Chapter 6

Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk

In This Chapter

Answering questions about yourself

Exchanging stories about where you’re from

Chatting about the weather

If you really want to get to know somebody, you have to engage in conversation. Small talk is an easy way to develop contacts and improve your German. Making small talk can be considered a social skill in itself, but luckily, starting up a light and casual conversation isn’t too difficult. Whether you’re meeting somebody at a party or want to talk to the person sitting next to you on the train, plane, or bus, you have several topics that always work as an opener: yourself, your job, where you’re from, and, of course, the weather. We help you become familiar with discussing these topics throughout this chapter.

Talking about Yourself

When talking about yourself to a new acquaintance, you often answer many of the same key questions: What kind of job do you do? Where do you work? Are you self-employed? Are you a student? Where do you live? And later on in a conversation, your acquaintance may ask for your address and phone number. Because you’ll encounter these topics often, you want to be prepared. The following sections provide you with the information you need.

Describing your work

If you start chatting with someone, that person may ask you what you do for a living. For example, he or she may ask any of the following:

Bei welcher Firma arbeiten Sie? (bay vêlH-er fir-mâ âr-bay-ten zee?) (What company are you working for?)

Was machen Sie beruflich? (vâs mâH-en zee be-roohf-liH?) (What kind of work do you do?)

Sind Sie berufstätig? (zint zee be-roohfs-tê-tiH?) (Are you employed?)

A few simple words and expressions help you describe your job and company. In most cases, you can describe what kind of work you do by connecting Ich bin . . . (iH bin . . .) (I am . . .) with the name of your occupation, without using any article. Most names for jobs exist in a female and male form. The male form frequently ends with –er; the female form usually ends with –in. Here are some examples:

Ich bin Handelsvertreter (m) / Handelsvertreterin (f). (iH bin hân-dels-fêr-trey-ter / hân-dels-fêr-trey-ter-in.) (I am a sales representative.)

Ich bin Student (m) / Studentin (f). (iH bin shtoo-dênt / shtoo-dên-tin.) (I am a student.)

If you’re a student, you may want to say what you’re studying. You do this with the phrase Ich studiere . . . (iH shtoo-dee-re . . .) (I am studying . . .). At the end of the sentence, you add the name of your field (without any article). Some fields you may use include the following:

Architektur (âr-Hi-têk-toohr) (architecture)

Betriebswirtschaft (be-treeps-virt-shâft) (business administration)

Softwaretechnik (soft-wair-têH-nik) (software engineering)

Kunst (koonst) (art)

Literaturwissenschaft (li-te-rah-toohr-vis-en-shâft) (literature)

Biochemie (bee-oh-Hey-mee) (biochemistry)

You also can describe what you do with the phrase Ich bin . . . (iH bin . . .) (I am . . .). You end the phrase with an appropriate adjective. For example, you may say any of the following:

Ich bin berufstätig / nicht berufstätig. (iH bin be-roohfs-tê-tiH / niHt be-roohfs-tê-tiH.) (I am employed / not employed.)

Ich bin pensioniert. (iH bin pân-zee-o-neert.) (I am retired.)

Ich bin öfteres geschäftlich unterwegs. (iH bin erf-ter-es ge-shêft-liH oon-ter-veyks.) (I often travel on business.)

Ich bin selbständig. (iH bin zelpst-shtênd-iH.) (I am self-employed.)

Your company name, place of work, or line of work may be almost as important as the actual work you do. The phrase Ich arbeite bei . . . / in . . . (iH âr-bay-te bay . . . / in . . .) (I work at . . . / in . . .) tells someone, in a nutshell, where you earn your money. Consider these examples:

Ich arbeite bei der Firma . . . (iH âr-bay-te bay dêr fir-mâ . . .) (I work at the company . . .) After the word Firma, you simply insert the name of the company you work for.

Ich arbeite in einem Krankenhaus. (iH âr-bay-te in ayn-em krânk-en-hous.) (I work in a hospital.)

Ich arbeite in der Gentechnik / in der Umweltforschung. (iH âr-bay-te in dêr geyn-teH-nik / in dêr oom-velt-fohrsh-oong. ) (I work in genetic engineering / in environmental research.)

Ich arbeite in einem Architekturbüro / in einem Forschungslabor. (iH âr-bay-te in ayn-em âr-Hi-têk-toohr-bue-roh / in ayn-em forsh-oongs-lah-bor.) (I work at an architecture office / in a research lab.)

