Woher kommst du?

Chapter Objectives

Communication Scenario

Core Vocabulary

Länder — Countries

Most German country names take no article and behave like names. A small number of countries are feminine, plural, or otherwise require an article; these must simply be learned individually.

Receptive only, for recognition: Japan, China, die Türkei, Polen, Brasilien, Russland, Indien, Ägypten, Portugal, Griechenland. You are not expected to produce these yet, but you may meet them in readings or in a multilingual classroom.

Städte — Cities

Sprachen — Languages

Language names are nouns in German and are therefore always capitalized, whether or not English would capitalize them.

Receptive only: Russisch, Türkisch, Polnisch. A single Deutschkurs classroom often includes speakers of all of these languages and more; see the culture note later in this chapter.

Nationalität — Nationality

For now, this course expresses nationality with a predicate adjective after sein — the same pattern you learned for colors in Chapter 2. Nationality adjectives are lowercase and take no ending, even though the corresponding language noun is capitalized.

You may also hear noun forms such as der Amerikaner / die Amerikanerin or der Kanadier / die Kanadierin used the same way Germans say der Lehrer for "teacher." These nationality nouns are common and useful, but they involve gender and plural patterns this course has not yet built up systematically; for now, recognize them receptively and use the predicate-adjective pattern above for your own productive sentences.

Die Zahlen 20–100 — Numbers 20–100

Numbers between the tens are built by stating the unit first, then und, then the ten: einundzwanzig (21, literally "one-and-twenty"), zweiundzwanzig (22), fünfunddreißig (35). This pattern continues all the way to neunundneunzig (99). You will use these forms heavily for phone numbers, prices, and ages later in the course.

Kontaktdaten — Contact information

Most German speakers say a phone number in short groups rather than digit by digit in a single string — for example, null-eins-sieben-eins, then a short pause, then the next group. Practice grouping your own phone number this way rather than reading every digit in one long run. Note also that Austrian and Swiss usage often keeps das E-Mail neuter, while Germany typically uses die E-Mail feminine; this course uses the Germany-based die E-Mail as the default and labels the Austrian/Swiss form as a recognized regional alternative.

Persönliche Fragen — Personal questions (recap and expansion)

Pronunciation and Spelling

Initial sp and st

At the beginning of a native German word or syllable, the letter combinations sp and st are pronounced with a sch-like /ʃ/ sound before the following consonant, giving roughly /ʃp/ and /ʃt/.

The ich-Laut after front vowels

Chapter 3 gives you more practice with the ich-Laut, the sound spelled ch after front vowels and after consonants such as r. It is a soft, breathy sound made near the front of the mouth — never a /k/ sound and never identical to English sh.

• ich I
• sprichst you speak (du-form, stem-changing)
• sprichst du …? do you speak …?

You will meet the back-vowel counterpart, the ach-Laut, formally in Chapter 6. For now, simply continue practicing the front-vowel ich-Laut wherever it occurs.

German r in country and language words

Standard German r varies by speaker and position — it may be produced toward the back of the mouth (a uvular sound, common in much of Germany) or, after vowels, weakened toward a vowel-like quality. No single realization is the only correct one. Practice r in Frankreich, Französisch, and Brasilien, listening to your instructor or audio model rather than substituting the tapped or trilled r of some other languages.

Stress in country and language names

Most of this chapter's country and language names stress the first syllable: SPAnien, FRANKreich, KAnada, ENGlisch, SPAnisch. A few common exceptions stress a later syllable: i-TA-li-en and fran-ZÖ-sisch. Listen for these exceptions rather than assuming first-syllable stress applies everywhere.

Grouping numbers when speaking

When you say a multi-digit number aloud — a phone number, for example — group the digits in short clusters with a brief pause between groups, rather than running every digit together at the same speed. This makes numbers far easier for a listener to follow and write down.

Grammar Instruction

3.1 Regular present-tense verbs

Purpose: talk about what people do, using verbs beyond sein.

Most German verbs are regular in the present tense: remove the -en ending from the infinitive to find the stem, then add the ending that matches the subject.

This same pattern of endings (-e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en) applies to wohnen (to live), lernen (to learn, to study), and machen (to do, to make):

• Ich wohne in Hamburg. I live in Hamburg.
• Du lernst Deutsch. You are learning German.
• Was machst du? What are you doing? / What do you do?
• Wir lernen zusammen. We study together.

