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Beginners’ German: Places and people
Beginners’ German: Places and people

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1.3 Location

In the previous activities you have been looking at the location of places in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. If you had to give this information in German, this is the vocabulary you would need:

  • Vokabeln
  • das ist … that is … / this is …

  • in Deutschland in Germany

  • in Norddeutschland in northern Germany

  • in Süddeutschland in southern Germany

  • in Österreich in Austria

  • in der Schweiz in Switzerland

Übung 4

Listen to the names of some places and say, in German, where they all are. Repeat this activity until you are happy with your pronunciation.

Bitte hören Sie und sprechen Sie. Hier ist ein Beispiel.

  • You hear: Hamburg

  • You say: Hamburg? Das ist in Norddeutschland.

  • You hear: Hamburg? Hm, das ist in Norddeutschland!

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Übung 4
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Answer

As is the case in English, countries in German in general do not have articles (for example you would say ‘Germany’ not ‘the Germany’). There are a few exceptions though and Schweiz is one of them. That's why you had to say Das ist in der Schweiz.)

Übung 5

Now listen to people saying who they are and where they come from. Then, complete the sentences below.

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Übung 5
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  • 1. Claudia Grothe kommt aus …
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  • 2. Jasmin kommt aus …
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  • 3. Ulf kommt aus …
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  • 4. Dieter Hoffmann kommt aus …
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  • 5. Bärbel Kleingarn kommt aus …
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  • 6. Peter Neißendorfer kommt aus …
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Answer

This is where the people come from:

  1. Claudia Grothe kommt aus Norddeutschland.

  2. Jasmin kommt aus Innsbruck.

  3. Ulf kommt aus Rostock.

  4. Dieter Hoffmann kommt aus Köln.

  5. Bärbel Kleingarn kommt aus Hamburg.

  6. Peter Neißendorfer kommt aus München.

Apart from ich komme aus … (I come from …), people were also saying ich bin in … geboren (I was born in …).

So far you have been talking about places, but what about the people who come from these places? You already know Das ist … which you can use for introducing them. And then you could say:

  • er kommt aus … he comes from …

  • sie kommt aus … she comes from …

And you may also want to introduce yourself:

  • mein Name ist … my name is …

  • ich komme aus … I come from …

Übung 6

Click the following link and complete the activity. Then, move on to the question below.

Open the quiz now. [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]

Und Sie? (Introduce yourself. You can look up the name of your country in a dictionary, if you like.)

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Answer

These are the answers to the activity, showing how each person should be introduced:

  1. Das ist Sigmund Freud. Er kommt aus Österreich.

    (The Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis lived from 1856 to 1939.)

  2. Das ist Steffi Graf. Sie kommt aus Deutschland.

    (Tennis player Steffi Graf was born in 1969.)

  3. Das ist Wilhelm Tell. Er kommt aus der Schweiz.

    (The semi-legendary Swiss patriot was first mentioned in a chronicle in 1470.)

  4. Das ist Michael Schumacher. Er kommt aus Deutschland.

    (The German racing driver was born in 1969.)

  5. Das ist Königin Silvia. Sie kommt aus Deutschland.

    (Silvia, Queen of Sweden, was born in Heidelberg in 1943 as Silvia Renate Sommerlath, the daughter of a West German businessman and his Brazilian wife.)

  6. Das ist Nastassja Kinski. Sie kommt aus Deutschland.

    (The actress – and daughter of actor Klaus Kinski – was born in 1960).

  7. Das ist Helmut Kohl. Er kommt aus Deutschland.

    (The former German chancellor was born in 1930.)

  8. Das ist Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Er kommt aus Österreich.

    (The Austrian composer lived from 1756 to 1791.)

This is how you could have introduced yourself:

Mein Name ist _____. Ich komme aus _____ (England, Schottland, Wales, Irland, usw.).