it tonightI will bring it to you(7) 4.11when can you bring it to me?when do you want to bring it to me?when will you bring it to me?when can you bring it to me, because I need it today

when do you need it?when do you want to have it?I want to have it today, because I need it today(8) 3.10at what time?at what time do you want to have it?to beat what time can you be here tonight?at what time do you want to be here?at what time can you be here today?at what time will you be here?(9) 7.39to cometo arrivetomorrowat what time will you arrive tomorrow?at what time can you be here tomorrow?to stayhow longhow long can you stay here today?how long will you stay here?to waitwill you please do it for me?

when will you do it for me?will you please stay here with me?


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how long will you stay?(10) 4.08to saywill you tell me?when will you tell me?wherewill you tell me where it is because I cannot find itI knowI don't knowI'm sorry but I don't know where it is, I cannot find it

(end of recording)


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CD 3 (56.51)

(1) 4.37to gowe gowe don't goyou are goingwherewhere (to)where are you going?where do you want to go?to go (to)where do you want to go (to)?there(to) thereI want to go therebut I cannot go there today(2) 1.49

I ambusybusiness, storeI am busyI am very busy nowI am very busy today(3) 2.54I will be very busyI am very busy now(4) 7.01to gowe are goingyou are goingwhere are you going?to staywe are stayinghow longhow long are we staying?how long can we stay here today?how long will we stay here today?how long do you want to stay here?how long can you stay here?how long do you stay here?

how long are you staying here?do you stay here?are you staying here?(commands like bleiben Sie stay! have the same word order as the question bleibenSie?)come!come here!(her orhierher)


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are you coming?bring it!bring it to me today!are you bringing it to me today?do you bring it to me?bring it to me!(5) 4.39to waitwe are waitingwe don't waitwe are not waitingwhy are you waiting?why do you wait?wait please!will you please waitto wait forto wait for me

will you wait for me?will you please wait for me here tomorrow?(6) 4.47wait for me!are you waiting for me?will you please wait for me?can you wait for me?will you wait for me?do you want to wait for me?where do you want to wait for me?where will you wait for me?(7) 6.36to comewe are comingyou are comingare you coming?come!to staywe are stayingyou are stayingtheythey (for clarity)how long are we staying here?

I am stayingI am not staying hereI'm coming with you


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wait!will you please wait?I am going to wait for youI am going to stay hereto buymerchant, businessmanI'm going to buy itI will buy it(8) 7.20expensive, dearwe won't buy it because it's very expensivewe are going to buy it because we want to have it(can use present tense to express the future)I will see you tomorrowI will go with you tomorrowwe willyou will

I willhe willshe willit willhe will buy itsoonhe will be here soonshe will be here soon(9) 7.35readyit is readyalready(schon used more frequently in German than in English)it is already readyhe is here alreadyI have it alreadybeautifulit is very beautifulshe is very beautifulit is ready alreadyeverythingeverything is ready alreadyeverything will be ready for you soon

everything is going to be ready for you soon(10) 9.33to stayI am staying


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he is stayingshe is stayingit is stayingeverything is staying hereall of them, everybody, they alleveryone is staying heremy friendmy friend is not stayingmy friendsmy friends are not staying herewe are staying herewe are all staying herehe is coming soonhe is bringing it to mewe will bring it to you tomorrowhe is going to bring it to you tomorrowwhen will you bring it to me?

will you please bring it to mewill you please bring it to me tomorrowwhen will you bring it to me?when are you going to bring it to me?

