MICHEL THOMAS GERMAN (ADVANCED) COURSE, 4 CDs TRANSCRIPT This is an approximate transcript of the course, since Michel often

changed his mind in the middle of a sentence to be translated, or adapted his sentences for the students. The booklet that accompanied Michel's courses was wholly inadequate, so I have written this transcript. I have found it useful, so maybe other people will, too. Naturally, it would be foolish to try to learn the language using this transcript, without buying the recordings. Note that English is my native language, so I don't guarantee that there are no mistakes. Tracks and track times in the recording are shown in brackets. Version 2, Jan 15th 2006 Transcribed by JK CD 1 (75.02) (1) 7.30 to stay I am staying He is staying He doesn't stay We are staying here They are staying here You are staying (To make a distinction between "you" and "they", for "they" you can say instead die, which is short for diese da, "these there".) They are not staying here You are not staying here How long are you staying? He will stay here She won't stay here How long will you stay here? How long are you going to stay here? Will you tell me how long you are going to stay here? I would like to know how long you can stay here (2) 1.32 (When talking to friends and family, the word for "you" is du. "You are staying" is du bleibst - the verb ending for du is -st.) How long are you staying here? (to Paul) (3) 3.04 I will do it

I won't do it We will stay here They will stay here You will stay here They will stay here (not you) How long are you staying? (to Paul) I will stay How long will you stay? They will not stay here Paul, how long are you staying? I will stay You will stay (to Paul) I don't know how long he will stay (4) 3.30 I can do it I cannot do it Can you do it? Why can't you do it? Why can't you do it now? I cannot find it, I don't know where it is (In speech, Ich kann es can be contracted to Ich kann's.) He cannot understand it He cannot understand me Why can't you understand me? (5) 3.23 I will tell it to you later At what time are you going to be here? He will come with us Will you wait for me Where do you want to wait for me? Where do you want to go? (6) 2.54 to be able He won't be able to find it He won't be able to tell it to you because he doesn't know it I know He knows You know (to Paul) ...because he doesn't know it He will not be able to do it (7) 1.09 (In order to emphasise the object, for example "that", you must invert the word order. For example, "that he will not be able to do" is "that will he not be able to do".) That he will not be able to do

He won't be able to do that (8) 2.05 I wouldn't be able to do it He would never be able to do it (9) 2.07 never time I have no time I have no time to do it newspaper to read I will read the newspaper (10) 3.33 Can you? Could you? Could you tell me? Could you come with me? Could you come with me? (to Paul) (In English, "could" has two meanings: "could you" means "would you be able to", but it also means the past tense meaning "were you able to". In German, the past tense is konnten.) Could you wait for me (now)? Could you tell me where it is? I'm sorry but I couldn't understand you (11) 3.33 to have I have we have they have you have he has you have (Paul) You are right to the right to be right You are right (Paul) to buy Why don't you buy it? Why don't you want to buy it? Where will you buy it? Why won't you buy it? (12) 4.11 I have I have bought I have bought it

I have not bought it, I didn't buy it still, still more something more I want something more I want to eat something more a little more not yet He didn't buy it yet Why didn't you buy it yet? to make He has made it to laugh He laughed (13) 8.22 to buy to sell (German has detachable prefixes and non-detachable prefixes.) to go to go away I'm going away to come back the back my back to go back to come back He is coming back soon He will come back soon to sell I am selling it (Non-detachable verbs don't begin ge- in the past tense.) I have sold it He has sold it He hasn't sold it yet We sold it You sold it They sold it You have sold it (Paul) Why did you sell it? (Paul) Why didn't you sell it? Why didn't you sell it yet? Everything is sold It is not sold yet He has told me Why didn't you tell me? We have told it to you He told me that he wouldn't do it