German has only one present tense where English often has two ("I learn" and "I am learning"). You will study the full range of present-tense meanings later in the course; for now, simply use the form above for both ideas.

3.2 A stem-changing verb: sprechen

Purpose: recognize that some common verbs change their stem vowel in the du and er/sie/es forms.

The verb sprechen (to speak) follows the same endings as above, but its stem vowel changes from e to i in the du and er/sie/es forms only.

Not every German verb changes its stem this way — kommen, wohnen, lernen, and machen in this chapter do not. Stem-changing verbs must be learned individually as you meet them; you will encounter more of them later in the course. For now, simply learn sprechen as your first example of the pattern.

• Ich spreche Englisch und Deutsch. I speak English and German.
• Sprichst du Spanisch? Do you speak Spanish?
• Sofia spricht Spanisch und Englisch. Sofia speaks Spanish and English.

3.3 Verb-second word order (V2)

Purpose: understand why the finite verb appears where it does in a German statement, and apply that pattern correctly when a sentence does not begin with the subject.

In an independent German statement, the finite verb (the conjugated verb that agrees with the subject) normally occupies the second position. This is often called verb-second or V2 word order.

"Second position" does not mean "the second word." It means the second constituent — the second self-contained piece of the sentence, which may itself contain more than one word.

• Ich komme aus Deutschland. I come from Germany.[Ich] [komme] [aus Deutschland] — one-word subject, verb second
• Mein Freund Lukas kommt aus Hamburg. My friend Lukas comes from Hamburg.[Mein Freund Lukas] [kommt] [aus Hamburg] — three-word subject, verb still second
• Heute lerne ich Deutsch. Today I am learning German.[Heute] [lerne] [ich] [Deutsch] — time expression first, subject moves after the verb

The third example shows an important consequence of V2 order: when something other than the subject — such as a time expression — begins the sentence, the subject moves to after the finite verb. This is sometimes called inversion, though nothing is truly out of order: the verb is still in its normal second position; only the first position has changed.

3.4 W-questions

Purpose: ask for specific information using a question word.

A W-question begins with a question word (most German question words begin with w), followed immediately by the finite verb in second position, then the subject.

• Woher kommst du? Where are you from?
• Wo wohnst du? Where do you live?
• Was lernst du im Kurs? What are you learning in the course?
• Welche Sprachen sprichst du? Which languages do you speak?
• Wer kommt aus Spanien? Who comes from Spain? (recycled from Chapter 2)

Note the distinction between woher (where ... from, asking about origin) and wo (where, asking about current location). They are not interchangeable: Woher kommst du? asks about origin, while Wo wohnst du? asks about current residence. The same person may answer these two questions very differently.

3.5 Yes-or-no questions

Purpose: ask a question that can be answered with ja or nein.

To form a yes-or-no question, place the finite verb first, before the subject. No equivalent of English "do" or "does" is used.

• Kommst du aus Deutschland? — Ja, ich komme aus Deutschland. Are you from Germany? — Yes, I'm from Germany.
• Wohnst du in Berlin? — Nein, ich wohne in München. Do you live in Berlin? — No, I live in Munich.
• Sprichst du Englisch? — Ja, ich spreche Englisch und Deutsch. Do you speak English? — Yes, I speak English and German.

3.6 aus and in: formulaic origin and residence phrases

Purpose: state where someone is from and where someone lives, using fixed prepositional patterns.

Use aus ("from") to state origin and in ("in") to state residence. For now, treat these as fixed expressions; the grammatical case they require will be explained formally in a later chapter.

• Ich komme aus Deutschland. I come from Germany.
• Ich wohne in Hamburg. I live in Hamburg.
• Sofia kommt aus Spanien und wohnt jetzt in Hamburg. Sofia is from Spain and now lives in Hamburg.

Most country names need no article after aus or in. The few countries that take an article in this course (die Schweiz, die USA) change that article when they follow aus or in:

• Ich komme aus der Schweiz. I come from Switzerland.
• Ich wohne in der Schweiz. I live in Switzerland.
• Daniel kommt aus Kanada, aber sein Bruder wohnt in den USA. Daniel is from Canada, but his brother lives in the United States.

Memorize aus der Schweiz and in den USA as complete chunks for now. You will learn exactly why the article changes form when prepositional case is introduced beginning in Chapter 6.

Practice — Conjugate the verb

Supply the correct present-tense form.