(end of recording)


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CD 4 (56.38)

(1) 6.29I would likeI would like to do itI would like to see itI would like to see youI would like to have itushe would like to come with usI canhe canshe canit canit can bepossibleit is not possiblelike that, that way

it's not possible like thatit is not possibleit is not possible that wayimpossibleentirelyit is entirely impossible(2) 4.29gladly, with pleasure(gern be used with practically any verb)I like to do itI like to see itI like to go thereI will go there with you gladlywill you come with mevery gladly (answer)thanksthanks very muchbest thanksI would like(3) 4.23I would like to have itto knowwe know

you knowdo you know?I knowhe knowsyou knowthey knowI don't know where it isto say, tell


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will you tell mecan you tell me?will you tell me where it isbecause I cannot find it(4) 6.43busyI'm very busytiredI am tiredthe houseat hometo hometo go homeI am going homeI am going to stay homeI am very tired and I'm going home now and I will stay home tonightI'm going to stay home tonight because I'm tired

because I am very tired(5) 6.56because(the verb goes to the end of the clause afterweil)because I am very tiredI understandwe understandyou understandwe don't understandI understand you very wellI don't understand you very wellhe understandsshe understandsshe understands me very wellcan you understand me?I don't understandI don't understand itI cannot understand itI understand youI do not understand youI cannot understand you(6) 8.00to say, tell

I don't know what you are sayingbecause I don't understand you


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because I cannot understand youI don't know what you're saying because I can't understand you(7) 6.29because I cannot understandI'm going to stay home because I'm very tiredI am very busyI cannot do it because I am very busy todayI cannot do it today because I'm very busy because I'm going to be very busy todaybecause I cannot come with you tonight(8) 2.29I cannot tell youI cannot tell it to youI cannot tell it you nowbecause I don't know it(9) 7.36to costit costs

I want to know how much it costsI would like to know how much it costswill you tell me how much it costsbecause I need itand because I want to have itbecause I must have itwhen can you bring it to me?I want to know at what time I can have it today(this is wrong, because the weilinversionapplies to many other words)at what time can I have it?whenwhen can I have it?will you tell me at what time I can have itwill you tell me at what time I can have it(10) 3.04I'm sorry but I cannot tell you now why I have to do it todaywhy I must have it today

(end of recording)


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CD 5 (56.25)

(1) 7.53to gowe are goingyou are dyingwhere are you going?to askquestionI have a questionwhy are you asking?why do you ask?I want to knowI would like to know where it isthere(to) thereI want to go thereit is there

I would like to go therefor menotnothingI have nothingto understandI understandI don't understandI don't understand anythingI don't have itI don't have anything nowI would likeI would like to have itI would like to see itI would like to go there(2) 5.59it is going very wellhow's it goinghow's it going for youI'm fineit is going very welleverything is going very wellbetter

much(much) thanksI'm going much better todayeverything is going much better today(3) 10.39to feelI feel itI don't feel it


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I cannot feel itI feel fine, I feel myself fine(for reflexive verbs, myself = me = mich, ourselves = us = uns)I feel very well todayI don't feel very wellI feelwe feel finehimself, herself, itself, yourselfhe feels goodto feeldo you feel it?how do you feel?to washI am washing itI am washingto hurryI am hurrying

I must hurrywe must hurryhe must hurry(4) 4.16one(man is much more common in german than english. It also means "all of us")one must hurrywe must hurryyou must hurryI will hurryI am going to hurrywe are going to hurrywe will hurrywill you please hurrycan you hurry?(5) 6.56shall, shouldyou shall hurry up, you should hurry upI shall hurry upwhy don't you hurryhurry up!to interestinterested

I am interestedit interests me very muchI interest myself very muchhe is interested(6) 5.37thatthat interests me very muchthat doesn't interest me


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interestingjoyto enjoy, have joyI am very pleasedI enjoy myselfit pleases metimenewspaperI don't have the timeI have no time now(7) 2.23possiblepossibilityI have no possibility(after noun or adjective, a verb is preceded byzu)I have no time to do itit is not possible to do it

(8) 3.36opportunityI would like to have the opportunity to see it(9) 3.34alwaysI don't always have the opportunity to see itoftenI don't often have the opportunity to see itit is not possibleit is not possible to go there today(10) 5.32importantit is very important to do itsoit is not so importantit is not so important to do it todaynecessaryit is not necessary to do it nowlate

