194 PUBLIC SCHOOL GERMAN PRIMER 4. Conditional Present and Perf. of sein, haben, werden (in interrog. neg. sent.) 5. Imperative of sein, haben, werden. Exercise. Translate: 1. I am getting tired. 2. He will become ill. 3. Where have you (Sing.) been in the holidays? 4. We shall not go to Scotland. You (Sing.) have grown very tall. your friend? 5. It is getting cold. 6. 7. What has become of 8. He is going to be (become) an officer. We have had no view. 10. I should be anxious. 11. The sky was becoming clear again. 12. You would have been very tired. 13. Will he be there? 14. He is going to have furlough. 15. Had you not your rug with you? 16. The wind has turned quite cold. 17. I should have been very glad. 18. Had not your anxiety been unfounded? 19. Who is there? 20. It is I. 21. Is it you? 22. No, it is he. Reproduction. They are now having holidays. They have been to Switzerland. They have had fine weather all the time. We are going to Lucerne next holidays. We shall ascend the Rigi. I hope that we shall have fine weather, for the view from the top is magnificent. My brother from India will go with us. He would rather go to Germany. We are longing to see him again. He became captain when he was thirty. I too shall become a soldier. Exercise 4 N.B. See List of Strong Verbs, pp. 277-279, for Drill. Drill.-1. Present and Imperfect Passive of loben, lieben, besiegen. 2. Perfect and Future Passive of fragen, beschenken (neg.) 3. Pluperf. and Future Perf. Passive of besiegen, ehren (interrog.) 4. Pres. and Perf. Cond. Passive of lieben, bewundern (interrog. neg.) COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES 161 85. Regular Comparison.-The degrees of Comparison are formed in German by adding er to form the Comparative, e.g.— flein (small), Comp. kleiner by adding it to form the Superlative, e.g. :— 86. Comparison of Adjectives in e, er, el.—(a) Adjectives ending in e are treated as though the e were not there, e.g. :träge (lazy), träger, trägst trübe (dull), trüber, trübst. (b) Adjectives in er, el, en generally drop thee of their termination in the Comparative, e.g. tapfer (brave), tapfrer; edel (noble), edler; offen (open), offner, but not in the Superlative, e.g. tapferst, edelst, offenst. 87. Superlative in eft. (a) The superlative of adjectives ending with a dental (♪, t) or a sibilant (3, ß, sch, 3) is formed in est, e.g. mild (mild), Superl. mildest; falt (cold), tältest; süß (sweet), süßest; hübsch (pretty), hübschest; stolz (proud), stolzest. (b) In colloquial German, superlatives like der heißte Tag (the hottest day), die süßte Birne (the sweetest pear), are not unusual. (c) Adjectives ending with a vowel can take est but take more frequently ft, e.g. Das freiste Volk (the freest nation), mein treuster Freund (my most faithful friend). Note.-Participles whose last syllable is unaccented always form the superlative in st, even when ending in or t, e.g. Das reizendste Thal (the most charming valley), das gebildetste Volf (the most civilised nation), but mein geliebtester Freund (my most beloved friend). 88. Equality.-Equality is expressed in German as in English by certain particles placed before the positive, e.g. :— Er ist so groß wie ich (He is as tall as I). Er ist nicht so alt wie ich (He is not so old as I). He is less industrious than his brother. Journal of Education." Mr. Siepmann says in his preface that 'the present volume is an attempt to apply the principles of the Neuere Richtung to the teaching of German in public schools, as far as this is feasible under existing circumstances. The attempt is successful, and we have here a book which, in the hands of a competent teacher, will prove a most satisfactory introduction to German. "The Primer contains several novel features. Most important, perhaps, is the arrangement by which reader, grammar, and exercises are all in one, and closely dependent on each other, though each is assigned a separate part of the book. First, there is the reader: a series of extracts, many of them written for the special purpose of leading up to some section of the grammar, which is, in the first place, to be deduced from the text. It may be noted in passing that Mr. Siepmann has shown great skill in writing these pieces, and that they are by no means as artificial as one might expect. At the end of each Lesestück are a number of questions which the pupils are to answer from the text; this will be found to encourage them in the colloquial use of the language. The grammar is clearly expressed. As a rule, the left-hand page contains the paradigms, &c., and remarks suggested by them are given on the opposite page. The pupil is not confused by long lists of exceptions: Mr. Siepmann has rightly considered it more important to dwell on leading principles and rules. The third section consists of exercises. Most of these are in three parts, drill (bearing on the section of the grammar which has been learnt), detached sentences (based on the reader), and a 'reproduction' (an