1. Ich _____ (kommen) aus Kanada.
2. Du _____ (wohnen) in München, oder?
3. Sofia _____ (sprechen) Spanisch und Englisch.
4. Wir _____ (lernen) Deutsch im Kurs.
5. Was _____ (machen) ihr heute?
6. _____ (sprechen) Sie Französisch?

Practice — Word order

Rewrite each sentence so that the underlined word or phrase comes first, adjusting word order correctly.

1. Ich lerne heute Deutsch. → _____
2. Wir wohnen in Hamburg. → _____
3. Er spricht im Kurs nur Deutsch. → _____

Practice — Form the question

Write the W-question that would produce each answer.

1. _____? — Ich komme aus Italien.
2. _____? — Ich wohne in Berlin.
3. _____? — Ich spreche Deutsch, Englisch und Spanisch.

Model Dialogue

Verständnisfragen — Comprehension questions:

1. Woher kommt Sofia, und wo wohnt sie jetzt? (Where is Sofia from, and where does she live now?)
2. Welche Sprachen spricht Sofia? (Which languages does Sofia speak?)
3. Woher kommt Daniel, und woher kommt seine Familie ursprünglich? (Where is Daniel from, and where does his family originally come from?)
4. Was tauschen Lukas und Sofia aus, und warum? (What do Lukas and Sofia exchange, and why?)
5. Finden Sie im Dialog ein Beispiel für ein Satz, der nicht mit dem Subjekt beginnt. Was steht an erster Stelle, und wo steht das Verb? (Find an example in the dialogue of a sentence that does not begin with the subject. What is in first position, and where is the verb?)

Listening

Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following short self-introduction aloud at a moderate pace. Listen once for general comprehension, then a second time to complete the tasks below.

Aufgabe 1 — Listening comprehension table:

Aufgabe 2 — Richtig oder falsch: Write richtig or falsch. Correct any false statements in German.

1. Elena kommt aus Österreich. ______
2. Elena wohnt in Wien. ______
3. Elena spricht Deutsch und Französisch. ______
4. Elena findet Deutsch einfach. ______

Reading

Read the following two short texts: a registration form from the Volkshochschule, and short personal profiles written by three course participants for the class blog.

Verständnisfragen — Comprehension questions:

1. Was muss man auf dem Anmeldeformular angeben? (What must one provide on the registration form?)
2. Warum sagt Mira, dass sie "keine neue Hamburgerin" ist? (Why does Mira say she is "not a new Hamburger"?)
3. Warum lernt Sofia Deutsch? (Why is Sofia learning German?)
4. Wie viele Sprachen spricht Daniel insgesamt, wenn man Deutsch dazuzählt? (How many languages does Daniel speak in total, counting German?)
5. Schreiben Sie zwei Sätze über sich selbst nach dem Modell von Mira, Sofia oder Daniel. (Write two sentences about yourself following the model of Mira, Sofia, or Daniel.)

Writing Workshop

In this chapter, you will complete a registration form and then write a short personal profile for the class blog, following the model of Mira, Sofia, and Daniel's profiles above.

1. Analyze the model. Reread the three profiles. Identify: (a) the order in which origin, residence, language, and a personal detail appear, (b) how each writer uses aus and in, and (c) one detail in each profile that makes it feel personal rather than generic.
2. Complete the registration form. Fill in the Anmeldeformular above with your own real or invented information.
3. Plan your profile. In notes, list: your name, where you are from, where you live now, the language(s) you speak, the language you are learning, and one personal detail (why you are learning German, what you find interesting or difficult, and so on).
4. Write your first draft. Write four to six sentences. Include at least one sentence with aus, one with in, one with sprechen, and one sentence that does not begin with the subject (for example, beginning with jetzt or im Kurs).
5. Revise. Check your draft against the editing checklist before writing a final version.

Checkliste — Editing checklist:

• Every verb form matches its subject (correct ending for ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie).
• Sprichst/spricht shows the correct stem change where needed.
• Every sentence has the finite verb in second position, even after a fronted word like jetzt or heute.
• die Schweiz and die USA use the correct forms after aus or in, if used.
• Language nouns (Deutsch, Englisch) are capitalized; nationality adjectives (deutsch, englisch) are lowercase.
• Every noun is capitalized, and umlauts/ß are correctly written.
• My profile includes one personal, specific detail.

Speaking Practice

Culture and Communication

Common Mistakes

Chapter Review

Chapter Performance Task

Looking Ahead