(end of recording)


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CD 6 (57.33)

(1) 5.09lateit is very latelatersomethingsomewhat, a littlea little laterto callto call (phone)will you call me latercan you call me later?tootowards(gehen means to go on foot. by any other means isfahren)to goI'm going to Berlin

GermanyGermanI'm going to Germany(2) 5.30to speakdo you speak English?you speak German very wellin German (language)how to say it in German?one doesn't say it like thatone says itdoes one say?does one say it like that?does one say it like that in German?how does one say it in German?(3) 9.24it is too lateit is too late to do it nowI'm going to do it laterit won't be possible to do it nowI will do it later todayhe will be here soonit will be very important

it will be very important to do itbut I don't have the time to do it nowI will not have the time to do it today(4) 5.10wouldI would do ithe wouldn't do itwe wouldn't do it


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we won't do itwe would not do itit will not be possible that wayI willI wouldhe willit willit wouldit couldn't be possible(5) 4.48to buyI would buy itI won't buy itit wouldn't be possible to do itbecause he is very busy todaybecause I cannot do it todayI won't do it today

because I won't do it todaybecause I wouldn't do it todaybecause I wouldn't have the time to do it today(6) 9.01when will he be here?readywhen will it be ready?I would like to know, when it will be readyit would be ready todayit can be ready todayit is going to be ready todaybecause it will be ready todaybecause it cannot be ready todayI want to know at what time it is going to be readyI would like to know at what time it will be readyI would like to know why it cannot be ready today(7) 4.06ifif you wantwe wantwe want itwe don't want itwe don't want to do it today


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I wanthe wantsI would like to know when you want to do itI would like to know at what time you can do itI will wait here if you wantI will wait here for you if you want(8) 2.52if, whetherto try(9) 4.36I don't know if I can do it but I will tryI don't know if it is possible to do it that way, but I will trybut I don't know if it will be possible to do it that waybut I am going to try(10) 6.57(for "i have been waiting since", in german you use present tense ich warte and "since"seit)since

ten minutesI have been waiting for ten minutesto live, resideten yearsI have been living here for ten yearshow long have you been living here?how long have you been here?I have been doing that a long time alreadyto workthe workhe is workinghe has been working here for a long timethree dayswe have been here for three days

(end of recording)


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CD 7 (58.17)

(1) 8.38I can do itwe canyou canthey cancan you?it can be ready todayit cannot be possible that wayI will buy it tomorrow if I have the timecan you tell me if you can do it?I would like to know when you will do itto understandI don't understand youI can't understand youhe doesn't understandhe can't understand

(2) 5.41(in english, "could" appears in two tenses - subjunctive and past)could (past tense)I couldhe couldyou could("i didn't find it" can be expressed as "i couldn't find it")I didn't find itI couldn't understand youyesterdaylast nighthe didn't go there with us(3) 4.25waswereI was there last nightbut it wasn't readywe were therewhere were you?it was not possible to do itI hadwe hadI didn't have the time to do it, because I was very busy

I didn't find it(4) 8.20could (meaning "would be able", present tense)could you come with me?


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could you tell me?could you wait now?can you wait here?withoutwithout youI couldn't do it without you I couldn't do it without you yesterdayI couldn't understand you(5) 10.12mustI must go nowwe must buy ityou have to wait for meI had to (past tense of "must")you had toI had to stay herehe had to wait for mehe wants to buy it

he cannot buy it because it's very expensivehe cannot buy it because it's too expensivehe doesn't want to have ithe will have ithe will do it because he wants to do itdo you want to do it?we don't want to do itwhy don't you want to do it now?he doesn't want to do ithe won't do ithe's not going to do itwe wantyou wantdo you want, will you pleasewill you do it pleasewill you tell mehe doesn't want to do it(6) 5.31wantedI wantedhe wantedhe wanted to buy it because he wanted to have itI didn't want to stay here