Providing your name and number(s)

Telling people where you live and how you can be reached is the key to continuing your social and business contacts. The following sections give you everything you need to offer your personal information to others.

A business card is worth 1,000 words, especially if your German is a little shaky. So if someone asks you about your personal info and you have your business card with you, why not save yourself the struggle of telling your vital statistics and present it with the following words: Hier ist meine Visitenkarte. (heer ist mayn-e vi-zeet-en-kâr-te.) (Here is my business card.). The later section “Looking at possessive pronouns” provides more information on how to use mein (mayn) and other possessive pronouns.

Telling someone where you live

When someone asks you Wo wohnen Sie? (voh vohn-en zee?) (Where do you live?), you can respond with any of the following:

Ich wohne in Berlin / in einem Vorort von Berlin. (iH vohn-e in bêr-leen / in ayn-em vohr-ort von bêr-leen.) (I live in Berlin / in a suburb of Berlin.) Simply insert the name of your city into this expression.

Ich wohne in einer Kleinstadt / auf dem Land. (iH vohn-e in ayn-er klayn-shtât / ouf deym lânt.) (I live in a small town / in the country.)

Ich habe ein Haus / eine Wohnung. (iH hah-be ayn hous / ayn-e vohn-oong.) (I have a house / an apartment.)

Depending on the circumstances, someone may ask you Wie ist Ihre Adresse? (vee ist eer-e â-drês-e?) (What is your address?). When you need to get down to specifics on where you live, you need to know the following words:

die Adresse (dee â-drês-e) (address)

die Straße (dee shtrah-se) (street)

die Hausnummer (dee hous-noom-er) (house / building number)

die Postleitzahl (dee post-layt-tsahl) (zip code)

When you tell someone your address, substitute the appropriate word into the following sentence: Die Adresse / Straße / Hausnummer / Postleitzahl ist . . . (dee â-drês-e / shtrah-se / hous-noom-er/ post-layt-tsahl ist . . .) (The address / street / house number / zip code is . . .)

Handing out your phone number and e-mail address

If your new acquaintance asks you for your phone number and e-mail address, don’t worry. You can easily provide him or her with your contact information. Here’s what you say:

Die Telefonnummer / die Handynummer / die Vorwahl / die Nebenstelle ist . . . (dee tê-le-fohn-noom-er / dee hân-dee-noom-er / dee fohr-vahl / dee ney-ben-shtêl-e ist . . .) (The telephone number / the cell phone number / the area code / the extension is . . .)

Meine E-mail Adresse ist . . . @ . . . dot com / net. (mayn-e e-mail [as in English] a-drês-e ist . . . at . . . dot com / net [as in English].) (My e-mail address is . . . at . . . dot com / net)

Talkin’ the Talk

Kurt Hanser is on the plane from München to Frankfurt. His seat is next to Frau Schneider, a businesswoman. After the two have introduced themselves, they talk about their jobs. (Track 13)
Herr Hanser:	Was machen Sie beruflich, wenn ich fragen darf? vâs mâH-en zee be-roohf-liH, vên iH frah-gen dârf? What kind of work do you do, if I may ask?
Frau Schneider:	Ich arbeite als Biochemikerin bei der Firma Agrolab. iH âr-bay-te âls bee-oh-Hê-mee-ker-in bay dêr fir-mâ â-groh-lâb. I work as a biochemist at a company called Agrolab.
Herr Hanser:	Das ist ja interessant. Haben Sie eine Visitenkarte? dâs ist yah in-te-re-sânt. hah-ben zee ayn-e vi-zeet-en-kâr-te? That’s interesting. Do you have a business card?
Frau Schneider:	Ja, hier bitte. Und was machen Sie beruflich? yah, heer bi-te. oont vâs mâH-en zee be-roohf-liH? Yes, here it is. And what kind of work do you do?
Herr Hanser:	Ich arbeite in einem Architekturbüro. Leider habe ich meine Visitenkarte nicht dabei. iH âr-bay-te in ayn-em âr-Hi-têk-toohr-bue-roh. lay-der hah-be iH mayn-e vi-zeet-en-kâr-te niHt dâ-bay. I work at an architecture office. Unfortunately, I don’t have my business card with me.
Frau Schneider:	Ist Ihre Firma in Frankfurt? ist eer-e fir-mâ in frânk-foort? Is your company in Frankfurt?
Herr Hanser:	Ja, unser Büro ist in der Bockenheimer Straße 27. yah, oon-zer bue-roh ist in deyr bok-en-haym-er shtrah-se zee-ben-oont-tsvân-tsiH. Yes, our office is at Bockenheimer Street 27.

