● speak German – instantly● no books● no writing● absolute confi dence

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To find out more, please get in touch with us.For general enquiries and for information on Michel Thomas:Call: 020 7873 6400 Fax: 020 7873 6325 Email: mtenquiries@hodder.co.uk

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First published in UK 2000 by Hodder Education, an Hachette UK Company, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH.Start German Copyright © 2000, 2006, 2011, Thomas Keymaster Languages LLC, all rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS, UK.

Typeset by Transet Limited, Coventry, England. Printed in Great Britain Impression 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 ISBNs 978 1444 13307 3

Welcome to the Michel Thomas MethodCongratulations on purchasing the truly remarkable way to learn a language. With the Michel Thomas Method there’s no reading, no writing and no homework. Just sit back, absorb, and soon you’ll be speaking another language with confidence.

The Michel Thomas Method works by breaking a language down into its component parts and enabling you to reconstruct the language yourself – to form your own sentences and to say what you want, when you want. By learning the language in small steps, you can build it up yourself to produce ever more complicated sentences.Perfected over 25 years, the all-audio Michel Thomas Method has been used by millions of people around the world.

Now it’s your turn.

To get started, simply insert the CD and press ‘play’!

1

2 About Michel ThomasMichel Thomas (1914–2005) was a gifted linguist who mastered more than ten languages in his lifetime and became famous for teaching much of Hollywood’s ‘A’ list how to speak a foreign language. Film stars such as Woody Allen, Emma Thompson and Barbra Streisand paid thousands of dollars each for face-to-face lessons.

Michel, a Polish Jew, developed his method after discovering the untapped potential of the human mind during his traumatic wartime experiences. The only way he survived this period of his life, which included being captured by the Gestapo, was by concentrating and placing his mind beyond the physical. Fascinated by this experience, he was determined that after the war he would devote himself to exploring further the power of the human mind, and so dedicated his life to education.

In 1947, he moved to Los Angeles and set up the Michel Thomas Language Centers, from where he taught languages for over fifty years in New York, Beverly Hills and London.

Michel Thomas died at his home in New York City on Saturday 8th January 2005. He was 90 years old.

3Start German index

Track 1

0:00 Introduction. How to use this course Track 2

0:00 good morning and welcome guten Morgen und willkommen0:06 Similarities between German and English0:37 to wish wünschen0:38 welcome willkommen 0:40 good morning guten Morgen0:44 to learn lernen0:49 very quickly sehr schnell0:54 Key to similar vocabulary. Consonant shifts that took place in the

Middle Ages (‘d string’: d>t>th>s>z; ‘b string’: b>p>ph>f>v>w; ‘g string’: g>gh>c>ch>k>ck>y>g)

3:09 good gut3:19 it is es ist3:33 ‘t’ verb ending for ‘he/she/it’3:39 he goes er geht3:51 it is good es ist gut4:22 Pronunciation of ‘u’ in German is like ‘oo’ in English.4:45 what was5:09 water Wasser

Track 3

0:00 The ‘to’ form of the verb, the infinitive, always ends in ‘n’, usually ‘en’, in German.0:16 to drink trinken0:55 Do you want? Wollen Sie?1:15 German ‘w’ is pronounced like English ‘v’.1:31 Will you Wollen Sie1:40 What do you want? Was wollen Sie?1:53 What do you want to drink? Was wollen Sie trinken?2:01 to eat essen2:16 What do you want to eat? Was wollen Sie essen?

42:24 to do tun2:39 What do you want to do? Was wollen Sie tun?2:49 to come kommen3:01 Do you want to come? Wollen Sie kommen?3:07 with me mit mir3:22 Do you want to come with me? Wollen Sie mit mir kommen?3:28 Whenever you have two verbs, the second verb comes at the end

of the sentence and is always the ‘to’ form of the verb.4:12 today heute4:21 Pronunciation of German ‘eu’ like English ‘oy’4:28 Do you want to come Wollen Sie heute with me today? mit mir kommen?4:45 evening Abend5:04 good evening guten Abend5:13 this evening heute Abend5:22 Do you want to come with Wollen Sie heute Abend mit me this evening? mir kommen?5:40 What do you want to eat? Was wollen Sie essen?5:55 ‘Wollen Sie’ means ‘do you want’, but it’s also used for ‘will you’.6:09 Will you come with Wollen Sie heute Abend mit me tonight. mir kommen.

