MICHEL THOMAS GERMAN (ADVANCED) COURSE, 4 CDs TRANSCRIPT This is an approximate transcript of the course, since Michel often

changed his mind in the middle of a sentence to be translated, or adapted his sentences for the students. The booklet that accompanied Michel's courses was wholly inadequate, so I have written this transcript. I have found it useful, so maybe other people will, too. aturally, it would be foolish to try to learn the language using this transcript, without buying the recordings. ote that !nglish is my native language, so I don't guarantee that there are no mistakes. Tracks and track times in the recording are shown in brackets. "ersion #, $an %&th #''( Transcribed by $) CD 1 (75.02) (1) 7.30 to stay I am staying He is staying He doesn't stay We are staying here They are staying here You are staying *To make a distinction between +you+ and +they+, for +they+ you can say instead die, which is short for diese da, +these there+., They are not staying here You are not staying here How long are you staying? He will stay here he won't stay here How long will you stay here? How long are you going to stay here? Will you tell me how long you are going to stay here? I would li!e to !now how long you "an stay here (#) 1.3# *-hen talking to friends and family, the word for +you+ is du. +.ou are staying+ is du bleibst / the verb ending for du is -st., How long are you staying here? (to $aul) (3) 3.0% I will do it

I won't do it We will stay here They will stay here You will stay here They will stay here (not you) How long are you staying? (to $aul) I will stay How long will you stay? They will not stay here $aul& how long are you staying? I will stay You will stay (to $aul) I don't !now how long he will stay (%) 3.30 I "an do it I "annot do it 'an you do it? Why "an't you do it? Why "an't you do it now? I "annot (ind it& I don't !now where it is *In speech, Ich kann es can be contracted to Ich kann's., He "annot understand it He "annot understand me Why "an't you understand me? ()) 3.#3 I will tell it to you later *t what time are you going to +e here? He will "ome with us Will you wait (or me Where do you want to wait (or me? Where do you want to go? (,) #.)% to +e a+le He won't +e a+le to (ind it He won't +e a+le to tell it to you +e"ause he doesn't !now it I !now He !nows You !now (to $aul) ...+e"ause he doesn't !now it He will not +e a+le to do it (7) 1.0*In order to emphasise the ob0ect, for example +that+, you must invert the word order. 1or example, +that he will not be able to do+ is +that will he not be able to do+., That he will not +e a+le to do

He won't +e a+le to do that (.) #.0) I wouldn't +e a+le to do it He would ne/er +e a+le to do it (-) #.07 ne/er time I ha/e no time I ha/e no time to do it news0a0er to read I will read the news0a0er (10) 3.33 'an you? 'ould you? 'ould you tell me? 'ould you "ome with me? 'ould you "ome with me? (to $aul) *In !nglish, +could+ has two meanings2 +could you+ means +would you be able to+, but it also means the past tense meaning +were you able to+. In 3erman, the past tense is konnten., 'ould you wait (or me (now)? 'ould you tell me where it is? I'm sorry +ut I "ouldn't understand you (11) 3.33 to ha/e I ha/e we ha/e they ha/e you ha/e he has you ha/e ($aul) You are right to the right to +e right You are right ($aul) to +uy Why don't you +uy it? Why don't you want to +uy it? Where will you +uy it? Why won't you +uy it? (1#) %.11 I ha/e I ha/e +ought I ha/e +ought it

I ha/e not +ought it& I didn't +uy it still& still more something more I want something more I want to eat something more a little more not yet He didn't +uy it yet Why didn't you +uy it yet? to ma!e He has made it to laugh He laughed (13) ..## to +uy to sell *3erman has detachable prefixes and non/detachable prefixes., to go to go away I'm going away to "ome +a"! the +a"! my +a"! to go +a"! to "ome +a"! He is "oming +a"! soon He will "ome +a"! soon to sell I am selling it * on/detachable verbs don't begin ge- in the past tense., I ha/e sold it He has sold it He hasn't sold it yet We sold it You sold it They sold it You ha/e sold it ($aul) Why did you sell it? ($aul) Why didn't you sell it? Why didn't you sell it yet? 1/erything is sold It is not sold yet He has told me Why didn't you tell me? We ha/e told it to you He told me that he wouldn't do it

