Linguasein – to be: ich bin, du bist, er ist
sein is the most irregular verb in German, and also the most frequent – its forms have to be learned by heart. You already met ich bin for your name. With sein you also say where you are from in everyday speech (Ich bin aus Wien, next to Ich komme aus Wien) and how someone is (Ich bin müde – I am tired). To introduce another person, point with Das ist …: Das ist Jonas. Note the two short forms that learners mix up: ihr seid (you are, to several friends) and sie sind / Sie sind.
| Pronoun | sein (to be) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ich | bin | I am |
| du | bist | you are (one friend) |
| er / sie / es | ist | he / she / it is |
| wir | sind | we are |
| ihr | seid | you are (several friends) |
| sie | sind | they are |
| Sie | sind | you are (polite) |
Das ist Frau Weber, und das ist Herr Braun.This is Mrs Weber, and this is Mr Braun.
du or Sie – and Herr, Frau, Freund
With du people use first names; with Sie they use Herr or Frau + surname: Herr Braun, Frau Weber. Frau is the title for every adult woman, married or not. du is for friends, family, children and fellow students, and in many young workplaces for colleagues too; Sie is for strangers, shop staff, officials and, in many offices, the boss. Usually the older person or the one in the higher position offers du – German even has verbs for it: duzen and siezen. One more trap: mein Freund and meine Freundin often mean “my boyfriend” and “my girlfriend”; for a friend people say ein Freund von mir.
Wie geht’s? – asking how someone is
Wie geht’s? is the short form of Wie geht es dir? and goes to people you say du to; to someone you say Sie to, ask Wie geht es Ihnen? The answers run on a scale from sehr gut to nicht so gut, usually with danke: Gut, danke. Then you return the question: Und dir? to a friend, Und Ihnen? with Sie. In German this is a real question, not a greeting: it is not asked to a stranger at a counter, and friends may answer honestly that things are not so good.
| Answer | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sehr gut! | very well |
| Gut, danke. | fine, thanks |
| Es geht. | so-so, OK |
| Nicht so gut. | not so good |
– Wie geht es Ihnen, Frau Roth? – Sehr gut, danke. Und Ihnen?– How are you, Mrs Roth? – Very well, thank you. And you?
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sein | to be | Seid ihr aus Wien? Are you (all) from Vienna? |
| Wie geht’s? | How are you? (informal) | Hallo, Jan! Wie geht’s? Hi, Jan! How are you? |
| Wie geht es Ihnen? | How are you? (polite) | Guten Tag, Herr Braun, wie geht es Ihnen? Hello, Mr Braun, how are you? |
| gut | good, well | Danke, mir geht es gut. Thanks, I’m fine. |
| sehr gut | very good, very well | Du sprichst sehr gut Deutsch! You speak German very well! |
| es geht | so-so, it’s OK | Na ja, es geht. Well, so-so. |
| nicht so gut | not so good | Heute geht es mir nicht so gut. I’m not feeling so good today. |
| auch | also, too | Ich komme auch aus Spanien. I come from Spain too. |
| und | and | Anna und Tom sind Freunde. Anna and Tom are friends. |
| der Herr | Mr; gentleman | Herr Braun kommt aus Bremen. Mr Braun comes from Bremen. |
| die Frau | Mrs, Ms; woman | Frau Weber wohnt in Köln. Mrs Weber lives in Cologne. |
| der Freund | friend (male); boyfriend | Jonas ist ein Freund aus Wien. Jonas is a friend from Vienna. |
| die Freundin | friend (female); girlfriend | Meine Freundin heißt Sara. My girlfriend is called Sara. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
You run into your friend Jan in the street. How do you ask how he is?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.