English paraphrase of the Lesestück). The translation into German is to be done viva voce in form before being written as part of the home work. "Mr. Siepmann has had the happy thought of giving a complete duplicate set of passages for reading, and of corresponding exercises. This will give a little variety to the teacher, and be very useful in the case of pupils who, through illness or idleness, have not been moved up. 66 'We recommend this book very warmly, as being, indeed, the first attempt to introduce in our public schools some of the more important results arrived at by the German reformers in modern language teaching. The 'Parallel Grammar Series' embodies some of these; but the idea that all languages, whether dead or living, can best be learnt according to one particular scheme is by no means beyond dispute. It is, further, an undoubted advantage to have the three sections united in one book, and the same vocabulary serving for them all. "This book is well printed, the German type being large and clear; the proofs have been read with care, and the new orthography is carried through. We have noticed very few slips, and those of slight importance. School Board Chronicle.-"Mr. Siepmann's Primer has qualities which lead us to commend it with emphasis to the attention of class teachers of German. Without rushing to any extreme, the author has produced what we think will commend itself to experienced and openminded teachers as a very practical and attractive modification of methods that are becoming antiquated, and one uniting in a very large degree the force of imitation, with those of reasoning and of memory. It is well enough, no doubt, to speak of learning a foreign language as one learns the mother tongue. But, as Mr. Siepmann very reasonably points out, the English student of German is generally something more than a little child when he begins his task. At fourteen or fifteen years of age and upwards there are other faculties than those of imitation which can be brought to bear. The aim of this 'Primer,' as the author, with studied moderation, terms it, appears to be to unite all the available faculties of the mind in obtaining a knowledge of the language, which shall be serviceable at an early stage, and at the same time sound and capable of progressive improvement. The work is in three parts. But these are wholly interdependent, and the progress made in each is simultaneous. "The Reader is the nucleus of the book. It is intended to form an introduction to the German language for boys or girls of about fourteen, and aims at gradually evolving the more elementary points of accidence and those rules of syntax which are indispensable even to beginners. The Grammar collects and systematises the phenomena of accidence and syntax so evolved. The Exercises apply to what has been learnt in the Reader and in the Grammar. This is done partly by Drill in accidence, partly in the shape of separate sentences. But as a language is acquired not merely by a process of logical reasoning but also by imitation, a continuous passage has been added to each exercise, with the object of developing what is called in German 'Sprachgefuhl.' "That is the author's own statement of the plan, in general, of the work. Its purpose as a Primer is, however, served very appreciably also by the introductory section on German sounds, letters, characters, and other primary elements. Quite of a piece with the careful and practical character of the whole, are the interesting and useful explanations of the preface, which may be regarded as addressed primarily to teachers, but also to practical educationists at large. The points which the author has held chiefly in mind, in building up this elementary course, are summed up into five. These are (1) The close interdependence of Grammar, Reader, and Exercises; (2) The inductive method of working up from example to rule before formulating the rules themselves, and descending again from rule to example; (3) The comparatively elementary character of the Grammar, and the comparatively advanced character of the Reader, as contrasted with most school books now in use; (4) The attention paid to pronunciation, and the endeavour to treat German as a spoken language, without reducing it to a mere vehicle of light conversation; (5) The dual system on which the passages in the Reader have been arranged, so that a boy may remain more than one term in a form or set without having to re-tread his steps. Not less for the purposes of Evening Continuation Schools and the higher standards of Elementary Schools, than for the Public Schools which the author had especially in mind, is such a work of practical interest at the present time." Education." Mr. Siepmann's German Primer deserves more than a passing notice. It is a deliberate attempt to introduce into English schools, as far as possible, the principles of the Neuere Richtung, which have on the Continent revolutionised the teaching of modern languages. |