He didn't tell me that he will do it (1%) #.1% to re0air I am re0airing it He is re0airing it *4ll the -ieren verbs, which usually come from 1rench, don't take the ge- prefix in the past tense., I re0aired it to organise He organised it to s0e"ialise to "ontrol He "ontrolled it It is "ontrolled It is well organised He organised it 1/erything is well organised (1)) %.)# 1/erything is sold I sold it *To say +I had sold it+, +I had...+ is ich hatte..., we had they had you had I had he had you had (to (riend) I had it I didn't ha/e it I would ha/e it I wouldn't ha/e it I wouldn't ha/e the time to do it *Instead of wrde haben +would have+, you can use htte +would have+., I wouldn't ha/e the time to do it *4ctually, htte means +may have+ and +might have+. It is the sub0ective., I wouldn't ha/e +ought it +e"ause it was /ery e20ensi/e (1,) #.11 was& were We were /ery +usy Where were you last night? He was there He wasn't in& he wasn't there Where were you? (to (riend)

Where were you? true It was true really It was really true It is really so li!e that It is really true (17) 1.1, to +elie/e& to thin! to thin! I don't +elie/e that he is going to "ome with us (1.) ).3) to see *5se gesehen not geseht, I saw it& I ha/e seen it I had seen it I would ha/e seen it I would ha/e told you He wouldn't ha/e told me We would ha/e told you *+if+ wenn is a weil situation. 4fter wenn, you will automatically use htten., I( you had told me I would ha/e +ought it i( I had seen it I( you had told me that you would arri/e today& I would ha/e waited (or you (1-) 1.0) I waited (or you How long did you wait? He waited (or me (#0) #.#1 Will you wait (or me I want he wants He doesn't want to do it Why don't you want to do it? Why don't you want to do it? (to (riend) (#1) 1.3, 'an you do it? 'ould you tell me? to loo! (or& to see! I loo!ed (or it +ut I "ouldn't (ind it (##) 3.)1

*The past participle, in other words the diving part of the verb, is the same as the infinitive form when you are using a handle verb. 6o, the sentence sounds like it has two infinitives in it. Therefore, +been able+ is simply knnen., I ha/e not +een a+le to (ind it I want it I don't want it I want to do it I wanted I ha/e wanted to do it He has not wanted to do it (#3) #.). I "ouldn't ha/e done it without you 3 I wouldn't ha/e done it without you 3 I wouldn't ha/e +een a+le to do it without you I wouldn't ha/e +een a+le to do it without you I ne/er "ould ha/e done it without you You "ould ha/e told me You "ould ha/e told it to me I "ould (the 0ast) I "ould (not the 0ast) I "ould ha/e done it

CD2 (75.29) (1) ,.11 must we must We must see it They must see it You must see it I must +uy it He must do it It "an +e It "ould +e It "ould +e 0ossi+le (might +e& may +e) That "ould +e 0ossi+le 4ut it was not 0ossi+le to do it +e"ause I didn't ha/e the time to do it It has to +e ready now& it must +e ready now already It "an +e ready already It must +e ready already It "annot +e ready yet It is going to +e ready tomorrow (#) #.)# You ha/e to do it now *6harpened awareness of your own language2 in !nglish, the positive +you have to do it+ means the same as +you must do it+. 7ut, in the negative, +you don't have to do it+ doesn't mean +you must not do it+8 it means +you don't need to do it+., (3) 1.00 also me too to smo!e He is smo!ing It is smo!ing It did smo!e here& it has smo!ed here (%) 1.3% 5o you smo!e? mo!e6 *re you "oming? 'ome with me6 *re you waiting? *re you waiting (or me? Wait (or me6 tay here6 1at6 5on't eat that6 ()) #.0-

