usually introduced by a conjunction*: Er weiß doch schon, dass ich krank bin ‘He
already knows that I’m ill’. Here the section in bold italics is the subordinate clause,
while what precedes it is the main clause. A relative clause is a subordinate clause
introduced by a relative pronoun (usually der/die/das) and relates back to a preceding
noun* or pronoun*: Das ist die Schule, die wir früher besuchten ‘That is the school
we used to go to’.colloquial an informal style of language more characteristic of spoken than written
German. For example, using the expression Schwein haben instead of Glück haben
for ‘to be lucky’. Or simply using Tschüs! or Tschau! to say goodbye to a friend, rather
than the more formal auf Wiedersehen!comparative the form of the adjective* or adverb* used to compare things: Eine
schwierigere Aufgabe ‘A more difficult exercise’. Ein besseres Klima ‘A better climate’.
Fahr doch langsamer! ‘Do drive more slowly!’ See also superlative.completion of the verb the phrase or phrases which complete the meaning of the
verb*, such as an accusative object*, a dative object* or a prepositional phrase*: Er
klopfte an der Tür ‘He knocked on the door’. Sie gab ihrer Freundin das Buch ‘She
gave her friend the book’. Dieser Bus fährt in die Stadtmitte ‘This bus goes to the town
centre’.compound noun a noun formed by joining together two or more words: das Büro
‘office’, die Maschine ‘machine’: die Büromaschine ‘office machine’.conditional the form würde is the Subjunctive II form of the verb* werden and is
sometimes referred to as the conditional tense, even though it is not strictly a tense.
It is frequently used in conditional sentences, so called because they suggest some
condition applies to the meaning of the main clause (see clause*). The subordinate
clause in a conditional sentence very often begins with the conjunction* wenn ‘if’:
Wenn es heute nicht regnete, würden wir im Garten arbeiten ‘If it weren’t raining
today, we would work in the garden’. Another type of conditional sentence with wenn
and the present tense of the verb* in both clauses denotes an open or real condition:
Wenn sie heute Abend kommt, gehen wir ins Kino ‘If she comes this evening, we’ll
go to the cinema’.conjugation the changing of the person*, number*, tense* or mood* of a verb* to
indicate different meanings or grammatical functions: Ich gehe, du gehst, sie ging,
er ginge, etc.conjunction word that links clauses*, e.g. dass, obwohl, weil, aber, und.dative object also known as the indirect object, it usually denotes a person or thing
indirectly involved in the action of the verb*. In English it comes before the accusative
object* (or direct object) or after ‘to’/’for’; in German it is always in the dative case (see
case*): Sie zeigte ihrem Bruder das neue Auto ‘She showed her brother the new car’/‘She
showed the new car to her brother’. Er hat es dir gekauft ‘He bought it for you’.declension the changing of case* and number* of either a noun* or adjective* to
indicate different meanings or grammatical functions.xiv
GLOSSARY