Video 11: Smart-Home Reading, sodass & the Imperative

Source: Roughly 2 hours 19 minutes total; long stretches of dead air/silence and pure logistics were skipped. Approximate topic timestamp ranges:

• Roll call / "have you done the homework" / silence (00:00–01:00:00) — skipped, almost entirely dead air or one-word logistics exchanges
• Reading text "Smartes Wohnen" (smart home/smart living): vocabulary lead-in, relative clauses, heavy genitive drilling sentence by sentence (01:00:00–01:23:00)
• Genitive Q&A / fill-in-the-blank drilling on the same text, plus a side note on the filler particle ja (01:23:00–01:26:00)
• Positive vs. kritisch (critical/skeptical) evaluation of statements about the text, plus sich leisten (to afford) and the geschehen/passieren synonym pair (01:26:00–01:30:00)
• Sentence-combining exercise with trotz vs. wegen (genitive prepositions), changing word endings and case (01:30:00–01:35:00)
• Listening exercise: dialogue about exchanging a defective phone — umtauschen vs. Geld zurück (money back), and a note that contradictory exam answers don't appear on the real exam (01:36:00–01:43:00)
• Spontaneous sentence-building drill with sodass ("so...that") across many example pairs, including darum, reflexive sich erinnern an, and wissen vs. kennen (01:43:00–01:59:00)
• Imperative mood: du/ihr/Sie command forms, formation rules, and drilled example sentences (02:00:00–02:12:00)
• Homework setup: write a complaint email using trotz/wegen/sodass, plus vocabulary-test logistics (02:12:00–02:21:08) — skipped, mostly logistics

Topics Covered

• Genitive case review through a continuous reading text ("Smartes Wohnen"), including relative clauses (die ihr Zuhause... gemacht hat, wer vor der Tür steht)
• Vocabulary from the smart-home text: verändern, Bewohner, Einbruch, Heizung, Jalousie, Alarmanlage, anpassen, steuern, wirken, in Hinblick auf, Nutzung
• Positive vs. kritisch statement evaluation, and sich leisten (to afford)
• Synonym pair geschehen vs. passieren (both = "to happen"; both take sein as helping verb)
• trotz vs. wegen sentence-combining practice (genitive prepositions, adjective endings)
• Umtauschen (exchange) vs. Geld zurückbekommen (get money back) — listening exercise vocabulary
• sodass ("so...that") connector drilled across many spontaneous example sentences
• darum (that's why) as a connector — verb goes to the next position after it
• Reflexive verb sich erinnern an (to remember)
• wissen vs. kennen — when to use each
• Imperative mood: **du-, ihr-, Sie-**form commands and how each is built

Genitive Review via "Smartes Wohnen" Reading Text

The class read a text about smart-home technology line by line, using it to drill genitive constructions and relative clauses.