He didn't tell me that he will do it (14) 2.14 to repair I am repairing it He is repairing it (All the -ieren verbs, which usually come from French, don't take the ge- prefix in the past tense.) I repaired it to organise He organised it to specialise to control He controlled it It is controlled It is well organised He organised it Everything is well organised (15) 4.52 Everything is sold I sold it (To say "I had sold it", "I had..." is ich hatte...) we had they had you had I had he had you had (to friend) I had it I didn't have it I would have it I wouldn't have it I wouldn't have the time to do it (Instead of wrde haben "would have", you can use htte "would have".) I wouldn't have the time to do it (Actually, htte means "may have" and "might have". It is the subjective.) I wouldn't have bought it because it was very expensive (16) 2.11 was, were We were very busy Where were you last night? He was there He wasn't in, he wasn't there Where were you? (to friend)

Where were you? true It was true really It was really true It is really so like that It is really true (17) 1.16 to believe, to think to think I don't believe that he is going to come with us (18) 5.35 to see (Use gesehen not geseht) I saw it, I have seen it I had seen it I would have seen it I would have told you He wouldn't have told me We would have told you ("if" wenn is a weil situation. After wenn, you will automatically use htten.) If you had told me I would have bought it if I had seen it If you had told me that you would arrive today, I would have waited for you (19) 1.05 I waited for you How long did you wait? He waited for me (20) 2.21 Will you wait for me I want he wants He doesn't want to do it Why don't you want to do it? Why don't you want to do it? (to friend) (21) 1.36 Can you do it? Could you tell me? to look for, to seek I looked for it but I couldn't find it (22) 3.51

(The past participle, in other words the diving part of the verb, is the same as the infinitive form when you are using a handle verb. So, the sentence sounds like it has two infinitives in it. Therefore, "been able" is simply knnen.) I have not been able to find it I want it I don't want it I want to do it I wanted I have wanted to do it He has not wanted to do it (23) 2.58 I couldn't have done it without you / I wouldn't have done it without you / I wouldn't have been able to do it without you I wouldn't have been able to do it without you I never could have done it without you You could have told me You could have told it to me I could (the past) I could (not the past) I could have done it

CD2 (75.29) (1) 6.11 must we must We must see it They must see it You must see it I must buy it He must do it It can be It could be It could be possible (might be, may be) That could be possible But it was not possible to do it because I didn't have the time to do it It has to be ready now, it must be ready now already It can be ready already It must be ready already It cannot be ready yet It is going to be ready tomorrow (2) 2.52 You have to do it now (Sharpened awareness of your own language: in English, the positive "you have to do it" means the same as "you must do it". But, in the negative, "you don't have to do it" doesn't mean "you must not do it"; it means "you don't need to do it".) (3) 1.00 also me too to smoke He is smoking It is smoking It did smoke here, it has smoked here (4) 1.34 Do you smoke? Smoke! Are you coming? Come with me! Are you waiting? Are you waiting for me? Wait for me! Stay here! Eat! Don't eat that! (5) 2.09

You have to see it You don't have to see it (After brauchen, you use the whole infinitive preceded by zu. However, Germans and Austrians often leave out the zu.) You don't have to do it He has to be here soon (6) 1.08 I had to I wanted I had to He had to stay here because he had to work (7) 3.32 shall, should I shall, you shall, he shall, we shall, you shall, they shall You shall tell me, you should tell me You should come with us (Another word for "should" would be sollten, ?) You should go there with us (sollten might also be in the past tense, meaning "was supposed to".) I was supposed to go there yesterday, but I could not because I was very busy because I was very busy yesterday I could not go there with you to prepare I was supposed to prepare it yesterday I should do it now I should have done it (Remember that handle verbs are the same as the infinitive in the past participle) (8) 6.51 Could you tell me? You shall tell me, you should tell me You should tell me You could have told me You could have told it to me You could have come with us You could have bought it could have, should have You should have told me You should have told it to me and I would have bought it for you I could have bought it for you I would buy it for you

