Modern German Grammar: A Practical Guide, Second Edition

The happy ending of a fairy-tale is rendered as follows:

Sie lebten glücklich und zufrieden bis ans Ende ihrer Tage.

They lived happily ever after.

(c) Looking forward to something

Ich freue mich auf meine Geburtstagsparty.

I am looking forward to my birthday party.

Er freut sich darauf, mit ihr auszugehen.

He is looking forward to going out with her.

 See 42.3e (p. 114) for completion by a clause.

(d) Pleasing someone

Ich würde euch gerne eine Freude zum Hochzeitstag

machen.

I would like to treat you for your wedding anniversary.

(e) Enjoying something

Die beiden haben große Freude an ihrem Garten.

The two of them get a lot of pleasure out of their garden.

(f) Being lucky

Glück can mean both ‘happiness’ and ‘luck’ in English. Its exact meaning has

to be gleaned from context. When used with a form of haben, Glück means ‘to

be lucky’:

Mit dem guten Wetter haben wir wirklich Glück gehabt.

We were really lucky with the (good) weather.

Unser Auto war total ausgeraubt worden. Zum Glück hatten die

Kinder noch etwas Geld dabei.

Our car had been completely cleaned out./Everything had been taken/

stolen from our car. Fortunately the children had some money with

them.

Der hintere Wagen war auf unseren draufgefahren. Glücklicherweise

ist uns nichts passiert.

The car behind ran into ours. Fortunately we were all right (lit. nothing

(bad) happened to us).

 See 76.1g (p. 254) for passieren.

Hoping for luck:

Drücke mir den Daumen, wenn ich meine Fahrprüfung mache.

Keep yours fingers crossed for me when I take my driving test.

111

Expressing happiness/fear/sadness