Looking at possessive pronouns

Take a moment to look at the German forms of “my,” “our,” and “your,” which you can see in the previous dialogue: mein (mayn), unser (oon-zer), and Ihr (eer), respectively. These possessive pronouns are used to show that a noun belongs to somebody or something. The endings that these pronouns take depend on the gender, case, and number of the thing being possessed. Consider this example:

Hier ist meine Visitenkarte. (heer ist mayn-e vi-zeet-en-kâr-te.) (Here is my business card.)

Visitenkarte (vi-zeet-en-kâr-te) is feminine, and the feminine possessive pronoun in the first person singular is meine.

The basic forms of the possessives (masculine and neuter) in the nominative case are

mein (mayn) (my)

dein (dayn) (your; singular, informal)

Ihr (eer) (your; singular, formal)

sein, ihr, sein (zayn, eer, zayn) (his, her, its)

unser (oon-zer) (our)

euer (oy-er) (your; plural, informal)

Ihr (eer) (your; plural, formal)

ihr (eer) (their)

Table 6-1 shows all the forms of mein (mayn) for all genders and all the different cases (the other possessives take the same endings).

Conversing about Cities, Countries, and Nationalities

When you’re getting to know someone, the conversation at some point will probably turn to familial origins. Most people enjoy exchanging such information about themselves. Using the handful of vocabulary words from this section, you can describe yourself with confidence. You’ll be ready to step into situations where you tell people what city or country you’re from and ask them where they come from, as well as what languages they speak.

Revealing where you come from

Saying where you’re from in German in fairly easy. The magic words are

Ich komme aus . . . (iH kom-e ous . . .) (I come from . . .)

Ich bin aus . . . (iH bin ous . . .) (I am from . . .)

These few words go a long way. They work for countries, states, and cities. Take a look at these examples:

Ich komme aus Amerika. (iH kom-e ous â-mey-ree-kâ.) (I come from America.)

Ich bin aus Pennsylvania. (iH bin ous pennsylvania [as in English].) (I am from Pennsylvania.)

Ich komme aus Zürich. (iH kom-e ous tsue-riH.) (I come from Zurich.)

Ich bin aus Wien. (iH bin ous veen.) (I am from Vienna.)

The German language likes to be a bit challenging at times, so watch your step when discussing your origins. Here are a few specifics to be aware of:

Some countries’ and regions’ names are considered plural. In this case, they use the plural definite article, die (dee) (the). The United States of America (USA) is one such country. In German, it’s referred to as die USA (dee ooh-ês-ah) or die Vereinigten Staaten (dee fer-ay-nik-ten shtah-ten). It’s quite easy to say Ich bin aus Amerika. (iH bin ous â-mey-ree-kâ.) (I’m from America.). However, technically, you could be referring to one of two American continents. So, to be a little more specific, you may say Ich bin aus den USA. (iH bin ous deyn ooh-ês-ah.) (I’m from the USA.). Or you may want to challenge yourself with Ich bin aus den Vereinigten Staaten. (iH bin ous deyn fer-ay-nik-ten shtah-ten.) (I’m from the United States.)

Some countries’ names are considered female. Switzerland, for example, is die Schweiz (dee shvayts) in German. Ms. Egli, whom you meet later in this chapter in a Talkin’ the Talk dialogue, is Swiss. So to say where Ms. Egli is from, you say Frau Egli ist aus der Schweiz. (frou ey-glee ist ous dêr shvayts.) (Ms. Egli is from Switzerland.) The article die changes to the dative case — der — when it’s combined with the preposition aus (ous) (from). (See Chapter 2 for more info on the dative case.)

Using the all-important verb “sein”

One of the most common and fundamental verbs in any language is “to be,” or, in German, sein (zayn). You use this verb in the expressions Das ist . . . (dâs ist . . .) (This is . . ) and Ich bin . . . (iH bin . . .) (I am . . .). As in English, the verb “to be” is used to describe everything from states of being (happy, sick, sad, and so on) to physical characteristics (such as being tall and dark-haired). And, unfortunately, sein is an irregular verb just as “to be” is in English. So the only way to figure this verb out is to dig in and memorize the different forms. The following table lays them out in German for you:

Conjugation	Pronunciation
ich bin	iH bin
du bist	dooh bist
Sie sind	zee zint
er, sie, es ist	êr, zee, ês ist
wir sind	veer zint
ihr seid	eer zayt
Sie sind	zee zint
sie sind	zee zint

Asking people where they come from

To ask people where they’re from, you first need to decide whether to use the formal term of address Sie, or one of the two informal terms, du (for one person) or ihr (for several people). (Chapter 2 provides more information on when to use formal and informal pronouns.) Then you choose one of these three versions of the question:

Woher kommen Sie? (voh-hêr kom-en zee?) (Where are you from?)