You ha/e to see it You don't ha/e to see it *4fter brauchen, you use the whole infinitive preceded by 9u. :owever, 3ermans and 4ustrians often leave out the zu., You don't ha/e to do it He has to +e here soon (,) 1.0. I had to I wanted I had to He had to stay here +e"ause he had to wor! (7) 3.3# shall& should I shall& you shall& he shall& we shall& you shall& they shall You shall tell me& you should tell me You should "ome with us *4nother word for +should+ would be sollten, ;, You should go there with us *sollten might also be in the past tense, meaning +was supposed to+., I was su00osed to go there yesterday& +ut I "ould not +e"ause I was /ery +usy +e"ause I was /ery +usy yesterday I "ould not go there with you to 0re0are I was su00osed to 0re0are it yesterday I should do it now I should ha/e done it (7emem+er that handle /er+s are the same as the in(initi/e in the 0ast 0arti"i0le) (.) ,.)1 'ould you tell me? You shall tell me& you should tell me You should tell me You "ould ha/e told me You "ould ha/e told it to me You "ould ha/e "ome with us You "ould ha/e +ought it "ould ha/e& should ha/e You should ha/e told me You should ha/e told it to me and I would ha/e +ought it (or you I "ould ha/e +ought it (or you I would +uy it (or you

I would ha/e +ought it (or you *gekauft because there is no handle verb in the sentence., I would +uy it (or you I would ha/e +ought it (or you I "ould ha/e +ought it (or you I should ha/e +ought it (or you (-) ).#0 to 0lease to 0lease onesel( 0leasure It 0leases me I 0lease mysel( (I en8oy) I en8oy seeing you I am /ery 0leased to see you I will +e /ery 0leased to see you (I'm loo!ing (orward to seeing you) I would +e /ery 0leased to see you I would +e /ery 0leased I would +e /ery 0leased to go there with you I would ha/e en8oyed to go there last night I would ha/e en8oyed /ery mu"h to go there with you (10) %.), I wanted... *wollen can act as a handle, or a normal verb, I ha/e wanted I ha/e wanted to do it I would ha/e wanted to do it I wanted to see it +ut I "ouldn't see it I "ouldn't wait +e"ause I had to lea/e I "ould ha/e gone there with you last night You should ha/e gone there with us (11) 1.0. I was there ne/er no+ody +ut no+ody was there Who was there with you last night? W ! "#! $# %&' I() ) * s' !) A+ )$, It was not 0ossi+le to do it (1#) #.0.

to loo! (or to try I am trying to su""eed It is su""ess(ul to me I don't su""eed doing it I "annot do it I won't su""eed doing it (it won't +e su""ess(ul to me) (13) 3.1) I had to lea/e *lassen means +to leave+ in the sense of leaving something behind, not going away. lassen has several meanings, I le(t the !ey on the ta+le *lassen also means +to let+, 9et me try6 9et me wor!6 9ea/e me alone6 (the) :uiet *lassen is also used to get something done, I will get it re0aired (I will let someone re0air it) I must ha/e it washed to "lean I will get it "leaned (1%) 7.11 He will +e here soon ne"essary It won't +e ne"essary *an alternative to ntig is notwendig, It won't +e ne"essary *es wird expresses two verbs8 es wird expressing the future tense, and the present tense werden which means +to become+, +to be getting+, I am tired I am getting tired I will +e tired I will +e getting tired You will +e too tired You will +e getting tired soon It is late It is getting late dar! the dar!ness It is /ery dar! It is too dar! It is getting dar! It will +e too dar!

It will +e getting dar! soon It is getting dar! *+it was becoming...+, +it was getting...+ is Es wurde..., It was getting dar! suddenly It was suddenly getting /ery dar! It would +e too dar! We were getting tired (1)) %.## to !now 5o you !now why he "annot do it? 5o you !now why he does not want to do it? 'an you tell me why he didn't want to do it? 5o you !now why he "ouldn't do it? (was not a+le to do it) I !new I didn't !now I would ha/e !nown I wouldn't ha/e !nown it& i( you had not told me (1,) ..1*There are some 3erman verbs, with which you dive not from haben but from sein. !nglish also used to have them8 it survives in phrases like +the time is come+ *not has come,, and +he is gone+ *not he has gone,. In 3erman, with coming and going verbs you dive from +to be+, I went I went there We are gone We went there last night When did you go there? (17) #.)1 I was We were It would +e 0ossi+le *instead of saying es wrde sein, you can simply use es wre for +would be+, It wouldn't +e 0ossi+le *actually, es wre expresses +it might be+, and became also +it would not be+, says it is simpler than saying es wrde mglich sein..., It wouldn't +e 0ossi+le to do it that way (1.) 1.)7 *sein is con0ugated with +to be+, I ha/e +een *gewesen means +been+, We ha/e +een there last night How long ha/e you +een there?

