Beginners' German: Food and drink

# Teil 5

## A

When visiting friends or colleagues in Germany, you will normally be offered something to drink. In the recording you hear people offering a number of things to drink. It is up to you to choose whether to accept (ja, bitte ) or decline (nein, danke ) each one, so the answers to this activity depend on your own preferences.

Beispiel

You hear: Möchten Sie eine Tasse Kaffee?

You say: Ja, bitte./Nein, danke.

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Audio 12
Transcript

## Language: Speaking politely

When you are offered something you tend to say more than just ja and nein , for example ‘yes, please’ (ja, bitte ) or ‘no, thank you’ (nein, danke ). Danke on its own in this context is usually understood to mean nein, danke .

In the audio clip in Section 4 Activity D you may have noticed that the waitress used bitte schön in two different ways. First she used the phrase as a question: Bitte schön? meaning ‘Yes, please?’ to ask what the customers wanted. Later she said Bitte schön meaning ‘Here you are’ as she served the items.

There is a third situation where Bitte schön commonly occurs: in response to Danke schön it means ‘Don’t mention it’ or ‘You’re welcome’. Listen out for these three uses of Bitte schön and take particular note of the intonation used in each case.

## B

Here is a written extract from a café conversation with a few key words missing. Use some of the language you have just learned to fill in the gaps.

In the previous activity you might have noticed the change of the indefinite article ein to einen . This is an indication of the use of the accusative case with masculine nouns that functions as an object in a sentence. The same happens when the definite article der becomes den .

- Vokabeln
- die Speisekarte menu
- die Kellnerin waitress

##

Gast | Entschuldigung! Die Speisekarte, bitte!
Kellnerin | Ja, sofort. … Bitte _________
(später) |
Kellnerin | Möchten _________ bestellen?
Gast | Ja, ich _________ einen Kaffee, bitte.
Kellnerin | Eine Tasse oder ein _________ ?
Gast | Eine Tasse, bitte.
Kellnerin | Sonst noch _________ ?
Gast | Nein, danke.

Note: Check that you used capital letters in the right places.

## Answer

##

Gast | Entschuldigung! Die Speisekarte, bitte!
Kellnerin | Ja, sofort. … Bitte schön.
(später) |
Kellnerin | Möchten Sie bestellen?
Gast | Ja, ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte.
Kellnerin | Eine Tasse oder ein Kännchen?
Gast | Eine Tasse, bitte.
Kellnerin | Sonst noch etwas?
Gast | Nein, danke.

Note: Check that you used capital letters in the right places.

## C

Now it’s your turn to play the customer’s part, using the script you prepared in the previous activity. You may want to print out a copy of the answer to the previous activity to refer to. You start the dialogue by calling for the menu.

Beispiel

You say: Entschuldigung! Die Speisekarte, bitte.

You hear: Entschuldigung! Die Speisekarte, bitte.

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Audio 13
Transcript

## D

#### 1

Here is a menu from a specialist fish restaurant. Read this menu, which will be used in the second part of this activity. You don’t need to understand every word but try to get a rough idea of what the items mean.

Figure 10
View long description

#### 2

Listen to the audio clip and practise ordering a main course by following the whispered prompts you hear. You start by calling (rufen ) the waitress.

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Audio 14
Transcript

Beispiel

You hear: Rufen Sie die Kellnerin.

You say: Entschuldigung!

You hear: Entschuldigung!

OpenLearn - Beginners' German: Food and drink
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