Woher kommst du? (voh-hêr komst doo?) (Where are you from?)

Woher kommt ihr? (voh-hêr komt eer?) (Where are you from?)

The verb kommen (kom-en) (to come) is a verb that you hear often when speaking German. This regular verb is quite easy to remember; it even resembles its English cousin. Here’s how it conjugates:

Conjugation	Pronunciation
ich komme	iH kom-e
du kommst	dooh komst
Sie kommen	zee kom-en
er, sie, es kommt	êr, zee, ês komt
wir kommen	veer kom-en
ihr kommt	eer komt
Sie kommen	zee kom-en
sie kommen	zee kom-en

Talkin’ the Talk

Frau Egli and Frau Myers are on a train. During their trip, they strike up a conversation. They have just introduced themselves and are curious to learn a little more about each other.
Frau Egli:	Und woher kommen Sie, Frau Myers? oont voh-hêr kom-en zee, frou myers [as in English]? And where do you come from, Ms. Myers?
Frau Myers:	Ich komme aus den USA, aus Pennsylvania. IH kom-e ous deyn ooh-ês-ah, ous pennsylvania [as in English]. I come from the USA, from Pennsylvania.
Frau Egli:	Aus den USA, wie interessant. Kommen Sie aus einer Großstadt? ous deyn ooh-ês-ah, vee in-te-re-sânt. kom-en zee ous ayn-er grohs-shtât? From the U.S., how interesting. Do you come from a large city?
Frau Myers:	Nein, ich komme aus Doylestown, eine Kleinstadt, aber sie ist sehr schön. Und Sie, Frau Egli, woher kommen Sie? nayn, iH kom-e ous Doylestown [as in English], ayn-e klayn-shtat, ah-ber zee ist zeyr shern. oont zee, frou ey-glee, voh-hêr kom-ên zee? No, I come from Doylestown, a small town, but it’s very pretty. And you, Ms. Egli, where do you come from?
Frau Egli:	Ich bin aus der Schweiz, aus Zürich. iH bin ous dêr shvayts, ous tsue-riH. I’m from Switzerland, from Zurich.
In the next compartment, Claire and Michelle, two young backpackers, are getting to know Mark, another backpacker. Being easygoing teenagers, they use the informal address du and ihr right from the start.
Claire:	Bist du aus Deutschland? Bist dooh ous doych-lânt? Are you from Germany?
Mark:	Nein, ich bin aus Österreich, aus Wien. Und ihr, woher kommt ihr? nayn, iH bin ous er-ste-rayH, ous veen. oont eer, voh-hêr komt eer? No, I’m from Austria, from Vienna. And you, where do you come from?
Michelle:	Wir sind aus Frankreich. Meine Freundin Claire kommt aus Lyon, und ich komme aus Avignon. veer zint ous frânk-rayH. mayn-e froyn-din claire [as in English] komt ous lee-on, oont iH kom-e ous ah-vee-nyon. We’re from France. My friend Claire comes from Lyon, and I come from Avignon.

Discovering nationalities

Unlike English, which describes nationality by using the adjective of a country’s name (such as She is French), German indicates nationality with a noun. As you probably already know, genders are important in German. And these nationality nouns have genders, too. So an American man or boy is ein Amerikaner (ayn â-mey-ree-kah-ner), and a woman or girl is eine Amerikanerin (ayn-e â-mey-ree-kah-ner-in).

Table 6-2 lists the names of some selected countries along with the corresponding nationality (a noun) and adjective.

Here are a few examples of how these words may be used in sentences:

Herr Marsh ist Engländer. (hêr marsh [as in English] ist êng-lain-der.) (Mr. Marsh is English.)

Maria ist Italienerin. (mah-ree-ah ist i-tah-lee-eyn-er-in.) (Maria is Italian.)

Ich bin Schweizerin. (iH bin shvayts-er-in.) (I am Swiss.)

Ich bin Österreicher. (iH bin er-ste-rayH-er.) (I am Austrian.)