How long were you there? (1-) #.3% I would ha/e waited (or you and I would ha/e gone there with you He would ha/e "ome with us (#0) ,.0# I ha/e waited I ha/e waited (or you He has waited (or me How long ha/e you waited? He arri/ed today He would ha/e arri/ed today i( he had arri/ed today I ha/e +een there I would ha/e +een there I( I had +een there I would ha/e seen it I didn't see you +e"ause I was not there *there is a third word meaning +because+, da, +e"ause I was not there (end o( re"ording)

CD - (7..0/) (1) 7.17 *bleiben is also con0ugated with +to be+, We stayed We went to 4erlin When did you go to ;ienna? How long did you stay in ;ienna? How long did you stay? I would ha/e stayed longer i( I had !nown you would +e here (#) #.)7 When did you arri/e? early tomorrow morning today morning I would ha/e arri/ed earlier i( I had !nown that you would +e here and that you ha/e waited (or me (3) #.0. to tra/el (not +y (oot) I went to ;ienna We went to ;ienna We went to ;ienna last wee! +ut we didn't stay long& we only stayed a "ou0le o( days and we "ame +a"! to 9ondon (%) 3.#) It would ha/e 0leased me /ery mu"h I would ha/e li!ed /ery mu"h to !now (it would ha/e 0leased me /ery mu"h to !now) that you would go there I would +e 0leased (it would 0lease me) It would ha/e 0leased me I would +e 0leased (I would 0lease mysel() I would ha/e +een 0leased ()) 3.)# to hurry I am hurrying I hurried I will hurry I ha/e to hurry Hurry u06 You ha/e to hurry Will you hurry 0lease I hurried We hurried

I( I had hurried I would ha/e arri/ed earlier I would ha/e seen it and I would ha/e +ought it (,) 1.#. to get u0 I got u0 We got u0 *t what time do you get u0? I would ha/e got u0 earlier i( I had !nown it (7) 1.0, Why didn't you tell it to me? I would ha/e told it to you i( I had !nown it (.) ,.)# It is not 0ossi+le to do it that way It was not 0ossi+le to do it that way It won't +e 0ossi+le to do it that way It wouldn't +e 0ossi+le to do it that way It would not +e 0ossi+le to do it that way It has not +een 0ossi+le to do it We tried and it has not +een 0ossi+le to do it I thin! it would ha/e +een 0ossi+le to do it i( we had tried i( we had tried to do it (-) 0.%I would ha/e gotten u0 earlier (10) %.## to lie down (there are three ways to say <to 0ut<) to 0ut down (in a lying 0osition) to 0ut (in a standing 0osition& e.g. a +ottle) I am 0utting the +ottle on the ta+le I am 0utting the +oo! on the ta+le It is lying on the ta+le to 0ut (in a sitting 0osition) to sit I am seating mysel( I am sitting down (there) it (yoursel() down (here) Ta!e a seat I sat down I lay down (11) ,.#,

:uiet& silen"e ilen"e& 0lease6 It is /ery :uiet to ta!e a rest (to :uiet onesel( out) I will ta!e a rest You should ta!e a rest I had a good rest (I rested mysel( out well) You ha/e to ta!e a rest =ne must... =ne has to ta!e a rest sometimes =ne has to ta!e a rest sometimes ometimes one has to ta!e a rest 5id you slee0 well? I sle0t /ery well =ne "an understand it sometimes +ut sometimes one "annot understand it I did not understand what you ha/e said to mean I don't understand what you mean What do you mean? What does it mean? (1#) %.0) to send I will send it to you He has sent it to me to re"ei/e I ha/e not re"ei/ed it yet to hold to hold on& sto0 Will you sto0 (Will you stay standing) Will you sto0 to re"ei/e I ha/en't re"ei/ed it yet to !ee0 You "an !ee0 it to hear I "annot hear it to +elong It +elongs to me It doesn't +elong to me It +elongs to you 5oes it +elong to you? (13) ,.)% to answer

