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Coffee Break German

Lesson 37
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Study Notes

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LESSON NOTES
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GIBT ES EINEN SUPERMARKT, DER AM
SONNTAG GEÖFFNET IST?
In this lesson Mark is asking for some information at the hotel
reception. In addition to providing an opportunity for practising
various areas of vocabulary, the dialogue introduces a new
grammatical concept, the relative pronoun.

INTRODUCTION
The opening sequence of the lesson uses some interesting
expressions:

Thomas: Willkommen zurück in Innsbruck mit einer neuen

Folge Coffee Break German.
Mark: Ich bin Mark.
Thomas: Mein Name ist Thomas.
Mark: Und wir sind sehr froh hier zu sein.
Thomas: Stimmt genau.

die Folge
instalment

wir sind sehr froh hier zu sein

we’re very happy to be here

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Later in the introduction the following phrases are used:

... mit meinem Lehrer und meinem Freund, Thomas

with my teacher and my friend, Thomas

du bist ein sehr guter Schüler

you are a very good student

HOTEL RECEPTION: ASKING FOR

INFORMATION
Mark (A) is in the hotel reception, asking for some information about
a supermarket which happens to be open on a Sunday. The
receptionist (B) gives him the information he needs.

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A Guten Morgen.
B Wie geht es Ihnen heute Morgen? Haben Sie gut
geschlafen?
A Ja, vielen Dank. Alles ist super. Ich genieße meinen
Aufenthalt in Innsbruck und es gefällt mir sehr gut.
Kann ich Sie etwas fragen?
B Ja, natürlich. Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?
A Gibt es einen Supermarkt, der am Sonntag geöffnet ist?
B Ja, aber nur einen, und zwar der Supermarkt am
Bahnhof.
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wie geht es Ihnen heute Morgen?
how are you this morning?

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haben Sie gut geschlafen?
have you slept well?

The word geschlafen comes from schlafen, meaning “to sleep”.

The ge- prefix normally suggests that the verb is in the past. We’ll
find out more about this in future lessons.

alles ist super

everything is great

genießen
to enjoy

ich genieße meinen Aufenthalt

I’m enjoying my stay

es gefällt mir sehr gut

I really like it

kann ich Sie etwas fragen?

can I ask you something?

wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?

how can I help you?

gibt es einen Supermarkt, der am Sonntag geöffnet

ist?
is there a supermarket which is open on a Sunday?

Note the construction of this question: in English we use “which” as

the relative pronoun connecting the two parts of the sentence, but in
German you repeat the definite article. Consider the examples given
by Thomas:
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der Supermarkt, der am Sonntag geöffnet ist
the supermarket which is open on a Sunday

die Kirche, die bis 6 Uhr geöffnet ist

the church which is open until 6 o’clock

Notice that in each case the definite article agrees with the subject of
the sentence: Supermarkt is masculine, so the “relative pronoun” -
the translation of “which” - is der. In the case of die Kirche, which
is feminine, “which” is translated by die. It’s also important to note
the comma in both examples, and the fact that the verb goes to the
end of the sentence.

ja, aber nur einen, und zwar der Supermarkt am

Bahnhof
yes, but only one, (and to be more exact) the supermarket at the
station

The indefinite article einen must be in the accusative case as it is the

object of the sentence. This may be clearer if you think of the full
sentence as es gibt einen Supermarkt... since the accusative case
always follows es gibt.

Read the next part of the dialogue and study the notes which follow:

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A Am Hauptbahnhof oder am Westbahnhof?
B Am Hauptbahnhof. Es ist nur zehn Minuten zu Fuß.
A Wie komme ich zum Hauptbahnhof? Vielleicht können
Sie mir den Weg auf der Karte zeigen?
A Ja, sehr gerne. Das Hotel ist hier. Sie verlassen das
Hotel, gehen nach links, und dann 250m geradeaus über
diese Brücke. Danach die erste Straße auf der rechten
Seite. Von dort sehen Sie schon den Hauptbahnhof.
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am Hauptbahnhof oder am Westbahnhof?
at the main station or the western (main) station?

This question refers to the fact that there are two main stations in
Innsbruck.

es ist nur zehn Minuten zu Fuß

it’s only ten minutes by foot

wie komme ich zum Hauptbahnhof?

how do I get to the main station?

Literally this question can be translated as “how do I come to the

main station?”

vielleicht können Sie mir den Weg auf der Karte

zeigen?
perhaps you can show me the way on the map?

Again, note the accusative form of den Weg.

sehr gerne
happily, with pleasure

sie verlassen das hotel

you leave the hotel

sie gehen nach links

you go to the left

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250m geradeaus über diese Brücke
250m straight ahead over this bridge

danach
after that, afterwards

die erste Straße auf der rechten Seite

the first street on the right hand side

von dort sehen Sie schon den Hauptbahnhof

from there you can already see the main station

The dialogue continues:

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A Also, ich verlasse das Hotel. Ich gehe nach links, und
dann 250m geradeaus über die Brücke. Dann die erste
Straße links...
B Nee, nee. Die erste Straße rechts.
A Ah, stimmt. Also die erste Straße rechts und dort sehe ich
schon den Hauptbahnhof.
B Wunderbar! Aber es gibt auch eine Straßenbahn, die
direkt zum Hauptbahnhof fährt.
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Mark repeats the directions to make sure that he has understood.

ich verlasse das Hotel

I go out of the hotel

die erste Straße links

the first street on the left

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At this point Mark gets mixed up and suggests he should go left, but
the receptionist corrects him:

Nee, nee. Die erste Straße rechts.