• Neue Technik verändert das Wohnen. → New technology changes (the way of) living.
  • Note on Wohnen: when a verb's infinitive is used as a capitalized noun, it gets an "-ing" style meaning — wohnen (to live/reside) → das Wohnen (living/residing).
• Vielleicht nutzen Sie bereits smarte Geräte zu Hause. → Maybe you're already using smart devices at home.
• Wir haben eine Familie besucht, die ihr Zuhause zu einem echten Smart Home gemacht hat. → We visited a family who turned their home into a real smart home.
  • This is a relative clause: die refers back to Familie (feminine), and the conjugated verb (hat) goes to the end of the clause.
• In Berlin sehen die Bewohner des Hauses in jedem Zimmer einen Bildschirm. → In Berlin, the residents of the house can see a screen in every room.
  • Bewohner = resident(s) (article behaves as masculine/plural — same ending -er in both).
  • des Hauses = genitive of das Haus (neuter, monosyllabic → -es ending).
• ..., wer vor der Tür steht. → ...who is standing in front of the door. (a relative/indirect question construction with wer, previewed as "you'll learn this properly in chapter 11")
• Wenn jemand an die Tür kommt, öffnen sie die Haustür durch die Berührung des Bildschirms. → If someone comes to the door, they open the front door by touching the screen.
  • die Berührung des Bildschirms = the touch of the screen (genitive: der Bildschirm → masculine, monosyllabic → des Bildschirms).
• Wenn niemand zu Hause ist, kann man eine Nachricht aufnehmen. → If nobody is home, one can record a message.
  • aufnehmen → to record.
• Herr und Frau Singer bekommen die Nachricht des Gastes direkt auf ihr Handy. → Mr. and Mrs. Singer receive the guest's message directly on their phone.
  • Genitive: die Nachricht des Gastes (the message of the guest).
• Im Flur dieses Hauses gibt es einen großen Bildschirm. → In the hallway of this house there is a big monitor.
  • der Flur → corridor/hallway.
• Es zieht alle Blicke auf sich. → It catches/attracts everyone's gaze (idiomatic: lit. "it draws all glances onto itself").
• Alle haben ja einen anderen Tagesablauf, und hier findet der Austausch der Informationen statt. → Everybody has a different daily routine, and here the exchange of information takes place.
  • der Austausch der Informationen = genitive (the exchange of [the] information).
  • stattfinden → to take place.
  • Das ist die Zentrale der Familie. → That's the family's hub/center. (genitive: der Familie, feminine)
• Wenn man die Tür öffnet, sieht man sofort die Nachrichten der Mitbewohner. → When one opens the door, one immediately sees the messages of the co-residents/housemates.
  • Mitbewohner = co-resident/flatmate — article behaves as masc./plural (same -er ending in both forms).
  • Side note on ja: here it's a modal particle / filler — it has no real translation and should simply be ignored/not translated.
• Auch im Wohnzimmer gibt es keine Ausnahme. → The living room is no exception either.
• An der Wand hängt ein großes Bild. → A big picture hangs on the wall.
  • Wenn man genau hinsieht, erkennt man, dass es gleichzeitig ein Bildschirm und ein Bild ist. → If you look closely, you notice that it's simultaneously a screen and a picture.
  • Pronunciation rule flagged here: whenever a word has ie, the sound is always the long e (the "i" is silent) — drilled with hinsieht.
• Frau Singer klickt auf ihr Handy, und die Anzeige des Bildschirms und das Licht der Lampen verändern sich. → Mrs. Singer clicks on her phone, and the screen's display and the lamps' light change.
  • die Anzeige des Bildschirms and das Licht der Lampen — both genitive.
  • verändern sich → change (reflexive).
• Die Atmosphäre des Raums wirkt komplett anders. → The atmosphere of the room appears/seems completely different.
  • wirken → to appear/seem (e.g. Das wirkt traurig. = "That seems/appears sad.")
• Die Farbe des Lichts und das Bild hier im Wohnzimmer kann jeder in der Familie nach seiner eigenen Stimmung einstellen. → Everybody in the family can adjust the light's color and the picture in the living room according to their own mood.
  • Subject of the sentence is jeder ("everyone" — not Familie).
  • einstellen auf → to adjust/set to (fixed preposition auf).
• Im Haus kann man fast alles über eine App steuern. → In the house, one can control almost everything via an app.
  • steuern → to control. die Heizung (heater), die Jalousie (window blinds), die Alarmanlage (alarm system).
• So fühlen sich die Singers vor Einbrüchen sicher. → This way, the Singers feel safe from burglaries. — der Einbruch → break-in/burglary.
• Die Nutzung der App ist einfach, aber die ganze Familie verwendet sie gern und oft. → Using the app is simple, but the whole family uses it gladly and often.
  • die Nutzung der App = genitive (the usage of the app).

Positive vs. kritisch: Evaluating Statements About the Text

Students judged statements about smart homes as positiv or kritisch (critical/skeptical, not strictly "negative" — can contain a mix of both).

• "Not everyone can afford a smart home because of the high price, and what happens if there's a power outage?" → marked kritisch.
  • sich [etwas] leisten → to afford (something).
• "I thought a lot of technology makes an apartment cool and strict (sterile), but maybe, despite the smart technology, it's still cozy." → marked as both positiv and kritisch — the speaker raises a skeptical contradiction (strict/sterile feeling) but resolves it positively (still cozy/comfortable) — a typical "concession" structure worth recognizing for B1 reading tasks.
• "It's great that one can control/check a lot, but I'm worried about what happens with the data, despite the strict rules." → marked kritisch (data-privacy concern outweighs the convenience).

