The Student Room Group

Scroll to see replies

Original post by thatitootoo
Why is it "etwas interessantes" anyway there is no "neuter-gendered word"
No scientific analogy pls :wink:
There are two levels of explanation I can give you: GCSE and A-level-ish (Ronove can do the degree level one).

GCSE: "after the following words etwas, nichts, viel, wenig
, an adjective changes its form, and gains a capital letter (becomes a noun)* and you add -es to the end of it.

Examples: etwas Interessantes, nichts Neues.

After alles, you add -e to the adjective, as in alles Gute"

This explanation is a Because-It-Just-IS in formal-wear!

A-level-ish: adjectives can be turned into nouns, etc <pages of examples>. "The gender chosen is obvious: masculine for males, feminine for females, and neuter for neither. Thus the neuter form is commonly used in such set expressions as: nichts Neues"

*This is a direct quote from an AQA GCSE textbook. It is that patronising!
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Octopus_Garden
There are two levels of explanation I can give you: GCSE and A-level-ish (Ronove can do the degree level one).

GCSE: "after the following words etwas, nichts, viel, wenig
, an adjective changes its form, and gains a capital letter (becomes a noun)* and you add -es to the end of it.

Examples: etwas Interessantes, nichts Neues.

After alles, you add -e to the adjective, as in alles Gute"

This explanation is a Because-It-Just-IS in formal-wear!

A-level-ish: adjectives can be turned into nouns, etc <pages of examples>. "The gender chosen is obvious: masculine for males, feminine for females, and neuter for neither. Thus the neuter form is commonly used in such set expressions as: nichts Neues"

*This is a direct quote from an AQA GCSE textbook. It is that patronising!


OH larddddd! :eek: I really regret asking that question now!
Ich wüsste gar nichts darüber! :redface:
I'll need time to take the GCSE explanation in...let alone the degree level one!
Ronove please don't just don't :emo:

HOW FAR INTO YOUR GCSE COURSE WERE YOU INTRODUCED TO ALL THISSSSS??? :O :O
Zumindest verstehe ich jetzt warum man "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag" schreibt jaja...:tongue:
Um, it was never explicitly covered. Not enough time. I just read the back of the textbook. Let's see: after we'd finished doing the Controlled Assessments and we were into Past Paper Practice, I used to write practice ones incorporating new bits of grammar, and ask the tutor to point out any errors. So that would have been in early June. (I did Life of a Celebrity and made up a band called Atomisches Kätzchen, and their new album Nichts Neues.)

To be honest: "you capitalise anything after nichts or etwas and add -es" will serve you well for years, no additional understanding required! Or even just memorising "nichts Neues and etwas Interessantes"
Original post by Octopus_Garden
Um, it was never explicitly covered. Not enough time. I just read the back of the textbook. Let's see: after we'd finished doing the Controlled Assessments and we were into Past Paper Practice, I used to write practice ones incorporating new bits of grammar, and ask the tutor to point out any errors. So that would have been in early June. (I did Life of a Celebrity and made up a band called Atomisches Kätzchen, and their new album Nichts Neues.)

To be honest: "you capitalise anything after nichts or etwas and add -es" will serve you well for years, no additional understanding required! Or even just memorising "nichts Neues and etwas Interessantes"



Haha Atomisches Kätzchen!! very creative lol
Everything? :O So "Do you have anything/something cheaper" would be "Hast du noch etwas Gunstiger" ?? not sure if I missed an umlaut there :tongue:
etwas Gunstiges? :O
Original post by thatitootoo
etwas Günstiges? :O
You need the umlaut. Seems like "something cheap/well-priced" to me.

Something cheaper might be etwas Günstigeres
Reply 1167
Original post by thatitootoo
OH larddddd! :eek: I really regret asking that question now!
Ich wüsste gar nichts darüber! :redface:
I'll need time to take the GCSE explanation in...let alone the degree level one!
Ronove please don't just don't :emo:

HOW FAR INTO YOUR GCSE COURSE WERE YOU INTRODUCED TO ALL THISSSSS??? :O :O



Original post by Octopus_Garden
To be honest: "you capitalise anything after nichts or etwas and add -es" will serve you well for years, no additional understanding required! Or even just memorising "nichts Neues and etwas Interessantes"

There's nothing I can think of that went any further than this at degree level. It's not any more complex than what Octopus has said already. Just one of those remnants of older German, I think. I'd look into it in my Hammer Grammar or my linguistics books but they're all in the UK. :emo:
Original post by Octopus_Garden
You need the umlaut. Seems like "something cheap/well-priced" to me.

Something cheaper might be etwas Günstigeres


Günstigeres! wow.

Well I suppose I still have die Zeit to get my head around all of this! :tongue:
Thank god I'm not doing AS level, I would have been lost!
Tutor S told me that there is a Dutch person currently taking German AS...and she claims that their written work "does not resemble any European language" :O =L
Original post by Ronove
There's nothing I can think of that went any further than this at degree level. It's not any more complex than what Octopus has said already. Just one of those remnants of older German, I think. I'd look into it in my Hammer Grammar or my linguistics books but they're all in the UK. :emo:


I've heard that Hammer is the "more complex" grammar book!
So yhh these adjectives turning into nouns thing isn't basic stuff I should know right now! #phewwww :tongue:
Be aware that comparatives are one of my (many) weak points. I just work around the ones of which I am unsure!

I will consult Martin Durrell on adjectival nouns in a bit, as* ich bin in der Nähe von meiner Bücher!
Il y a trop d'allemand :unimpressed:

:mmm:
Reply 1172
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Il y a trop d'allemand :unimpressed:

:mmm:


Casi no ha habido nada en español...
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Il y a trop d'allemand :unimpressed:

:mmm:


Warum musst du unseren Spaß enden, Fisch? :tongue:
Original post by AquisM
x

Sorry, I'll try and learn enough for the summer!
Original post by MangoFreak
x

Because I can't join in :frown:
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Il y a trop d'allemand :unimpressed:

:mmm:
T'y n'étais pas, alors tu ne nous pouvais arrêter!
Original post by Octopus_Garden
T'y n'étais pas, alors tu ne nous pouvais arrêter!


:lol: tu n'y me veux pas :frown: je vois... Je vois...
Original post by Octopus_Garden
T'y n'étais pas, alors tu ne nous pouvais arrêter!

Have I left out a "pas"?
Should it be: alors tu ne nous pouvais pas arrêter.
Original post by Octopus_Garden
Have I left out a "pas"?
Should it be: alors tu ne nous pouvais pas arrêter.


Yeah. It should I think:smile:
Reply 1179
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Sorry, I'll try and learn enough for the summer!

LOL Peut-être que je devrais apprendre un peu de français aussi. (No idea if that's correct, copied straight from Google Translate. :P)

Latest