German II
Nouns are combined in German
to form a single compound noun, which is a very common way to form new words.
By learning to take apart and analyze the component parts of compound nouns,
you can greatly increase your vocabulary.
For a compound noun, the gender and plural are determined
by the final noun in the compound.
der Lohn, Löhne (wages, salary) + die Erhöhung, -en (rise,
increase) =
das Wasser + der Fall, -Fälle (fall, descent) = der Wasserfall,
Wasserfälle (waterfall)
Sometimes a connecting sound is inserted between the elements of a compound noun. The most frequent
are s and (e)n.
die
Respektsperson person
held in respect
die Prüfungsarbeit
exam paper
die Nasenspitze
tip of the nose
Compound nouns can also be formed with parts of speech
other than two nouns, for example, with verbs or adjectives.
kaufen (v.) + das Haus = das Kaufhaus (department store)
rollen (v.) + die Treppe = die Rolltreppe (escalator)
klein (adj.) + die Stadt = die Kleinstadt (small provincial
town)
Exercise: Form the compound noun from the words given, following
the model. Indicate gender and plural forms, and translate into English.
Example: das Haus, Häuser + der Schlüssel, - = der Hausschlüssel,
die Hausschlüssel, housekey(s)
1. der
Sommer, - + das Haus, Häuser =
2. die
Hand, Hände + der Schuh, -e =
3. das
Haus, Häuser + die Aufgabe, -n =
4. das
Land, Länder + die Karte, -n =
5. der
Abend, -e + das Kleid, -er =
6. die
Woche, -n + n (connecting sound) + Tag, -e =
7. neu
+ das Jahr, -e =
8. schreiben
+ der Tisch, -e =
9. Golf
+ der Schläger, - =
10. das
Gold + der Ring, -e =
11. das
Öl + das Gemälde, - =
12. waschen
+ die Maschine, -n =