2.9 Conversation: Der Beruf
The teacher and the greengrocer
Whilst waiting at the bus-stop, Müslüm Can and Mareike Herda (pictured below standing with her pupils, at the back on the right) discuss the jobs to which they are travelling.
Conversation 1: Die Lehrerin und der Gemüsehändler |
Müslüm Can |
Was sind Sie eigentlich von Beruf, Frau Herda? |
Mareike Herda |
Von Beruf bin ich Lehrerin. |
Müslüm Can |
Ach nein! Mein Bruder ist auch Lehrer. |
Mareike Herda |
Das gibt's doch gar nicht! Wo arbeitet er? Hier in Berlin? |
Müslüm Can |
Nein, nein. Er ist Deutschlehrer in der Türkei. Wir sind beide in der Türkei geboren. |
Mareike Herda |
Und was sind Sie von Beruf? |
Müslüm Can |
Ich bin Gemüsehändler. |
Mareike Herda |
Arbeiten Sie hier in der Stadt? |
Müslüm Can |
Ja. Ich arbeite in einem kleinen Gemüseladen in der Nähe von hier. |
|
Glossary |
eigentlich |
actually; in fact |
von Beruf bin ich... |
Switching the word order around such that "von Beruf" comes first places slightly more emphasis on the profession. |
Ach nein! |
Literally "Oh no!", but the sense is one of surprise: "Really?!" |
mein Bruder |
my brother |
auch |
"too; also". Not to be confused with the German word "also" meaning "therefore" (see below). |
also |
Be very careful of this word in German! It doesn't mean English "also" but "therefore" or "so". |
Das gibt's doch gar nicht! |
"Well I never! You don't say!". A polite expression of great surprise. |
Wo arbeitet er? |
"Where does he work?". There is no German equivalent of the English word "does". "Er arbeitet" is the sole German translation for "he works", "he is working" and "he does work". |
Deutschlehrer |
"German teacher". Note that this is written as one word in German. |
Wir sind ... geboren |
We were born .... |
wir beide |
both of us |
der Gemüsehändler |
greengrocer |
in der Stadt |
in the city |
in einem kleinen Gemüseladen |
in a little greengrocer's shop |
in der Nähe von hier |
near here |
|
Test yourself!
Test how well you have understood this passage by doing this gap-filling exercise. All of the missing words were spoken by Müslüm and Mareike in this passage!
Present tense of the verb "arbeiten"
We have met a new verb in this section - "arbeiten" (= "to work"). Although it is a regular verb, some of the endings are slightly different as the stem of the verb ends in "t". To prevent a build-up of unpronouncable and teeth-damaging consonants, an extra "-e" is added before the "du", "er/sie"
and "ihr" endings.
Grammar 1: The verb "arbeiten" |
Singular |
|
|
ich arbeite |
I work |
|
du arbeitest
Sie arbeiten |
You work (informal/formal) |
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er/sie/es arbeitet |
He/she/it works |
Plural |
|
|
wir arbeiten |
We work |
|
ihr arbeitet
Sie arbeiten |
You work (informal/formal) |
|
sie arbeiten |
They work |
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Chapter 2.10: Background - About Germany
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