I would have bought it for you (gekauft because there is no handle verb in the sentence.) I would buy it for you I would have bought it for you I could have bought it for you I should have bought it for you (9) 5.20 to please to please oneself pleasure It pleases me I please myself (I enjoy) I enjoy seeing you I am very pleased to see you I will be very pleased to see you (I'm looking forward to seeing you) I would be very pleased to see you I would be very pleased I would be very pleased to go there with you I would have enjoyed to go there last night I would have enjoyed very much to go there with you (10) 4.56 I wanted... (wollen can act as a handle, or a normal verb) I have wanted I have wanted to do it I would have wanted to do it I wanted to see it but I couldn't see it I couldn't wait because I had to leave I could have gone there with you last night You should have gone there with us (11) 1.08 I was there never nobody but nobody was there Who was there with you last night? Wer war da mit Ihnen gestern Abend? It was not possible to do it (12) 2.08

to look for to try I am trying to succeed It is successful to me I don't succeed doing it I cannot do it I won't succeed doing it (it won't be successful to me) (13) 3.15 I had to leave (lassen means "to leave" in the sense of leaving something behind, not going away. lassen has several meanings) I left the key on the table (lassen also means "to let") Let me try! Let me work! Leave me alone! (the) quiet (lassen is also used to get something done) I will get it repaired (I will let someone repair it) I must have it washed to clean I will get it cleaned (14) 7.11 He will be here soon necessary It won't be necessary (an alternative to ntig is notwendig) It won't be necessary (es wird expresses two verbs; es wird expressing the future tense, and the present tense werden which means "to become", "to be getting") I am tired I am getting tired I will be tired I will be getting tired You will be too tired You will be getting tired soon It is late It is getting late dark the darkness It is very dark It is too dark It is getting dark It will be too dark

It will be getting dark soon It is getting dark ("it was becoming...", "it was getting..." is Es wurde...) It was getting dark suddenly It was suddenly getting very dark It would be too dark We were getting tired (15) 4.22 to know Do you know why he cannot do it? Do you know why he does not want to do it? Can you tell me why he didn't want to do it? Do you know why he couldn't do it? (was not able to do it) I knew I didn't know I would have known I wouldn't have known it, if you had not told me (16) 8.19 (There are some German verbs, with which you dive not from haben but from sein. English also used to have them; it survives in phrases like "the time is come" (not has come), and "he is gone" (not he has gone). In German, with coming and going verbs you dive from "to be") I went I went there We are gone We went there last night When did you go there? (17) 2.51 I was We were It would be possible (instead of saying es wrde sein, you can simply use es wre for "would be") It wouldn't be possible (actually, es wre expresses "it might be", and became also "it would not be", says it is simpler than saying es wrde mglich sein...) It wouldn't be possible to do it that way (18) 1.57 (sein is conjugated with "to be") I have been (gewesen means "been") We have been there last night How long have you been there?

How long were you there? (19) 2.34 I would have waited for you and I would have gone there with you He would have come with us (20) 6.02 I have waited I have waited for you He has waited for me How long have you waited? He arrived today He would have arrived today if he had arrived today I have been there I would have been there If I had been there I would have seen it I didn't see you because I was not there (there is a third word meaning "because", da) because I was not there (end of recording)

CD 3 (76.08) (1) 7.17 (bleiben is also conjugated with "to be") We stayed We went to Berlin When did you go to Vienna? How long did you stay in Vienna? How long did you stay? I would have stayed longer if I had known you would be here (2) 2.57 When did you arrive? early tomorrow morning today morning I would have arrived earlier if I had known that you would be here and that you have waited for me (3) 2.08 to travel (not by foot) I went to Vienna We went to Vienna We went to Vienna last week but we didn't stay long, we only stayed a couple of days and we came back to London (4) 3.25 It would have pleased me very much I would have liked very much to know (it would have pleased me very much to know) that you would go there I would be pleased (it would please me) It would have pleased me I would be pleased (I would please myself) I would have been pleased (5) 3.52 to hurry I am hurrying I hurried I will hurry I have to hurry Hurry up! You have to hurry Will you hurry please I hurried We hurried