Track 4

0:00 to be sein0:07 when wann0:20 When do you want to be here? Wann wollen Sie hier sein?0:48 Do you want? Wollen Sie?0:51 Will you Wollen Sie0:56 Can you? Können Sie?1:09 Pronunciation of ‘ö’1:31 to come kommen2:00 Can you come with me? Können Sie mit mir kommen?1:52 Will you please come with me. Wollen Sie bitte mit mir kommen.1:59 Do you want to come with me? Wollen Sie mit mir kommen?2:05 The difference between ‘do you want’ and ‘will you’, a question and a

polite request. Use of rising intonation for questions

52:34 yes, no ja, nein2:53 please bitte3:06 When do you want to come Wann wollen Sie mit mir kommen? with me?3:38 to see sehen3:52 until I see you again / until auf Wiedersehen / auf Wiederhören I hear you again (good-bye)4:14 to hear hören

Track 5

0:00 When do you want to see it? Wann wollen Sie es sehen? 0:33 Can you see it? Können Sie es sehen?0:44 I can ich kann0:50 Pronunciation of ‘ch’1:25 I want ich will1:44 Do you want? Wollen Sie?1:49 you want Sie wollen1:56 if wenn2:12 When do you want? Wann wollen Sie?2:22 if you want wenn Sie wollen2:45 we want wir wollen2:56 For ‘you’ and ‘we’ you always use the whole verb form.3:08 to come kommen3:18 you are coming Sie kommen3:25 we are coming wir kommen3:32 Are you coming? Kommen Sie?3:44 When are you coming? Wann kommen Sie?3:49 When do you come? Wann kommen Sie?3:55 I come / I am coming ich komme4:15 soon bald4:22 I’m coming soon. Ich komme bald.4:28 Do you want? Wollen Sie?4:33 I want ich will4:39 Can you? Können Sie?5:10 Can you come with me? Können Sie mit mir kommen?

6Track 6

0:00 to stay bleiben0:17 we are staying / we stay wir bleiben0:25 How to express the present tense2:00 We are staying here. Wir bleiben hier.2:05 We are staying here today. Wir bleiben heute hier.2:13 We are staying here this Wir bleiben heute Abend hier. evening (tonight).2:26 you are staying Sie bleiben2:34 Are you staying? / Do you stay? Bleiben Sie?2:51 how wie2:55 to go gehen3:02 to see sehen3:14 we are going wir gehen3:18 you are going Sie gehen3:21 Are you going? Gehen Sie?3:25 I am going / I go ich gehe

Track 7

0:02 I ich0:12 not nicht0:33 now jetzt1:27 not now nicht jetzt1:47 I want ich will1:53 I want to see it. Ich will es sehen.2:01 but aber2:09 I want to see it but not now. Ich will es sehen aber nicht jetzt.2:21 Can you see it? Können Sie es sehen?2:32 I can see it. Ich kann es sehen.2:50 Some verbs (‘handles’, verbs after which another verb will follow at the

end) go their own way in the ‘ich’ form and don’t just chop off the ‘n’ of the ‘to’ form: ‘ich kann’, ‘ich will’.

3:04 I cannot see it. Ich kann es nicht sehen.3:15 The pronoun (for example, ‘es’) usually goes before ‘nicht’.3:34 I cannot see you. Ich kann Sie nicht sehen.

7Track 8

0:00 to understand verstehen0:07 to stand stehen0:31 we understand wir verstehen0:43 We understand you. Wir verstehen Sie.0:56 good / well gut1:17 very good sehr gut1:29 Pronunciation of long vowels, such as in ‘sehr’, ‘das Meer’, ‘mehr’1:58 ocean das Meer2:03 Mediterranean das Mittelmeer2:21 more mehr2:51 It is very good. Es ist sehr gut.3:23 we understand wir verstehen3:39 we don’t understand wir verstehen nicht3:55 We don’t understand it. Wir verstehen es nicht.4:04 We don’t understand you. Wir verstehen Sie nicht.4:43 We don’t understand you Wir verstehen Sie nicht very well. sehr gut.5:27 Do you understand? Verstehen Sie?5:42 Do you understand it? Verstehen Sie es?5:49 Do you understand me? Verstehen Sie mich?6:14 Don’t you understand me? Verstehen Sie mich nicht?

