The old days of German and English

Deutsch 1Herr Reierstad

15 Oktober 2013

Aber zuerst, das Verb “sein….”

How do you conjugate the verb “sein?”• ich• du• er/sie/es• wir• ihr• sie/Sie

• Perfekt• Prӓteritum• Englisch

Aber zuerst, das Verb “sein….”

How do you conjugate the verb “sein?”• ich bin• du bist• er/sie/es ist• wir sind• ihr seid• sie/Sie sind

• Perf. ist gewesen• Prӓt. war• Eng. to be

Auf Deutsch, bitte!

1. Who are you?2. Where (wo) is she?3. How old are y’all?4. Where are you, Mr. Binnedoofnuss?5. Where are you from. Georg?6. I’m from Germany.7. He is not here (nicht hier).

Und auch…

• How do you say “today,” “yesterday,” and “the day before yesterday again?– today– yesterday– the day before yesterday

Und auch…

• How do you say “today,” “yesterday,” and “the day before yesterday again?– today heute– yesterday gestern– the day before yesterday vorgestern

Und zuletzt….

• How do you say the following in German?– How do you get to school?– I come to school by bike.– I walk to school.– She rides the bus to school.

Und zuletzt….

• How do you say the following in German?– How do you get to school?• Wie kommst du zur Schule?

– I come to school by bike.• Ich komme mit dem Rad zur Schule.

– I walk to school.• Ich komme zu Fuss zur Schule.

– She rides the bus to school.• Sie kommt mit dem Bus zur Schule.

Wichtige Frage:

• How were English and German once more similar to one another?

Old days

• German and English were once more similar.• They are both on the Germanic language tree.• However, they have evolved apart from each

other over the centuries.• Taking a little trip back in time can help us

better understand how both languages work (at least, that’s what I hope to do).

Helping verbs

• Today, English uses the verb “have” as its helping verb for the conversational past tense (what Herr Reierstad keeps referring to as the “Perfekt”):– Do not think that I have come to destroy the law,

or the prophets: I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill. –Matthew 5:17

Editor’s note: religion

• I am not trying to push religion upon anyone. Nor am I trying to start any arguments.

• However, the King James Bible, written in 1611, offers many examples of how the English language once had more in common with German.

Back to it…

• In this version of the Bible, you can find many examples of this.

• One thing German does that English used to do is use the verb “to be” as a helping verb in the Perfekt. You see this often in the old book.

Beispiele:

• Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. –Matthew 5:17

• For this people’s heart is waxed gross. Matthew 13:15

• And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead –Matthew 27:7

Wie, bitte?

Sing, cuccu, nu. Sing, cuccu.Sing, cuccu. Sing, cuccu, nu.

Sumer is i-cumen inLhude sing, cuccu!

Groweth sed and bloweth medAnd springth the wude nu.

Sing, cuccu!

I got your “i-” right here…..

• I noticed that a lot of older English texts used an “i-” or a “y” before a verb to make it past tense. Mind you, I never learned this in school, I just sorta figgered it out on my own. So I could be showing off, or I could be trying to deny responsibility if things go wrong somehow……

Various

• With middel smal and wel ymake….– With (her) waist slender and well-made….

• Nethere the haveth i-cast…..– They have cast down…..

• Hoere lif was al with gamen i-lad….– Their lives were filled with play (games)…

• Adam lay i-bounden, bounden in a bond….– Adam lay bound, bound in a bond…..

• For God mankind now hath i-take…..– For God has now taken mankind….

So how is this relevant?

• Let’s look at some of the past tense sentences for today:– Wie bist du zur Schule gekommen?• How did you come to school? (literally: How are you to

school come?)– Ich bin mit dem Bus zur Schule gekommen.• I came to school by bus. (literally: I am by bus to school

come.)

This suggests 2 things:• Nethere the haveth i-cast…..– They have cast down…..

• Hoere lif was al with gamen i-lad….– Their lives were filled with play (games)…

1. This mysterious “i-” may have been an English equivalent to the German “ge-”

2. Notice that the past participles are at the end of the sentences, just like in German sentences of today

Jetzt….

• He really should be taking you for some SMARTening….

• Practice with Perfekt FUNFUNFUNYO.notebook

Hausaufgabe:

Translate into English, bitte!1. Ist er heute mit der U-Bahn zur Schule gekommen?2. Wie sind Sie zur Schule gekommen, Herr

Fliegerriegerdieger?3. Ich bin gestern mit dem Auto zur Schule gekommen.4. Sie ist vorgestern nicht zur Schule gekommen.5. Seid ihr heute mit dem Rad zur Schule gekommen?