Reference · module 5
Food and ordering
Everything this module explains, on one page.
Essen und Trinken
Name what is on the table, with the right article.
- Das Brot, der Käse, die Suppe, der Apfel. Every noun in German is written with a capital letter — not only names, all of them. That capital is a clue you can see from across the page.
- Drinks: das Wasser, der Kaffee, der Tee, die Milch, der Saft. Nothing in the word itself tells you the article — der Saft and die Milch look alike and behave differently.
- So learn the article with the word, as one item: not Apfel but der Apfel. A word learned without its article has to be learned twice, and the second time is harder.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich esse brot.
Ich esse Brot.
English capitalises names and nothing else, so brot will come out lowercase. Every German noun takes a capital: it is not emphasis, it is spelling, and lowercase reads as an error.
Den Apfel
Say what you are eating, drinking or having, with the article that goes with it.
- German marks the difference between who does something and what it is done to. The doer keeps its article; the thing acted on can change it. Ich esse den Apfel — the apple is on the receiving end.
- Only the masculine changes. Der Apfel becomes den Apfel, ein Apfel becomes einen Apfel. That is the whole rule for now: one letter, plus a syllable.
- Die Suppe stays die Suppe. Das Brot stays das Brot. Two thirds of all nouns look identical in both roles, which is exactly why the masculine is the one to drill.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich esse der Apfel.
Ich esse den Apfel.
English marks this on pronouns only — he becomes him — and never on "the". So der will sit where it was. German moves it: der Apfel becomes den Apfel the moment you eat it.
Ich möchte
Ask for what you want without sounding rude.
- Ich möchte means I would like. It is the politest thing you can say in a shop or a café, and it is what Germans actually use — ich will is blunt to the point of rude.
- Ich möchte, du möchtest, Sie möchten. Nothing else about the sentence changes, and what follows takes the receiving form: ich möchte einen Kaffee.
- Add bitte and you are finished: Ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte. Two words of grammar and one of manners will get you served anywhere.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich will einen Kaffee.
Ich möchte einen Kaffee.
Ich will is a double trap: it looks like the English future and it means "I demand". It is neither polite nor future. In a shop the word is möchte.
Im Café
Order, ask what it costs, and pay.
- The waiter opens with Was möchten Sie? or simply Bitte schön? Both mean go ahead. You answer with ich möchte, or with the thing and bitte: Einen Kaffee, bitte.
- Was kostet das? asks the price of one thing. The answer comes as euros and cents with nothing between the two numbers: drei Euro fünfzig is three fifty.
- To pay, say Zahlen, bitte or Die Rechnung, bitte. Both are normal and both are polite, and either one ends the visit.
The mistake you are about to make
Ein Kaffee, bitte.
Einen Kaffee, bitte.
Naming your order feels like naming the thing, so ein Kaffee comes out. You are asking for it, which makes it accusative: einen Kaffee, with no verb anywhere in sight.
Eine Tasse Kaffee
Ask for a cup, a glass or a piece of something — and say what you like.
- Eine Tasse Kaffee — a cup of coffee. There is no word for of. German puts the two nouns side by side, and the second one carries no article at all.
- It works the same everywhere: ein Glas Wasser, ein Stück Kuchen, eine Flasche Milch. Where English needs of, German needs nothing.
- Gern says that you like doing something, and it goes after the verb: Ich trinke gern Tee. Not I like tea, but I gladly drink tea — which is how it is said here.
The mistake you are about to make
eine Tasse von Kaffee
eine Tasse Kaffee
A cup of coffee has an "of" in it, and von is the obvious candidate. German wants nothing at all between the two words: eine Tasse Kaffee.