Chatting about languages you speak

To tell people what language you speak, you use the verb sprechen (shprêH-en) (to speak) and combine it with the language’s name (see Table 6-2 for a list of some common language names). If you want to ask somebody whether he speaks English, the question is (informally):

Sprichst du Englisch? (shpriHst dooh êng-lish?) (Do you speak English?)

Or (formally)

Sprechen Sie Englisch? (shprêH-en zee êng-lish?) (Do you speak English?)

Here’s the conjugation of the verb sprechen:

Conjugation	Pronunciation
ich spreche	iH shprêH-e
du sprichst	dooh shpriHst
Sie sprechen	zee shprêH-en
er, sie, es spricht	êr, zee, ês shpriHt
wir sprechen	veer shprêH-en
ihr sprecht	eer shprêHt
Sie sprechen	zee shprêH-en
sie sprechen	zee shprêH-en

Talkin’ the Talk

Claire, Michelle, and Mark are talking about languages they speak.
Claire:	Sprichst du Französisch? shpriHst dooh frân-tser-zish? Do you speak French?
Mark:	Nein, ûberhaupt nicht. Aber ich spreche Englisch. Und ihr? nayn, ue-ber-houpt niHt. ah-ber iH shprêH-e êng-lish. oont eer? No, not at all. But I speak English. How about you?
Michelle:	Ich spreche ein bisschen Englisch, und ich spreche auch Spanisch. iH shprêH-e ayn bis-Hen êng-lish, oont iH shprêH-e ouH shpah-nish. I speak a little English, and I speak Spanish, too.
Claire:	Spanisch spreche ich nicht, aber ich spreche Englisch sehr gut. Englisch finde ich leicht. shpah-nish shprêH-e iH niHt, ah-ber iH shprêH-e êng-lish zeyr gooht. êng-lish fin-de iH layHt. I don’t speak Spanish, but I speak English very well. I think English is easy.
Mark:	Deutsch ist auch leicht, oder? doych ist ouH layHt, oh-der? German is easy, too, isn’t it?
Claire:	Für mich nicht. Deutsch kann ich überhaupt nicht aussprechen! fuer miH niHt. doych kân iH ue-ber-houpt niHt ous-sprê-Hen! Not for me. I can’t pronounce German at all!

Making Small Talk about the Weather

People everywhere love to talk about das Wetter (dâs vêt-er) (the weather). After all, it affects major aspects of life — your commute to work, your plans for outdoor activities, and sometimes even your mood. Plus, it’s always a safe topic of conversation that you can rant or rave about! In the following sections, we help you get comfortable making small talk about the goings-on outside.

Noting what it’s like out there

The phrase Es ist . . . (ês ist . . .) (It is . . .) helps you describe the weather no matter what the forecast looks like. You simply supply the appropriate adjective at the end of the sentence. Check out these examples:

Es ist kalt. (ês ist kâlt.) (It is cold.)

Es ist heiß. (ês ist hays.) (It is hot.)

Es ist schön. (ês ist shern.) (It is beautiful.)

The following vocabulary allows you to describe almost any kind of weather:

bewölkt (be-verlkt) (cloudy)

neblig (neyb-liH) (foggy)

regnerisch (reyk-ner-ish) (rainy)

feucht (foyHt) (humid)

windig (vin-diH) (windy)

kühl (kuehl) (cool)

schwül (shvuel) (muggy)

eiskalt (ays-kâlt) (freezing)

warm (vârm) (warm)

sonnig (son-iH) (sunny)

You can also use the following phrases to give your personal weather report:

Die Sonne scheint. (dee son-e shaynt.) (The sun is shining.)

Es regnet / schneit. (ês reyk-nêt / shnayt.) (It is raining / snowing.)

Es gibt ein Unwetter. Es blitzt und donnert. (ês gipt ayn oon-vêt-er. ês blitst oont don-ert.) (There’s a storm. There’s lightning and thunder.)

Es wird hell / dunkel. (ês virt hêl / doon-kel.) (It is getting light / dark.)

Discussing the temperature

In the old country, 30-degree weather means you can break out your swimming gear, not your skis! In Europe (and most everywhere else in the world), the temperature isn’t measured in degrees Fahrenheit but in degrees Celsius (tsêl-zee-oos) (also called Centigrade). If you want to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit and the other way around, you can use these formulas:

Celsius to Fahrenheit: Multiply the Celsius temperature by 1.8 and then add 32.

Fahrenheit to Celsius: Subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit temperature and multiply the result by .5.

