Synopses & Reviews
Learn the basics of German with GERMAN FOR READING KNOWLEDGE! Recognized as the best book for teaching academic reading skills, the German text provides you with tools you need to read specialized literature in your own field. The Book Companion Website contains the readings that appear in each chapter plus new comprehension questions and activities about the readings that are designed to let you practice specific reading skills. An online answer key is also included on the website so that you can check your answers to the activities in the text.
Review
"The exercise sentences used for translation practice are excellent - good use of the grammar covered in a particular chapter while reviewing materials in accumulative manner; in each set of exercises there is also a subtle progression from simpler to more complicated sentences."
Review
"[What I like best are the] clear, concise explanations of difficult grammar topics (particularly, extended-adjective constructions and the subjunctive) and no assumption that students are familiar with advanced grammar topics and terminology."
Review
'\"The exercise sentences used for translation practice are excellent & good use of the grammar covered in a particular chapter while reviewing materials in accumulative manner; in each set of exercises there is also a subtle progression from simpler to more complicated sentences.\"'
Review
"Concise German grammar explanations in English and interesting, authentic German texts from a variety of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The content and topics are timeless and excellent to learn about history and culture of German-speaking countries."
Review
"[German for Reading Knowledge has] concise, excellent explanations, relevant and representative text examples."
Synopsis
Recognized as THE book for teaching academic reading skills, the fifth edition continues to introduce students in the humanities, arts, and social sciences to a basic knowledge of German that they can use independently to begin to read specialized literature in their respective fields.
About the Author
Richard Alan Korb received his Ph.D. in Germanic Literature from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988. He has been teaching at Columbia University in New York City since 1994. As senior lecturer and German language program director, he specializes in pedagogy and teacher training, offering elementary, intermediate, and advanced German courses for undergraduates.
Table of Contents
1. German Nouns and the Definite Article. Gender of Nouns. Present and Past Tense of the Verb sein (to be). Interrogatives. Cognates and Loan Words. Übungssätze. Aller Anfang ist schwer. 2. Case: Nominative and Accusative. Infinitive. Present Tense of Regular Verbs. Present Tense of the Verb haben (to have). The Metric System. Cardinal Numbers. Übungssätze. Johann Sebastian Bach: Seine Musik und seine Famlie. 3. Dative. Genitive. Plural of Nouns. N-Nouns. Past Tense of Weak Verbs and of haben. Meanings of the Past Tense. Übungssätze. Leben des Galiliei, ein Theaterstück in fünfzehn Bildern von Bertolt Brecht. 4. Indefinite Articles. Kein and Other ein-Words. Irregular Forms in the Present Tense of Strong Verbs. Es gibt there is, there are. Compound Nouns. Ordinal Numbers. Übungssätze. Kurze Geschichte der deutschen Hochschulen. 5. Der Words. Simple Past Tense of Strong Verbs. Irregular Weak Verbs. Present and Simple Past Tense of werden (to become). Word Order. Übungssätze. Erzbistumsstadt Magdeburg. WIEDERHOLUNG 1: DEUTSCHLAND. 6. Prepositions. Idiomatic and Special Meanings. Contraction of Prepositions. Prepositions Following Nouns or Pronouns. Indefinite Pronouns: man, jemand, niemand. Übungssätze. Der 17. Juni 1953: Auszug aus Stefan Heyms "Fünf Tage im Juni". 7. Adjective Endings. Information from Adjective Endings. Adjectives Used as Nouns. Übungssätze. Die Romantik. 8. Adverbs. Verbs with Inseparable and Separable Prefixes. Recognizing Singulars and Plurals of Nouns. Übungssätze. Dioramenmaler: Der nicht so gut bekannte Schinkel. 9. Perfect Tenses. Meanings of the Perfect Tenses. Seit + Present Tense = have been + ing. Past Participles. Word Order. Übungssätze. Bertolt Brechts Anfänge. 