Dative introduction

Hi all

I use Coffee Break German. It is a subscription, but podcasts are free. Have just done Season 1 lesson 17. There they introduce Dative for the first time, with only 3 prepositions, so not overwhelming, but it gives you an understanding of Dative with these 3 prepositions. I find it easier than all information at one. So now I know what the Dative case definate articles are in the Singular. Not even sure if there are plural ones, but will wait and see. So if anyone is interested, thye have a far more simple and gentle approach to pesky grammar and don't feel they have to give you the whole picture in one lump. My preferred way of learning. Earlier in the season they introduce other cases, as well as adjectives. 

Maxie

Hallo Maxie, 

sounds like you have found a good mix of resources to help you learn alongside Rocket! 

Happy learning!

Julia

Hi Maxie, 

It takes a while, but I have found prepositions to be the gift that keeps on giving, especially the ones that are either 1) all Accusative, or 2) all Dative.  

So knowing, for example, that any clause that starts with aus, bei or mit will ALWAYS be in Dative, and that any clause that starts with durch, für or um will ALWAYS be in Accusative, just makes life much, much easier.  

Of course, as you progress, and the list of preposition fills out, it just gets better.  The list isn't that long, so it's really worth while to get to know them all.  

Prepositions are our friends! 

 gottahaveajava

Hi gottahaveajava

Your nom de plume always makes me smile. 

I know I now get such a kick from recognizing the oddities of language and making all or more connections. Even when one does multiple languages and you see connections. I find Dutch and Swedish there are less connections. 

Hope you haven't been affected by the nasty weather further north. It's snowing today ( not too much) but the weather has changed in the 15 years we have been here. 

Hope the development of your project is going well. 

Maxie

Hi Maxie,

Always nice to catch up. 
 

Wellington was spared the worst, but Cyclone Gabrielle was one for the books. They'll be a long while digging out up in Hawkes Bay. Some very frightening damage there. 
 

My project is going well. Thanks for remembering. It's been held up a bit because I've re-worked the interaction model to get really penetrating engagement, and I think I'm on the verge of nailing that. But the basic premise is holding up beautifully, and now that I'm working into more fluid German, it's feeding back in ways that are both constructive and really satisfying.  I hope to share that more widely soon! 
 

All the best

gottahaveajava

Hi there.

 Gut zu wissen. Must be exciting for you to see it all unfold. I hope it doesn't keep you awake at night. Philip, my husband has sleepless nights when he is developing something. 

We are planning a trip to the Mahler weg in May. Four adult children and maybe a boyfriend. Going to be logistically challenging. Some will hike stages, as for me I'm going to explore the villages on the way. Kaffee und Kuchen and may hire a bike and do some area on that. 

We have had some very cold weather on the island and weather patterns are changing quite drastically. I don't mind it the house is warm. In Johannesburg and the rest of S. A winter's were awful as houses aren't constructed with cold in mind. Can't remember if N. Z was. We were there in early September, and we werecold. But we were living in Brunei at the time. So may have not been that cold.

Have a good weekend

Sharon 

Yes! Johannesburg sounds just like both New Zealand and San Francisco.  We lived in San Francisco for 10 years before coming to New Zealand.  I grew up in New York, so houses were always warm in winter.  When I got to San Francisco, I was stunned at how poorly insulated the houses were and how inadequate the heating systems were.  

Had I not experienced that, I would have instantly judged New Zealand to be a backward third-world country, not a country with weather so mild they just don't bother with adequate protection from the cold.

The Swedish have a saying that goes something like, “There's no such thing as too cold, there's only inadequate clothing.” That apparently applies to houses as well.  

And apparently, that's a feature of moderate climates everywhere!  

Doug