the word the answer He didn't answer yet to "all He "alled to "all (on the 0hone) He "alled me on the 0hone at your 0la"e I "alled you this morning in order to tell you that I will arri/e tonight and that I will +e at your house at 10 o'"lo"! I would ha/e arri/ed earlier i( I had !nown it (1%) #.#7 (senten"es li!e <I want you to tell me< "an't +e translated ste0>+y>ste0 into ?erman. @or e2am0le& <I want you to tell him< must +e translated <I want& that you should tell him<) I want you to tell him Will you tell him to "all me I told him to "all me (1)) #.)1 to remem+er I remem+er I don't remem+er I "annot remem+er to remem+er something *to talk about remembering it, you have to talk about recalling +at it+ an das, which contracts to daran. 6imilarly, +on it+ auf das becomes darauf. +into it+ would be darein. +under it+ would be darunter. +over it+ would be darber., I "annot remem+er it (re"ording s!i0s here) (1,) #.%) (in ?erman& to get used to something is to <ha+ituate onesel(< s&0( * "1() )) the a0artment to rent& let (an a0artment) %& ' ) I will rent the a0artment I will rent the house to li/e& reside to li/e We li/e here We are here now +ut we don't li/e here Where do you li/e? (17) 1.0# *you can turn infinitives into nouns, to li/e li/ing& li(e

to eat the (ood The (ood is good here (1.) -.11 *in 3erman, whenever you want to use +have been <ing+, simply use the present tense, sin"e I ha/e +een doing it (or a long time *schon is often thrown in in this situation, I ha/e +een doing it (or a long time *you can put emphasis on das by starting the sentence with it, That I ha/e +een doing (or a long time I ha/e +een li/ing in ;ienna (em0hasised) (or three months *to ask someone how long they have been living here, you must stay +since how long...+, How long ha/e you +een li/ing here? How long ha/e you +een wor!ing here? How long ha/e you +een wor!ing here? (with s0(2)) He has +een wor!ing here (or three years already You are going to ?ermany a(terA to& towards You are going to *ustria You are going to ;ienna (or e2am0le& (or instan"e to 0lay to 0lay the 0iano How long ha/e you +een in ;ienna? ha/e you +een I ha/e +een We ha/e +een Where ha/e you +een? Where were you? How long ha/e you +een here in ;ienna? I ha/e +een here (or three wee!s already (1-) 3.)3 ha+it (to say <not used to<& you "an say <don't ha/e the ha+it<) I don't ha/e the ha+it to do it o00ortunity the +eauty *-heit and -keit corresponds to the 4nglo/6axon !nglish +/hood+, 0ossi+ility I don't ha/e the 0ossi+ility to do it It is not 0ossi+le to do it that way

(#0) #.0. to try to loo! (or I am loo!ing (or it I loo!ed (or it +ut I "ould not (ind it to try to arri/e I am arri/ing (end o( re"ording)

CD 4 (7..12) (1) ).0) to "ome +a"! He is "oming +a"! soon to try I am trying I am trying to do it I tried to do it to "at"h to start We are starting *t what time do you start? usually& ha+itually *t what time do usually start? It started It has started already to go He has gone to go away He went away We went away (#) 3.3% to "ome He "ame to "ome +a"! *t what time are you "oming +a"!? He will "ome +a"! soon He will +e +a"! soon He will +e here again soon (3) 1.)3 to listen to listen to something I listened to it to +elong It +elonged to me I heard it It +elongs to me It doesn't +elong to me (%) ..#3 a0artment the ha+it ha+itually& usually to get used to it I will get used to it I ha/e to get used to it easy& light