No, no. The first street on the right.

The word nee is very commonly used as “no” in some German-

speaking areas.

ah, stimmt
ah, ok

es gibt auch eine Straßenbahn, die direkt zum

Hauptbahnhof fährt
there is also a tram which goes straight to the main station

Note again the use of the relative pronoun here. In this case it’s a
feminine pronoun because die Straßenbahn is feminine.

In the final part of the conversation, the receptionist provides details

of how often the trams leave for the station.

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A Wann fährt die nächste Straßenbahn ab?
B Sie fahren alle 15 Minuten am Sonntag. Die nächste in
vier Minuten und die Haltestelle ist direkt gegenüber von
dem Hotel.
A Ausgezeichnet. Vielen Dank.
B Bitte sehr. Schönen Tag noch.
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wann fährt die nächste Straßenbahn ab?
when does the next tram leave?
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Remember that the verb “to leave” when talking about transport is
abfahren and it is a separable verb. In the sentence above it
becomes wann fährt ... ab?

sie fahren alle 15 Minuten

they go every 15 minutes

die nächste in vier Minuten

the next one is in four minutes

die Haltestelle ist direkt gegenüber von dem Hotel

the stop is directly opposite the hotel

Note that gegenüber von dem Hotel, gegenüber vom Hotel

and also gegenüber dem Hotel are all correct, since both
gegenüber and von take the dative case.

schönen Tag noch

enjoy the rest of your day.

CULTURAL CORRESPONDENT
In the Cultural Correspondent segment for this lesson, Julia
continues in the same vein as last lesson,
this time looking at New Year traditions in
the German-speaking world.

Hallo Mark, hallo Thomas und guten

Tag liebe Zuhörer. Willkommen zu
einem neuen Kulturreport von mir,
Julia, eurer Kulturreporterin. Since we
covered Christmas in the last episode, I felt
we had to include New Year too in our
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 cultural journey around the German-speaking world. So... let’s
talk about the fun of New Year’s Eve, or Silvester, as we call it in
German.
For those of you who have already spent Silvester in Germany,
I’m sure that there’s something you’ll never forget about this
celebration: the fireworks. As in other countries every city has its
big and impressive fireworks at midnight but many people also
have their private fireworks parties as well. This is a very
important thing for many people every year, and I am always
amazed how much money is spend on firecrackers and fireworks.
German law prevents us from using fireworks at any other time of
the year, so we’re only allowed them on Silvester and Neujahr -
which is the 1st of January. While the big and expensive fireworks
are really beautiful, I have to admit that the private ones can be
rather annoying, very loud and also dangerous and you really
have to be careful where you spend the time around midnight. I
always enjoy being on a roof or terrace far above the street
somewhere and looking over the city with all its lights and wishing
the friends around me ein frohes Neues!
Another New Year tradition may seem a bit strange, indeed a bit,
well, “English”! Every year an 18-minute TV program called
“Dinner for One” can be found on different channels. It is absolute
cult viewing and people love watching it although they already
known it by heart. It shows the 90th birthday party of a Miss
Sophie whose butler has to impersonate all her friends for her
because they have already died. This black and white sketch
comedy was originally written in the 1920s and was a big success
in London. In the sixties it was first shown on German television
and became a huge success leading to its annual broadcast on TV.
The actor refused to speak German and the sketch has become one
of the only foreign programs on German TV that hasn’t been
dubbed.
One tradition I really like about New Year is Bleigießen. I’ll
explain: you buy a kit with a spoon, several small pieces of lead
and a leaflet. A piece of lead is placed in the spoon and then the
spoon is held over a candle. As soon as the lead has become liquid,
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 you have to pour it very quickly into a bowl of cold water where it
becomes solid again. You take out the new formed metal and think
about what it resembles (for example a shooting star or a fish) and
then you read in the included leaflet what each of the possible
forms represents and what it means for the new year. It is a lot of
fun for the whole family!
And before we finish our discussion of Silvester, there’s perhaps
one thing we also need to mention - the morning after! If you’ve
perhaps overindulged on the Sekt - a sparkling German wine - the
night before, maybe you’ll have a “cat” the next morning! And if
you’re not sure what I mean by that I should explain that having a
hangover, or being hungover - in German is einen Kater haben,
literally meaning “having a cat” although originally it had nothing
to do with the animal. Hopefully this won’t be the case!
Well if you do get the chance to experience Silvester and
Neujahr in a German-speaking country don’t forget to wish
everyone ein frohes Neues - a happy new year - or indeed einen
guten Rutsch - a good slide into the new year. With that it’s back
to Mark and Thomas in the studio.
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DAS REICHT FÜR HEUTE

Ready for more? Turn the page to continue with the
bonus materials for this lesson.
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BONUS TRANSLATION CHALLENGES
This lesson’s bonus episode included the following translation
challenges:

1. How are you this evening? Wie geht es Ihnen heute Abend?

2. I’m enjoying my stay in Marburg and I really like it. Ich genieße
meinen Aufenthalt in Marburg und es gefällt mir sehr
gut.

3. Perhaps you can show the way on the map? Vielleicht können
Sie mir den Weg auf der Karte zeigen?

4. Is there also a bus which goes straight to the main station? Gibt
es auch einen Bus, der dirket zum Hauptbahnhof fährt?

5. The church which is next to the museum is open until six. Die
Kirche, die neben dem Museum ist, ist bis sechs Uhr
geöffnet.

6. They go every 20 minutes on a Saturday. Sie fahren alle 20

Minuten am Samstag.

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