Track 9

0:05 ‘Can’ is a ‘handle’. It is always followed by another verb in the full, ‘to’, form, and that verb comes at the end of the sentence.

0:14 Can you understand me? Können Sie mich verstehen?0:27 I can ich kann0:34 I cannot ich kann nicht0:43 I cannot understand you. Ich kann Sie nicht verstehen.0:59 I’m sorry. Es tut mir Leid.2:01 I’m sorry but ... Es tut mir Leid, aber ...2:25 I’m sorry but I cannot Es tut mir Leid, aber ich kann understand you. Sie nicht verstehen.3:37 to stay bleiben3:41 we are staying wir bleiben3:48 we are not staying wir bleiben nicht

84:00 long (time) lange4:07 We cannot stay here long. Wir können nicht hier lange bleiben.4:54 how long wie lange5:00 How long can you stay here? Wie lange können Sie hier bleiben?5:14 I must ich muss5:22 I must see it. Ich muss es sehen.5:33 I must stay here ... Ich muss hier bleiben ...5:39 ... but I cannot stay here ... aber ich kann nicht (sehr) (very) long. lange hier bleiben.5:58 I must go soon. Ich muss bald gehen.

Track 10

0:00 There are two words for ‘me’. If ‘to me’ is implied, then the German is ‘mir’. If not, then it is ‘mich’.0:21 Do you understand me? Verstehen Sie mich?1:00 Similarities between German and Anglo-Saxon words in English. You

may guess vocabulary but not structure. So ‘kommen’, ‘bringen’, ‘finden’ (‘to come’, ‘to bring’, ‘to find’) are all Anglo-Saxon words and therefore guessable.

2:03 I’m sorry but I cannot find it. Es tut mir Leid, aber ich kann es nicht finden.2:45 white weiß2:58 white wine Weißwein3:04 I know ich weiß3:09 I know it. Ich weiß es.3:14 I don’t know it. Ich weiß es nicht.3:22 where wo3:29 I don’t know where it is. Ich weiß nicht wo es ist.3:42 I cannot find it. Ich kann es nicht finden.3:58 I’m sorry but I don’t know Es tut mir Leid, aber ich weiß nicht, where it is. I cannot find it. wo es ist. Ich kann es nicht finden.

Track 11

0:00 to bring, to come, to find, bringen, kommen, finden, to see, to go, to understand sehen, gehen, verstehen0:23 I understand ich verstehe0:27 I understand you very well. Ich verstehe Sie sehr gut.

90:44 I don’t understand you very well. Ich verstehe Sie nicht sehr gut.0:57 I cannot understand you very well. Ich kann Sie nicht sehr gut verstehen.1:18 If you use ‘kann’ or ‘können’ (a ‘handle’), the verb that follows goes at the end of the sentence.1:31 Do you understand me? Verstehen Sie mich?1:51 Will you bring it to me. Wollen Sie es mir bringen.2:10 Can you bring it to me today? Können Sie es mir heute bringen?2:37 to have haben2:54 we have wir haben3:00 We have it. Wir haben es.3:05 We don’t have it. Wir haben es nicht.3:15 Do you have? Haben Sie?3:19 Do you have it? Haben Sie es?3:22 why warum3:33 Why don’t you have it? Warum haben Sie es nicht?

Track 12

0:00 with me mit mir0:05 for me für mich0:20 Can you come with me? Können Sie mit mir kommen?0:27 Do you have it for me? Haben Sie es für mich?0:42 What do you have for me? Was haben Sie für mich?0:56 How to pronounce ‘ü’1:19 It is for me. Es ist für mich.1:30 Can you understand me? Können Sie mich verstehen?2:25 Why can’t you understand me? Warum können Sie mich nicht verstehen?3:26 what was3:32 something etwas3:43 Can you bring me Können Sie mir etwas jetzt bringen? something now? 4:28 What can you bring me (now)? Was können Sie mir (jetzt) bringen?4:49 Why can you not bring it Warum können Sie es mir to me now? jetzt nicht bringen?

