German help.

[WahiGuard]

So I already read the Japanese Rosetta Stone thread two weeks ago. I didn`t want to bump the thread even though my question is kinda similar.

Anyways I started Rosetta Stone two three days ago, it is a really good program for learning nouns and pronunciations of the language. But I can already tell from this early on that the grammar lessons are not that great. RS doesn`t explain why you conjugate this word that way or which word is feminine of masculine. So could anyone recommend any books or programs on beginning German grammar?

Any help is appreciated :

[WahiGuard]

Harsh bro.

[bechyni]

And it begins

[Byrthnoth]

He's right. It'll be hard to learn the grammar of another language if you don't understand English grammar.

Related German help request:
I'm looking to rent a room or something in Leipzig for 6 months starting in November. One of my options is just to stay in the dorms. Should I take it? How bad are European dorms in general?

[Ayr]

Ignoring everyone else, if you really want to learn a language. Like really want to learn a language, just move there.

Unless you're married or got kids its really alot easier than you think and in the end its a chapter of your life you'll always look back on and love. Get out there, meet people, make friends. You'll be able to speak it in a year (without any study or work whatsoever) and you'll be fluent in 2-3 years at the same rate.

I was the same as you man, I graduated university and I had no real goals so I moved to Japan which has always interested me (did Judo from a young age) and I'm in my 5th year here now. Loving it! Still seeing and experiencing new stuff. If you were to move to Germany you'd be in a better position, seeing as you would have a chance to explore the whole of Europe.

Seriously, I hope a wife isnt tying you to where you are atm because unless you get a German g/f in your home country you're not gunna learn it any faster than just moving there.

And for Byrthnoth, once you've got a part-time/full-time job there just get your own place or share one with someone. Even consider staying with a host family. Staying with a host family will help language learning greatly and dormitories are usually more trouble than they're worth. (plus staying with a host family will leave you with a connection and friends to said country for life)

[WahiGuard]

Living there is definitely something I want to do. Since my college does offer Study abroad in Freiburg Germany, but I would love to stay a little longer than a semester.
And lol no no wife or girlfriend holding me down in the states. Thanks

[Tekki]

Can only 2nd being there. I studied German for years and after going over there for awhile, I felt like I only had a skeleton of an understanding of German. I was only over there for a couple of months, but it did more for my German then the years of studying it did.

[hey]

I was the same as you man, I graduated university and I had no real goals so I moved to Japan which has always interested me (did Judo from a young age) and I'm in my 5th year here now. Loving it! Still seeing and experiencing new stuff.

What was that like? That's actually something i've been considering for quite some time now, and would love to do so in the next few years if i could.

How much Japanese did you know when you got there? How difficult was it to find a job not being able to speak the language fluently? Are there any programs over there to help people who move there, such as learning the language, finding a job, etc?

[Ddz]

German nouns are a tricky bitch. You have to memorize. Sorry. There's really no rhyme or reason as to why certain words get paired with their article (der, die das) Luck to you.

[Daydreamer]

German nouns are a tricky bitch. You have to memorize. Sorry. There's really no rhyme or reason as to why certain words get paired with their article (der, die das) Luck to you.

Yeah neither Rosetta Stone nor a book is really going to tell you WHY certain nouns are the gender they are. It gets really funky sometimes too, like a young girl is neutral (das Mädchen) while a women is now feminine (die Frau). You really just have to memorize it.

Rosetta stone really doesn't work in a way of telling you why certain things are the way they are. It's more like "you'll somehow just know," and it actually does kinda work. I'm on level 2 spanish with it right now and I have no idea about grammar rules, but when asked a question I just know how to reply to it and everything conjugates seemingly naturally. It's actually kinda cool.

[WahiGuard]

German nouns are a tricky bitch. You have to memorize. Sorry. There's really no rhyme or reason as to why certain words get paired with their article (der, die das) Luck to you.

Lol that is my biggest problem. I keep saying to myself how am I supposed to converse, or get this sentence right if it is based on the gender noun @.@

[hey]

Yeah neither Rosetta Stone nor a book is really going to tell you WHY certain nouns are the gender they are.

I can explain that: Someone rolled a die, 1 and 4 was das, 2 and 5 was der, and 3 and 6 were die.

[Cephius]

As others have said, there's really no concrete set of rules to follow on when to use die/der/das/etc. Unless you're taking a test or something, don't worry about it. Most of the time as a foreigner, just pick the one that sounds right. It's not like a native German will have trouble understanding what you're talking about.

[Aevis]

It gets really funky sometimes too, like a young girl is neutral (das Mädchen) while a women is now feminine (die Frau)

just think of no tits/tits

[WahiGuard]

As others have said, there's really no concrete set of rules to follow on when to use die/der/das/etc. Unless you're taking a test or something, don't worry about it. Most of the time as a foreigner, just pick the one that sounds right. It's not like a native German will have trouble understanding what you're talking about.

Ahh that was something I was wondering about; whether or not a native speaker could understand. Lol I think in conversation I`ll just go with neuter if I don`t know.

[Daydreamer]

Ahh that was something I was wondering about; whether or not a native speaker could understand. Lol I think in conversation I`ll just go with neuter if I don`t know.

Using the right noun is far far far more important than the article in front of it. I'm pretty sure the last time I was there I used "die" for damn near everything. I was obviously a foreigner, but no one ever seemed to have a problem understanding me.

[Ayr]

Yea it sounds complicated but if you're in an environment where you hear nothing but the language for a while itll eventually become second nature. Sounds harder than Japanese though, it doesnt have the whole masculine/neutral/feminine thing the European languages have.

I really recommend travelling ey. Germany would be awesome not just cuz its in Germany, but if you wanna go to Belgium or France for a weekend you could load up a car and do a roadtrip. I know I'd be jealous haha.

[Darus Grey]

He's right. It'll be hard to learn the grammar of another language if you don't understand English grammar.

This is bullshit btw.

[Talus]

This is bullshit btw.

To a certain extent. My nephews have learned English fairly well, considering they're 5 and 2. The 2 year old still says stuff like, "Me bigger guy," when people tell him that certain activities are for bigger guys, since he wants to do everything the 5 year old does RIGHT NOW.

Knowing grammar helps, but not every language has similarity in grammar, and sentence structure varies. However, it helps in some ways for adults when they can learn to properly conjugate things and use the correct person, gender and tense for their verbs and nouns, so they don't sound like a 2 year old when they're practicing the language (or over in Germany).

[Tagus]

So I already read the Japanese Rosetta Stone thread two weeks ago. I didn`t want to bump the thread even though my question is kinda similar.

Anyways I started Rosetta Stone two three days ago, it is a really good program for learning nouns and pronunciations of the language. But I can already tell from this early on that the grammar lessons are not that great. RS doesn`t explain why you conjugate this word that way or which word is feminine of masculine. So could anyone recommend any books or programs on beginning German grammar?

Any help is appreciated :

Welcome to the hardest thing about learning German. I took 5 years of that crap, somehow placed into 7th year German straight out of the blocks in college, and my instructor basically gave me a pity C on the promise that I never take German again (so that he didn't look stupid for passing me through). All because of the fucking der die das's.