shall, shouldwe shall stay here, we should stay hereyou should tell me


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it should be ready(should present and past tenses are the same, so "I should" and "I was supposed to" aresollen)was supposed tohe should wait for me, he was supposed to wait for mebut he could not wait(drfen "may be allowed to" more common in german than english)may be allowed toone is not allowed tomay I see it?to try onmay I try it on?(7) 10.12I don't feel like itI don't feel like doing itI'm very pleased to do itI am very pleased to see you

it will give me very much pleasure to see youI would do ithe wouldn't do itbecause it would not be possible to do itit was not possible to do it(waren wren, wre "would be". "would be" is also wrde sein. wren also means"were", as in "if I were...")it wouldn't be possible(8) 5.18let(lassen also used when you want to have something done)to repairto have repairedI will repair itI will get it repaired, have it fixedI have to get it fixedto washI will get it washedcleanto cleanwill you clean itwill you get it cleanedI have to get cleaned

(end of recording)


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CD 8 (60.03)

(1) 6.21to goawaywayto go awayI will go away soonbut I wouldn't go away without yououtto go outI want to go out tonightwe would like to go out tonightexit (walking)entrance (walking)exit (e.g. on road)entrance (e.g. on road)to depart

to go awayto go far awayto go throughto walk throughto walk through there(2) 5.39I understandI am going away(non-separable verb prefixes are not stressed. Separable prefixes are stressed)againI'm going to do it againnever againI will never do it againto fetch, getto go getI will fetch itI'm going to fetch youI fetch itto fetch againto repeatI repeat(3) 4.20to get something

I'm getting itto arriveI'm arrivingI'm arriving tomorrowtomorrow morningearlyI'm going out this eveningmidday


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morningtomorrow morningwe are going to Frankfurtafterafternoonthis afternoontomorrow afternoon(4) 3.52day after tomorrowoverto drive someone over, run overI want to go thereI go thereto here (opposite ofhin)come here!come (towards) here!in (towards here)

to come right inWill you come in?(5) 4.27out (towards)(only the short form is in common use. compare ausgehen andherausgehen)get out!on top of itget over thereto put (in kying position)to lieto put (in standing position)to put onto put into put in, to put into (e.g. a drawer)to put on (to) topto taketo take (out e.g. drawer)(6) 2.40to put on top, over (it)to put underneathunder the tableI put it overto put it over one's mind, i.e. think it over

I'll think it overI'm thinking it overto come over the top of


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to come undercome under!to come in(7) 9.17to pullthe pulling, trainto pull on, dressI'm going to get dressedthe suit (pulling-on)I'm getting dressedI must get dressedhe is getting dressedto pull out, to move out (a house)the pulling-out, Exodusthe pulling-into change once place, move (to a new house)process of moving

to pull throughpulling-through, moving-throughto lockkeyto lock with a keyto lock upto close the doorto lock the doorto closeto openwindowI am opening the windowI am closing the doorcastle, lockto lock inI will lock it inI will lock it insideI will unlock itlockedthe door is lockedeverything is locked todayhe is locked in(8) 7.38

to catchto start, to catch onwe will start soonwe are starting soonwhen you starting?when do we start?to callto call (phone)


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will you call me later?I am going to call you laterI will call you laterin order to...I am calling you later in order to ask you if you can come with us tonightI'm going to see youto hope(the conjuction "that" is da, which is not optional in German, and behaves like weil)I hope I can do itI hope he will arrive tomorrow(9) 8.17to thinkto believe, have an opinionI think he is going to be here soonI hope that you can come with us tonighteasyheavy

it is very easyit is very interestingcomfortableit is very comfortable herenicehe is very nice(a better word for "nice" is sympathisch)comfortable, pleasing, conduciveit is nice here, there is a good ambience here(noun genders)(10) 7.32(-chen -lein are diminutive endings, which are always neuter)I want a glass of wineI would like to have a glass of red wineI must have a glass of white wineexcuse memay I ask you...... where I can find it

(end of recording)

mt german basic (eng only)

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