10. Present Participle. Participles Used as Adjectives and Adverbs. Meanings of Present and Past Participles. Past Participle Used with SEIN to Express State of Being. Participles Used as Nouns. Infinitives Used as Nouns. Übungssätze. Der Bär: Stadtsymbol und Naturphänomen. WIEDERHOLUNG 2: DIE BEWOHNER ÖSTERREICHS. 11. Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs. Exceptional Comparisons. Recognition of Comparatives and Superlatives. Special Uses of the Comparative and Superlative. Comparatives and Superlatives Used as Nouns. Übungssätze. Menschen mit HIV und AIDS: Immer höher Anzahl der Infizierten. 12. Future Tense. Future Perfect Tense. Future Tenses Used to Express Probability. Selbst, selber. Übungssätze. Die Welternährungskrise. 13. Passive Voice. Present and Past Tenses of the Passive Voice. Three Uses of werden. Personal Pronouns. Agreement of Pronoun and Antecedent. Übungssätze. Sturm und Drang. 14. Perfect Tenses of the Passive Voice. Infinitive of the Passive Voice. Future Tense of the Passive Voice. Future Perfect of the Passive Voice. Suffix -er. Suffix -in. Übungssätze. Ostudeutschlands Frauen suchen Selbstständigkeit. 15. Reflexive Pronouns. Reflexive Verbs. Position of the Reflexive Pronoun in Main Clauses. Suffixes -bar and -lich. Übungssätze. Die Hessen im amerikanischen Freiheitskreig. WIEDERHOLUNG 3: PARACELSUS. 16. Modal Auxiliaries Express Modalities. Conjugation of the Modals. Modals and the Dependent Infinitive. Fractions. Übungssätze. "Was ist Aufklärung?" 17. Perfect Tenses of Modals. Double Infinitive with Other Verbs. Objective vs. Subjective Meanings of Modal Auxiliaries. Übungssätze. Größter Raub-Saurier in Patagonien entdeckt. 18. Coordinating Conjunctions. Subordinating Conjunctions. Learn to Differentiate. Wenn auch, auch wenn (even if, even though, even when). "False Friends". Übungssätze. Der Zeppelin im Ersten Weltkreig. 19. Relative Pronouns. Recognizing Relative Clauses. Welch- as Relative Pronoun, Indefinite Article, and Interrogative Pronoun. Case of Relative Pronoun Indicates Function. Was as a Relative Pronoun. Übungssätze. Karl Mays Amerikabild und -Reise. 20. Demonstrative Pronoun.s Other Demonstratives. Suffixes -los, -fach, and -mal (time, times). Übungssätze. Buchbesprechung. WIEDERHOLUNG 4: DAS FALSCHE BILD VOM EDLEN WILDEN: INDIANER-BÜCHER BEI DTV. 21. Wer und was Used as Interrogative and Relative Pronouns. Verb-First Constructions. Feminine Noun Suffixes. Übungssätze. Robert Schumanns Partitur wiedergefunden. Infinitives with zu. Idiomatic Prepositional Phrases. Übungssätze. Der Neue Deutsche Film. 23. Extended-Adjective Constructions. Recognizing Extended-Adjective Constructions. Translating Extended-Adjective Constructions. Übungssätze. Am Anfang war die Draisine. 24. Other Types of Extended-Adjective Constructions. Extended-Adjectives plus Unextended Adjectives in front of a Noun. Several Extended-Adjectives Modifying a Noun. Übungssätze. Carl Ossietzky. 25. Additional Extended-Adjective Constructions. Participial Phrases. Ist (war) + zu + Infinitive. Übungssätze. Die "Rosinen-Bomber". WIEDERHOLUNG 5: ÜBER DIE FAMILIE MENDELSSOHN. 26. Da(r)-compounds. Wo(r)-compounds. Hier-compounds. Adverbs of Direction in Prepositional Phrases. Introductory es, Not the Real Subject. Clauses without a Subject--es Implied. Übungssätze. Die Kunst und die Kirche. 27. Subjunctive. Subjunctive II. Suppositions of Conditions Contrary to Fact. WENN-Clauses or Result Clauses Standing Alone. Als ob, als wenn (as if, as though). Übungssätze. Das Attentat zu Sarajewo. 28. Subjunctive I. Special Subjunctive in Indirect Discourse. Indirect Questions. Other Uses of the Special Subjunctive. Übungssätze. Buchbesprechung. 29. Special Uses of Subjunctive I. Lassen. Übungssätze. Ein Maler, der Spuren Malt: Cy-Twombly-Retrospektive in Berlin. 30. Idomatic Meanings of Subjunctive Modals. Es in Idiomatic Expressions. Übungssätze. Der Name Berlin. WIEDERHOLUNG 6: Entgrenzung: Gedanken zu einer transnationalen. Appendix A: The German Case System. Appendix B: List of Irregular Verbs. Appendix C: Choosing a Dictionary. Appendix D: Reading in German Script. Vocabulary. Index.