10Track 13

0:00 to have, we have haben, wir haben0:08 we have it, we don’t have it wir haben es, wir haben es nicht0:22 Why don’t you have it for me? Warum haben Sie es nicht für mich?0:50 I must ich muss1:01 I must have it. Ich muss es haben.1:17 to suffer leiden1:24 unfortunately leider1:26 Unfortunately I cannot do it now. Ich kann es leider jetzt nicht tun.2:12 I’m sorry but I don’t have Es tut mir Leid, aber ich habe it for you now. es jetzt nicht für Sie.3:08 ‘You’ is ‘Sie’, but if it implies ‘to you’ then it is ‘Ihnen’. ‘You’ is always written with a capital letter.3:35 I cannot bring it to you now … Ich kann nicht es Ihnen jetzt bringen …3:52 ‘For’ in the sense of ‘because’ is ‘denn’.4:40 …for / because I don’t have … denn ich habe es jetzt it now. nicht.

Track 14

0:00 What do you have for me? Was haben Sie für mich?0:10 What can you bring me? Was können Sie mir bringen?0:27 for me für mich0:32 with me mit mir0:45 for you für Sie0:50 with you mit Ihnen1:17 I cannot bring it to you today Ich kann es Ihnen nicht heute because I don’t have it bringen, denn ich habe es nicht. (for I don’t have it).2:24 I must have it. Ich muss es haben.4:08 to be able können4:20 The ‘handles’: ‘to have to’, ‘to be able to’, ‘to want’4:39 to have to müssen5:06 I must / have to ich muss5:18 we have to wir müssen5:22 you have to Sie müssen5:28 You have to come with me. Sie müssen mit mir kommen.

11Track 15

0:00 to give geben0:11 we give wir geben0:15 you give Sie geben0:19 I am giving ich gebe0:24 I am giving it to you. Ich gebe es Ihnen.0:50 But I cannot give it to you today Aber ich kann es Ihnen nicht heute because I don’t have it. geben, denn ich habe es nicht.1:53 When do you want to have it? Wann wollen Sie es haben?1:59 When can you have it? Wann können Sie es haben?2:18 When can you have it for me? Wann können Sie es für mich haben?2:45 to smoke rauchen2:46 forbidden verboten2:58 Two ways to pronounce ‘ch’3:43 also auch3:47 me too / I also ich auch3:53 I don’t smoke. Ich rauche nicht.4:02 to need brauchen4:15 I need it. Ich brauche es.4:24 I don’t need it. Ich brauche es nicht.4:33 I don’t need it now. Ich brauche es jetzt nicht.4:50 Do you need it? Brauchen Sie es?4:57 When do you need it? Wann brauchen Sie es?5:09 When do you want to have it? Wann wollen Sie es haben?6:05 I can bring it to you today. Ich kann es Ihnen heute bringen.

Track 16

0:00 I want to have it. Ich will es haben.0:22 How to express the future tense 0:40 We will have it. Wir werden es haben.0:52 You will have it. Sie werden es haben.0:59 When will you have it for me? Wann werden Sie es für mich haben?1:32 I will have it for you today. Ich werde es für Sie heute haben.2:13 I will have it today. Ich werde es heute haben.

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Here’s what people say about Michel Thomas:“This guy is one of my heroes.”

“What a legend. I love his method.”

“Defi nitely the best way to learn.”

“Just after a couple of days I’m confi dent that I will be able to speak directly.”

“It’s the best way to learn a foreign language.”

“Totally life changing.”

“The Michel Thomas course is much the easiest to make progress with.”

“He’s the best.”

“A truly inspirational way to learn a language.”

“With Michel you learn a language effortlessly.”

‘‘The nearest thing to

painless learning.’’ The Times

Millions of people worldwide speak German thanks to the Michel Thomas Method.