Opinions is the forty-seventh skill in the language tree for German on Duolingo. It teaches gerunds and comparative adjectives using vocabulary around expressing opinions, and it has five lessons.
Grammar Notes[]
Richtig oder Recht?[]
In German, the word richtig (which we learned many skills ago) is used to describe something as being correct:
- Ist dein Hund klug? Ja, das ist richtig. = Is your dog smart? Yes, that is right.
But when people are right about something, you use the phrase recht haben:
- Ist dein Hund klug? Ja, du hast recht. = Is your dog smart? Yes, you're right.
Note that you might see recht capitalized sometimes. This is correct but the Duden (the German language authority) prefers lower case.
Comparative adjectives[]
When you're saying someone is taller or more intelligent than some other thing, you're using what are called "comparative adjectives". In German, all comparative adjectives are just the adjective plus -er:
- gefährlich ("dangerous") -> gefährlicher ("more dangerous")
- lustig ("funny") -> lustiger ("funnier")
A few common comparatives will add in umlauts or drop excess e's:
- teuer ("expensive") -> teurer ("more expensive")
- stark ("strong") -> stärker ("stronger")
The equivalent to "than" in German is als and the noun that comes after will always be in the nominative case:
- Der Mann ist nicht stärker als der Bär. = The man is not stronger than the bear.
Gerunds[]
These are verbs masquerading as nouns. In English, they end in -ing: reading, listening, watching, etc. In German, use the infinitive form and capitalize the first letter:
- Lesen ist aufregender als Fernsehen. = Reading is more exciting than watching TV.
Note that all gerunds will be neuter gender (use das) and can also be compound nouns (like Fußballspielen for "playing soccer").
Lessons[]
Lesson 1[]
- die Gummibärchen = gummy bears
- die Fahrräder = bicycles
- die Autos = cars
- besser = better
- gesund = healthy
- gesünder = healthier
- zustimmen = to agree with (+dative)
Lesson 2[]
- die Aktivitäten = activities
- das Lesen = reading
- das Kochen = cooking
- das Schwimmen = swimming
- einfach = easy
- einfacher = easier
- er/sie/es stimmt zu = he/she/it agrees with
Lesson 3[]
- die Schwestern = sisters
- die Brüder = brothers
- nett = nice
- netter = nicer
- laut = loud
- lauter = louder
- lustig = funny
- lustiger = funnier
- er/sie/es hat recht = he/she/it is right
- du spinnst = you are crazy
Lesson 4[]
- die Töchter = daughters
- die Söhne = sons
- das Fahrradfahren = bike riding
- das Fußballspielen = playing soccer
- gefährlich = dangerous
- gefährlicher = more dangerous
- aufregend = exciting
- aufregender = more exciting
- das Fernsehen = watching TV
Lesson 5[]
- beide = both
- größer = bigger
- stark = strong
- stärker = stronger
- klug = smart
- klüger = smarter
- meine beste Freundin = my best friend (f.)
- mein bester Freund = my best friend (m.)
References[]
Duolingo Lesson: www.duolingo.com/skill/de/Opinions
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