whereas DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS as such do not affect word order.
C. TIME EXPRESSIONS
I. Further compounds in -mal and the noun das Mal
1. In Unit 13 we noted several time words ending in -mal, most of them compounds with the numerals. A number of time expressions occur with the word Mal as a separate element, not compounded. We have had one example in this Unit:
Dieses Mal standen mir sogar mehrere Tage zur Verfügung.
Here are a few other examples:
Das war das letzte Mal~
Nächstes Mal werde ich früher kommen.
Ich bin schon mehrere Malt durch die Lüneburger Heide gefahren.
This time I even had several days at my disposal.
That was the last time~
Next time 1'11 come earlier.
l've driven through the Lüneburger Heide several times already.
2. The following, frequently occurring compounds in -mal have not been en-countered in the basic sentences: diesmal, ein paarmal, jedesmal.
Diesmal hatten wir keine Schwierigkeiten.
Er kommt jedesmal fünfzehn Minuten zu spät.
Diese Strecke bin ich schon ein paarmal gefahren.
This time we didn't have any trouble.
He comes fifteen minutes late every time.
l've already traveled this route a couple of times.
3. Time express ions with Mal or -mal also occur with clauses introduced by dass, wenn or als.
Das letzte Mal, als wir in München waren, konnten wiI nur zwei Tage bleiben.
Das ist das erste Mal, dass ich ihn ohne seine Frau sehe Jedesmal, wenn wir nach Ham-burg fahren, regnet es.
Das nächste Mal, wenn wir nach Berlin fahren, wollen wir unbedingt in die Oper gehen.
Als ich das letzte Mal eine Reifenpanne hatte, war keine Tankstelle in der Nähe.
The last time we were in Munich we could only stay two days.
This is the first time l've seen hirn without his wife.
Every time we take a trip to Hamburg i t rains.
The next time we take a trip to Berlin we definitely want to go to the opera.
The last time I had a flat tire therE was no gas station nearby.
Note that the clause introducer always occurs in German, although it is usually omitted in English. The time expression sometimes precedes the clause, sometimes occurs within it.
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UNIT 16
11. The preposition YQf. "ago"
GERMAN BASIC COURSE
1. We have already encounte:>:"ed the preposition vor meaning ''before''. In this unit i t occurs with a new meaning:
-Ich fuhr vor zwei Wochen zur Segelregatta.
Two weeks ago I went to the sailing regatta.
Vor plus a dative phrase referring to extent of time has the meaning "ago".
Note these additional examples:
Vor zehn Jahren war der Ver-kehr auf den Strassen nicht
so stark wie jetzt.
Vor einer Stunde sass er bei mir im Büro.
Ich habe sie vor einigen Ta-gen gesehen.
111. The words seit and seitdem "since"
Ten years ago the traffic in the streets was not as heavy (severe) as [it is] now.
An hour ago he was sitting with me in my office.
I saw her a few days ago.
1. In Unit 12 we n9ted that past time continuing in the present can be indicated by a present tense form of the verb together with the word seit and an
adverb or dative phrase. In this unit we have encountered the word seitdem as a clause introducer, or subordinating conjunction:
Seitdem ich einen wagen naoe, fahre ich diese Strecke öfter.
Since I have had a car, I have been traveling this route frequently.
Seitdem, like seit, together with present tense forms of the verb signals past time continuing in the present, both in the clause i t introduces and in the main clause. Here is another example:
Seitdem wir in München wohnen, gehen wir jeden Monat ins Theater.
Since we've been living in Munich we've been going to the theater every month.
2. Both seit and seitdem may occur in sentences with forms of the past tense or perfect phrase, however:
Seit ihrem letzten Besuch hat sie uns nicht mehr angerufen.
Ich war seit
1936
nicht mehr in der Lüneburger Heide.Seit vorigem Monat hat er uns erst zweimal angerufen.
Seitdem man angefangen hat, die Gebäude wiederaufzubauen, sind viele Schwierigkeiten eI'i1cietreten.
She hasn't called us since her last visit.
I haven't (once) been in the 'Lüneburger Heide' since
1936.
Since last month he has only called us twice.
Since they began to rebuild the buildings many difficulties have arisen.