sim0le di((i"ult It is not /ery hea/y easiness di((i"ulty no di((i"ulty I "annot get used to it& it's /ery di((i"ult (or me =ne has to get used to it (inally I (inally got used to it to remem+er I remem+er I remem+ered to remem+er it I don't remem+er it I "annot remem+er it I "ouldn't remem+er ()) %.#7 to o0en the window Will you o0en the window? I o0ened the window It is o0en It is +eing o0ened *es wird... because werden refers to +getting+ or +becoming+, It was o0ened It was +eing o0ened to o0en (ma!e o0en) to "lose (ma!e "lose) I o0ened the door He "losed the door The door is "losed The door is +eing "losed It will +e "losed It will +e getting "losed (,) %.0% It is getting "old It was getting "old It has gotten "old It is late It is getting late It will +e late It will +e too late soon It will +e getting late dar!

It will +e getting dar! soon It was dar! It was too dar! It was getting dar! It has +een getting /ery dar! It has gotten /ery dar! (7) ..#1 to +uild I +uilt it It is +uilt It is +eing +uilt It was +uilt It was +eing +uilt It has +een +uilt *in the above sentence, where there are two past participles, you use worden and not geworden, light (not dar!) It is /ery light here It is getting light It has +e"ome light It was getting light It will +e getting light It would +e getting too dar! It would +e too dar! It would ha/e +een too dar! It would ha/e gotten too dar! It was too dar! It was getting too dar! It has +een too dar! It has gotten too dar! (.) ).33 He is selling it It is sold It is +eing sold 1/erything is +eing sold It was +eing sold 1/erything was +eing sold 1/erything was sold 1/erything has +een sold 1/erything has gotten sold 1/erything would +e sold *the difference between es wrde mglich sein +it would be possible+ and es wre mglich +it might be possible+ is hardly noticeable in modern 3erman, (-) 7.3# *let's see how many tenses we can handle now, He is selling the house

He has +een selling houses (or a long time The house is sold The house is +eing sold He sold the house The house was getting sold The house has gotten sold He will sell the house The house will +e sold The house will +e getting sold He would sell the house The house would +e getting sold He had sold the house i( he had sold the house (i( he would ha/e...) The house would ha/e (might ha/e) +een sold He will ha/e sold the house He would ha/e sold the house The house would ha/e +een sold (10) 3.1. I am /ery ha00y& I en8oy mysel( I'm /ery ha00y to +e with you It 0leases me It 0leases me to +e with you I did en8oy /ery mu"h +eing here with you I'm loo!ing (orward to seeing you again soon (I will en8oy seeing you...) I'm loo!ing (orward to seeing you again soon (It will 0lease me...) to interest interesting It is /ery interesting It interests me /ery mu"h I interest mysel( It did interest me /ery mu"h (11) 1.37 *tun dives into getan, He told me that he wouldn't ha/e done it i( he had !nown it (1#) #.01 to "ome along 5o you want to "ome along? I will "ome along I'm sorry +ut I "annot "ome along He "ame along He arri/ed to get& to re"ei/e

He re"ei/ed it (13) %.%7 to tear to tra/el to tear something o(( I tore it o(( (the wall) It is torn o(( It got torn o(( to tear into 0ie"es He tore it into 0ie"es It is torn into 0ie"es It is entirely torn into 0ie"es He tore it into 0ie"es It was +eing torn into 0ie"es yesterday I "ould see it I saw it to +rea! It is +ro!en He +ro!e it into 0ie"es (1%) #.3to (all It (ell It (ell down *the r- gives the movement, It (ell out It (ell o/er It (ell in He (ell in& he got "aught (1)) #.0, *here are the participles of some verbs, to ma!e to laugh to wor! to say to as! He as!ed me Why didn't you as! me? Why didn't you tell it to me? to 0lay (1,) 3.#. to o0en the store +usy The store is o0en to "lose "losed

The door is "losed The door is lo"!ed The door is o0ened (with a !ey) to try to try on Bay I try it on? (17) 3.), to "o/er It "o/ers to dis"o/er He dis"o/ers He dis"o/ered it It is dis"o/ered It was +eing dis"o/ered He has dis"o/ered it I sle0t to go (not on (oot) to ste0 to ste0 in to ste0 on (the stage) to ste0 o(( (1.) 3.## (end o( re"ording)