It may help you to know that 0 degrees Celsius corresponds to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, 10 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, 20 Celsius to 68 Fahrenheit, and 30 Celsius to 86 Fahrenheit.

When the temperature is the topic of conversation, the following phrases are sure to come up:

Es ist zehn Grad. (ês ist tseyn graht.) (It’s ten degrees.) Of course, you substitute the appropriate number before the word Grad. (See Chapter 4 for more information on numbers.)

Es ist minus zehn Grad. (ês ist mee-noos tseyn graht.) (It is minus ten degrees.) Again, substitute the proper number before Grad.

Es ist zehn Grad unter Null. (ês ist tseyn graht oon-ter nool.) (It is ten degrees below zero.)

Die Temperatur fällt / steigt. (dee têm-pê-rah-toohr fêlt / shtaykt.) (The temperature is falling / is rising.)

Describing the day’s weather

Any of the following phrases can get the ball rolling on a discussion of the weather:

Was für ein herrliches / prächtiges Wetter! (vâs fuer ayn hêr-liH-ês / praiH-tig-es vêt-er!) (What wonderful / glorious weather!)

Was für ein schreckliches / schlechtes Wetter! (vâs fuer ayn shrêk-liH-ês / shlêHt-ês vêt-er!) (What horrible / bad weather!)

Was für ein schöner / herrlicher Tag! (vâs fuer ayn shern-er / hêr-liH-er tahk!) (What a beautiful / lovely day!)

Talkin’ the Talk

Anita and Rolf live across the hall from each other in the same apartment building. They have been planning to go to the park this Sunday afternoon. On Sunday morning, Rolf knocks on Anita’s door to discuss their plans. (Track 14)
Rolf:	Was machen wir jetzt? Bei so einem Wetter können wir nicht in den Park gehen. Es ist regnerisch und windig. vâs mâH-en veer yêtst? bay zoh ayn-em vêt-er kern-nen veer niHt in deyn pârk gey-en. ês ist reyk-ner-ish oont vin-diH. What do we do now? We can’t go to the park in this weather. It’s rainy and windy.
Anita:	Ja, ja, ich weiß. Aber gegen Mittag soll es aufhören zu regnen. yah, yah, iH vays. ah-ber gey-gen mi-tahk zoll ês ouf-herr-en tsooh reyk-nen. Yeah, yeah, I know. But around noon it’s supposed to stop raining.
Rolf:	Wirklich? Ich sehe nur Wolken am Himmel . . . virk-liH? iH zey-he noohr vol-ken âm him-el . . . Really? I only see clouds in the sky. . . .
Anita:	Keine Panik! Heute Mittag scheint bestimmt wieder die Sonne. kayn-e pah-nik! hoy-te mi-tahk shaynt be-stimmt vee-der dee zon-e. Don’t panic! Surely the sun will shine again around noon today.
Rolf:	Na gut. Vielleicht hast du recht. Ich kann bis Mittag warten. nâ gooht. vee-layHt hâst dooh rêHt. iH kân bis mi-tahk vâr-ten. Okay. Perhaps you’re right. I can wait until noon.
Anita:	Okay, bis später! Tschüs! okay [as in English], bis shpai-ter! chues! Okay, see you later! Bye!

Fun & Games

It’s Saturday, and you’re planning some outdoor activities for the next few days. Read the following four-day weather forecast and fill in the missing weather words.

Regen schneit Temperatur Unwetter

donnert regnen unter Null

1. Heute Nachmittag gibt es ein _____________, und es blitzt und _____________. (hoy-te nâH-mi-tahk gipt es ayn _____________, oont ês blitst oont _____________.) (This afternoon there’ll be a _____________, and there’ll be lightning and _____________.)

2. Sonntag fällt die Temperatur _____________, und es _____________ ein bisschen. (zon-tahk fêlt dee têm-pê-rah-toohr _____________, oont ês _____________ ayn bis-Hen.) (On Sunday, the temperature will drop _____________, and it’ll _____________ a little bit.)

3. Montag steigt die _____________, und es fängt an zu _____________. (mohn-tahk shtaykt dee _____________, oont ês fênkt ân tsooh _____________.) (On Monday the _____________ will rise, and it will start to _____________.)

4. In Berlin hört der _____________ nicht vor Dienstag auf. (in bêr-leen herrt deyr _____________ niHt fohr deens-tahk ouf.) (In Berlin, the _____________ won’t stop before Tuesday.)