If I had hurried I would have arrived earlier I would have seen it and I would have bought it (6) 1.28 to get up I got up We got up At what time do you get up? I would have got up earlier if I had known it (7) 1.06 Why didn't you tell it to me? I would have told it to you if I had known it (8) 6.52 It is not possible to do it that way It was not possible to do it that way It won't be possible to do it that way It wouldn't be possible to do it that way It would not be possible to do it that way It has not been possible to do it We tried and it has not been possible to do it I think it would have been possible to do it if we had tried if we had tried to do it (9) 0.49 I would have gotten up earlier (10) 4.22 to lie down (there are three ways to say "to put") to put down (in a lying position) to put (in a standing position, e.g. a bottle) I am putting the bottle on the table I am putting the book on the table It is lying on the table to put (in a sitting position) to sit I am seating myself I am sitting down (there) Sit (yourself) down (here) Take a seat I sat down I lay down (11) 6.26

quiet, silence Silence, please! It is very quiet to take a rest (to quiet oneself out) I will take a rest You should take a rest I had a good rest (I rested myself out well) You have to take a rest One must... One has to take a rest sometimes One has to take a rest sometimes Sometimes one has to take a rest Did you sleep well? I slept very well One can understand it sometimes but sometimes one cannot understand it I did not understand what you have said to mean I don't understand what you mean What do you mean? What does it mean? (12) 4.05 to send I will send it to you He has sent it to me to receive I have not received it yet to hold to hold on, stop Will you stop (Will you stay standing) Will you stop to receive I haven't received it yet to keep You can keep it to hear I cannot hear it to belong It belongs to me It doesn't belong to me It belongs to you Does it belong to you? (13) 6.54 to answer

the word the answer He didn't answer yet to call He called to call (on the phone) He called me on the phone at your place I called you this morning in order to tell you that I will arrive tonight and that I will be at your house at 10 o'clock I would have arrived earlier if I had known it (14) 2.27 (sentences like "I want you to tell me" can't be translated step-by-step into German. For example, "I want you to tell him" must be translated "I want, that you should tell him") I want you to tell him Will you tell him to call me I told him to call me (15) 2.51 to remember I remember I don't remember I cannot remember to remember something (to talk about remembering it, you have to talk about recalling "at it" an das, which contracts to daran. Similarly, "on it" auf das becomes darauf. "into it" would be darein. "under it" would be darunter. "over it" would be darber.) I cannot remember it (recording skips here) (16) 2.45 (in German, to get used to something is to "habituate oneself" sich gewhnen) the apartment to rent, let (an apartment) mieten I will rent the apartment I will rent the house to live, reside to live We live here We are here now but we don't live here Where do you live? (17) 1.02 (you can turn infinitives into nouns) to live living, life

to eat the food The food is good here (18) 9.11 (in German, whenever you want to use "have been +ing", simply use the present tense) since I have been doing it for a long time (schon is often thrown in in this situation) I have been doing it for a long time (you can put emphasis on das by starting the sentence with it) That I have been doing for a long time I have been living in Vienna (emphasised) for three months (to ask someone how long they have been living here, you must stay "since how long...") How long have you been living here? How long have you been working here? How long have you been working here? (with schon) He has been working here for three years already You are going to Germany after; to, towards You are going to Austria You are going to Vienna for example, for instance to play to play the piano How long have you been in Vienna? have you been I have been We have been Where have you been? Where were you? How long have you been here in Vienna? I have been here for three weeks already (19) 3.53 habit (to say "not used to", you can say "don't have the habit") I don't have the habit to do it opportunity the beauty (-heit and -keit corresponds to the Anglo-Saxon English "-hood") possibility I don't have the possibility to do it It is not possible to do it that way