Notice that in these examples reference is to a specific event, or events, which did or did not occur within aperiod of time beginning in the past and continuing up to the present. In this case i t is the period of time, whose beginning point is established by the phrase with ~ or the clause with seitdem, which has continuing relevance in the present, not necessarily
the action or event.
VI ERHUNDERTACHTUNDDREISSIG
BASIC COURSE UNIT 16
3.
In a few cases seit or seitdem may occur either with a present tense or a perfect phrase:Seit letztem Sonnabend ruft er mich jeden Tag an.
or: Seit letztem Sonnabend hat er mich jeden Tag
angerufen.
Without further qualification by a following statement, both verb the continuation of past time in continuation beyond the present.
Where other sentence elements or
~, however, only the perfect Hier hat es seit Tagen geregnet, und heute reg-net es immer noch.
or: Hier regnet es seit Tagen, und heute regnet es immer noch.
but: Hier hat es seit Tagen geregnet, aber heute scheint die Sonne wieder.
Hels been calling me up every day since last Saturday.
other elements of the sentence or by forms may imply exactly the same thing, the present with the expectation of
To this extent they are interchangeable.
following statements imply a cut-off phrase is used:
It's been raining here for days, and itls still raining today.
It's been raining here for days, but today the sun is shining again.
4. Very frequently both present and past tense or perfect phrase forms of the verb occur in sentences with seitdem.
wir sind erst einmal im Museum gewesen, seitdem wir hier wohnen.
Seitdem er einen Artikel über zollfreie Spirituosen las, will er nach Helgo-land fahren.
Seitdem ich diese Aufträge bekommen habe, habe ich keine zeit mehr für private
Interessen.
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279-16B 0 - 79 - B
We've only been in the museum once since we've been living here.
Ever since he read an article on duty-free alcoholic beverages he has been wanting to go to Helgoland.
Since I received these orders I haven't had any time for my own private interests.
439
UNIT 16 GERMAN BASIC COURSE D. PREPOSITIONS - SPECIAL USES OF ~, auf, zu
The use of prepositions i5 often c~nplicatedby the fact that there are many situations in which German and English prepositions do not correspond exactly.
In English we often say "for" when Germans say "to"; we often say "in" or
"at" when Germans say "on". In this and the next several units we will examine some of these situations.
I . Note the following special uses of the preposition ~
1. In referring to a location OI: destination on or by a body of water:
Letzten Sommer waren wir ~
der Ostsee.
Wenn ich es zeitlich schaffe, fahre ich noch an den Rhein.
Bremen liegt an der Weser.
Fahren Sie dieses Jahr ~
die Nordsee?
Last summer we were ~ the Baltic.
If I make it in time I'm going to drive to the Rhine.
Bremen is situated ~ the Weser.
Are you going to the North Sea this year?
2. To indicate the addressee or specific destination of a written communication:
Zuerst einen (Brief) an das Arbeitsamt und dann einen
an die Handelskammer.
Schreiben Sie ~ die Bot-schaft.
Er schrieb einen langen Brief ~ den Generalkonsul.
Wo ist der Bericht ~ die Qualitz G.m.b.H.?
First a (letter) to the Employment Office and then one to the Chamber of Commerce.
Write to the Embassy.
He wrote a long letter to the Consul General.
Where i5 the report to the Qualitz Company?
3. In conjunction with particular adjective, verb or noun forms:
Meine Frau kann sich nicht an das Klima gewöhnen.
An dem Projekt waren zahl-reiche ausländische Archi-tekten beteiligt.
Der Tiergarten ist ein Park, der ~ den Zoo grenzt.
Sie erwähnten Ihr Interesse an der Geschichte der Insel.
My wife can't get used to the climate.
Numerous foreign architects partici-pated in the project.
The 'Tiergarten' is a park that borders on the zoo.
You mentioned your interest in the history of the island.
11. Here are some special uses of the preposition ~
1. To refer to a location on the surface of a map or picture:
Ich kann die Universität auf dem Stadtplan nicht finden.
Die Bäume sind noch auf alten Bildern zu sehen.
Ich zeige es Ihnen auf der Autokarte.
I can't find the university 2n the map of the city.
The trees still can be seen in old pictures.
I '11 show you on the road map.
2. To refer to certain meetings and social gatherings:
440
Das war auf einer Gesell-schaft.
That was at a party.
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UNIT 16