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Help needed for TestDaF (German) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Immersion, Schools & Certificates |  | |
| lerner Groupie Germany Joined 5824 days ago 51 posts - 79 votes  Speaks: Hindi* Studies: EnglishC2, GermanC1, Spanish, Dutch | Message 1 of 6 12 February 2009 at 1:12am | IP Logged | |||||
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hi,
i've been offered admission by a university for which i need to clear the TesTDaF. the vocabulary for the test seems to be centred mostly around school and business. my problem is that while i can remember nouns, adjectives and pretty much nail grammar (at least as much as FSI German teaches), i hit a roadblock when it comes to verbs. the conjugation of the verbs isn't that big a problem, but the "verbs" themselves are, especially verbs having the same root, for example sehen-ansehen. could someone please guide about how to go about tackling verbs. n yeah, i'm realy short of time/ i'll be taking the test on April 22, so i guess i'm looking for just the bare minimum stock of verbs to clear, rather scrape through, the test. Edited by lerner on 12 February 2009 at 1:19am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| austin1 Newbie United States Joined 5923 days ago 8 posts - 8 votes Speaks: German | Message 2 of 6 16 February 2009 at 5:00pm | IP Logged | |||||
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What exactly are you having trouble with?
Is it separable prefixes? (sehen versus ansehen, the an separates and goes somewhere else in the sentence) Because those are pretty easy (for German), all you need to do is memorize the list of which ones separate and which ones don't. For example, an- and vor- separate (example: habe-->Ich habe vorhaben--> Ich habe etwas vor) off their verbs, but other prefixes (like ver- or er- do not). You should be able to find the list in an decent textbook. I'm sorry I can't help you more, I don't understand what exactly you're having trouble with (if it's not conjugation). Maybe if you clarify, I can give you some more advice? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5772 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 3 of 6 16 February 2009 at 5:02pm | IP Logged | |||||
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German verbs come in flavours. (Sorry, I'm tired.) Many verb prefixes do have some sort of meaning, and I guess those that don't can still be used as a mnemonic.
For your example: The an in ansehen is a preposition and therefor a cue that the focus is on a specific object (the word also needs a direct object in a sentence). The difference between sehen and ansehen is similar to the one between to look and to look at, I think. This might help you with verb prefixes http://german.about.com/library/verbs/blverb_pre01.htm http://german.about.com/library/verbs/blverb_pre02.htm (I don't know which verbs you understand or how you memorize vocabulary so it seems a bit pointless to me to google a TestDaF vocabulary list.) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| lerner Groupie Germany Joined 5824 days ago 51 posts - 79 votes Speaks: Hindi* Studies: EnglishC2, GermanC1, Spanish, Dutch | Message 4 of 6 16 February 2009 at 9:14pm | IP Logged | |||||
Sorry about not having stated my problem clearly enough. It's not the conjugation or the separable prefixes. It's basically that if a couple or more verbs tend to have nearly the same meaning, i can't really figure out which one is appropriate for a particular situation.
Bao, could you point out where i really can read a bit about things such as "ansehen requiring a direct object"? as far as memorising words go, i use flashcards for nouns and adjectives. i can easily deal with about a 100 words a day. but when it comes to verbs, i can hardly do 10 a day. i learn the conjugation in about a minute, but can't use the verb. is there a TestDaF vocabulary list? i managed to stumble across one published by a chinese university for the Zertifikat Deutsch (it had about 2000 words), that list really did help me clear the exam. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| austin1 Newbie United States Joined 5923 days ago 8 posts - 8 votes Speaks: German | Message 5 of 6 16 February 2009 at 11:04pm | IP Logged | |||||
ansehen needs a direct objects because you're looking at something. The direct object is what you're looking at. in Ich sehe etwas an, the direct object is the 'etwas.'
Also keep in mind that if the verbs are similar, they're related. Sehen is to see, but ansehen is to look at--the difference is in the prefix. Get yourself better acquainted with the prefixes and you might find the verbs come a little bit easier. Other than that, I don't know how to help you. Learning which verbs to use when is a vocab thing, and honestly, English and German are similar enough that I generally find if you can use a verb in a particular context in English, you can probably use it in the same context in German. 'To see' and 'to look at' for example. But for the most part, it's something you learn in context. Rent some German movies, do an intensive language program in Germany, or get yourself a tutor/speaking partner. Maybe look into taking classes at your local community college or something, flashcards are all well and good, but they can't correct you when you make a mistake. Another idea is sign up with http://www.german-flashcards.com or a similar website, they'll email you a sentence of the day you can practice with, but it's not sufficient enough to be your only source of input. Best of luck to you! Edited by austin1 on 16 February 2009 at 11:13pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5772 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 6 of 6 17 February 2009 at 4:47pm | IP Logged | |||||
Haha, I'm a native speaker with no training to teach German as a second language so I have no idea how to explain this because I just know it. The grammar section of German.about.com might be alright for a start? Do you understand the verbs you studied when you read/hear them in context, but you can't use them when you want to form sentences on your own and can't decide between two or more similar seeming verbs? If that's the case - I guess I'd try to contrast words to get a better idea of the difference. I actually sometimes google English or Japanese expressions to get a better understanding of the different contexts they can be used in, or ask a native speaker to contrast words for me, if possible with example sentences. I also think real language context is the best way to understand the way words are used and how high frequency words are. I could look at the TestDaF textbooks in our local library the next time I go there to see if they have any vocabulary lists (I'm amazed I can't find anything good online). Edited by Bao on 17 February 2009 at 4:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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