Answers
Nov 08, 2012 - 09:06 AM
Hi Linda. I had the same problem. What I ended up doing was to use the "have" form of the past tense. For example, they say "haben gegessen" means "ate " or "did eat". I translate it as "have eaten". For "haben gesehen", instead of thinking "saw" or "did see", I translate it as "have seen". This way I don't have to re-translate "haben" into "did" or ignore it all together. I just always translate it as "have". Now there is no double translation between hearing "I have fruit" and "I have fruit eaten". Or "I have the car" and "I have the car seen". Granted, the word order is still a bit off, but it was a lot easier to adjust to than the other translations. Hope this helps! -Greg
Dec 30, 2012 - 06:18 PM
Mark Twain had the same problem (and several others) with German: http://www.cs.utah.edu/~gback/awfgrml...
Dec 31, 2012 - 12:47 PM
My problems spawned from trying to force German words into English words. It makes it easier if you stop doing this. Forget about the English word side of it and think more about the definition. Definitions are shared among all languages. It doesn't matter what language I use to describe a cow... it is still a cow... the word will be different but the definition the same. It is hard to put my thoughts on this into words. It is my way of viewing the languages.
With a sentence you're defining a thought and using words, as shortcuts, to a definition. Focus on this "What is the german word to define this idea" instead of "What is the German word for this English word". In my opinion, you'll be much more successful approaching it in this manner.
With a sentence you're defining a thought and using words, as shortcuts, to a definition. Focus on this "What is the german word to define this idea" instead of "What is the German word for this English word". In my opinion, you'll be much more successful approaching it in this manner.