(20) 2.08 to try to look for I am looking for it I looked for it but I could not find it to try to arrive I am arriving (end of recording)

CD 4 (76.12) (1) 5.05 to come back He is coming back soon to try I am trying I am trying to do it I tried to do it to catch to start We are starting At what time do you start? usually, habitually At what time do usually start? It started It has started already to go He has gone to go away He went away We went away (2) 3.34 to come He came to come back At what time are you coming back? He will come back soon He will be back soon He will be here again soon (3) 1.53 to listen to listen to something I listened to it to belong It belonged to me I heard it It belongs to me It doesn't belong to me (4) 8.23 apartment the habit habitually, usually to get used to it I will get used to it I have to get used to it easy, light

simple difficult It is not very heavy easiness difficulty no difficulty I cannot get used to it, it's very difficult for me One has to get used to it finally I finally got used to it to remember I remember I remembered to remember it I don't remember it I cannot remember it I couldn't remember (5) 4.27 to open the window Will you open the window? I opened the window It is open It is being opened (es wird... because werden refers to "getting" or "becoming") It was opened It was being opened to open (make open) to close (make close) I opened the door He closed the door The door is closed The door is being closed It will be closed It will be getting closed (6) 4.04 It is getting cold It was getting cold It has gotten cold It is late It is getting late It will be late It will be too late soon It will be getting late dark

It will be getting dark soon It was dark It was too dark It was getting dark It has been getting very dark It has gotten very dark (7) 8.21 to build I built it It is built It is being built It was built It was being built It has been built (in the above sentence, where there are two past participles, you use worden and not geworden) light (not dark) It is very light here It is getting light It has become light It was getting light It will be getting light It would be getting too dark It would be too dark It would have been too dark It would have gotten too dark It was too dark It was getting too dark It has been too dark It has gotten too dark (8) 5.33 He is selling it It is sold It is being sold Everything is being sold It was being sold Everything was being sold Everything was sold Everything has been sold Everything has gotten sold Everything would be sold (the difference between es wrde mglich sein "it would be possible" and es wre mglich "it might be possible" is hardly noticeable in modern German) (9) 7.32 (let's see how many tenses we can handle now) He is selling the house

He has been selling houses for a long time The house is sold The house is being sold He sold the house The house was getting sold The house has gotten sold He will sell the house The house will be sold The house will be getting sold He would sell the house The house would be getting sold He had sold the house if he had sold the house (if he would have...) The house would have (might have) been sold He will have sold the house He would have sold the house The house would have been sold (10) 3.18 I am very happy, I enjoy myself I'm very happy to be with you It pleases me It pleases me to be with you I did enjoy very much being here with you I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon (I will enjoy seeing you...) I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon (It will please me...) to interest interesting It is very interesting It interests me very much I interest myself It did interest me very much (11) 1.37 (tun dives into getan) He told me that he wouldn't have done it if he had known it (12) 2.01 to come along Do you want to come along? I will come along I'm sorry but I cannot come along He came along He arrived to get, to receive

He received it (13) 4.47 to tear to travel to tear something off I tore it off (the wall) It is torn off It got torn off to tear into pieces He tore it into pieces It is torn into pieces It is entirely torn into pieces He tore it into pieces It was being torn into pieces yesterday I could see it I saw it to break It is broken He broke it into pieces (14) 2.39 to fall It fell It fell down (the r- gives the movement) It fell out It fell over It fell in He fell in, he got caught (15) 2.06 (here are the participles of some verbs) to make to laugh to work to say to ask He asked me Why didn't you ask me? Why didn't you tell it to me? to play (16) 3.28 to open the store busy The store is open to close closed

The door is closed The door is locked The door is opened (with a key) to try to try on May I try it on? (17) 3.56 to cover It covers to discover He discovers He discovered it It is discovered It was being discovered He has discovered it I slept to go (not on foot) to step to step in to step on (the stage) to step off (18) 3.22 (end of recording)