Synonym pair: geschehen vs. passieren

• Both geschehen and passieren mean "to happen" and are interchangeable.
• Was ist mit den Daten passiert? = Was ist mit den Daten geschehen? → What happened with the data?
• Both verbs take sein as their auxiliary in the perfect tense (because they describe a change of state).

trotz vs. wegen: Sentence-Combining Practice

A drilling exercise required combining two sentences using either trotz (despite) or wegen (because of) — both genitive prepositions, chosen based on meaning.

• Herr Knapp spült trotz der sparsamen Spülmaschine das Geschirr von Hand. → Despite the economical dishwasher, Mr. Knapp washes the dishes by hand.
  • trotz triggers genitive: die sparsame Spülmaschine → der sparsamen Spülmaschine (adjective ending -en in genitive).
• Frau Brehm braucht wegen des neuen Handys keine Kamera mehr. → Because of the new phone, Mrs. Brehm no longer needs a camera.
• Herr Simic schreibt trotz des smarten Kühlschranks eine Einkaufsliste. → Despite the smart fridge, Mr. Simic writes a shopping list.
• Herr Otner arbeitet wegen des leberen Computers ... (sentence continued/cut off in transcript, same wegen + genitive pattern).
• Reminder: with trotz/wegen, only the case/ending of the following noun phrase changes — the verb position is unaffected (one clause, one verb), unlike connectors such as trotzdem.

Listening Exercise: Phone Exchange Dialogue

A short listening dialogue (customer returning a defective phone) was used to drill:

• umtauschen → to exchange (get a different/new device)
• Geld zurückbekommen → to get money back
• Teacher's note: the dialogue itself contained a slightly contradictory customer request (first asking to exchange the phone, then changing to ask for money back) — flagged explicitly as "this kind of contradictory statement does not appear in the real exam," i.e. a flaw in the practice material, not something to model your own exam answers on.
• bekommen → to get/receive/obtain (used generally for "getting" a replacement or refund).

sodass ("so...that") — Spontaneous Sentence Building

Students built original sentences live using the pattern [clause], sodass [result clause] (verb to the end of the sodass clause). Examples produced and corrected in class:

• Ich brauche ein neues Handy, deshalb gehe ich auf den Flohmarkt. → I need a new phone, that's why I'm going to the flea market. (used deshalb here, contrasted with darum below)
• Mein Computer ist kaputt, darum kaufe ich einen neuen Laptop. → My computer is broken, that's why I'm buying a new laptop.
  • darum = "that's why" (same function as deshalb); after darum, the verb takes the next position (i.e. darum + verb + subject... — inverted order, same as deshalb).
• Mein Computer ist kaputt, darum brauche ich einen neuen Bildschirm. → My computer is broken, that's why I need a new screen.
• Mein Computer ist kaputt, darum kann ich nicht mehr arbeiten. → My computer is broken, that's why I can't work anymore.
• Viele Handys sind so teuer, dass ich mehr Geld ausgeben muss/soll. → Many phones are so expensive that I have to/should spend more money.
• Viele Handys sind so teuer, dass man nur mit dem Angebot kaufen kann. → Many phones are so expensive that one can only buy with [special] offers. (verb kann correctly pushed to the end)
• Viele Handys sind so teuer, dass ich viel Geld brauche. → Many phones are so expensive that I need a lot of money. (viele = many [countable plural] vs. viel = much/a lot of [uncountable])
• Viele Handys sind so teuer, dass mein gespartes Geld nicht genug ist. → Many phones are so expensive that my saved money isn't enough.
• Viele Handys sind so teuer, dass ich mehr arbeiten muss. → Many phones are so expensive that I have to work more.
• Viele Handys sind so teuer, dass ich ein billigeres Handy finden muss. → Many phones are so expensive that I have to find a cheaper phone.
• Ich habe manche Lieder so oft gehört, dass ich sie jetzt langweilig finde. → I've heard some songs so often that I now find them boring.
• Ich habe manche Lieder so oft gehört, dass ich sie sofort singen kann. → I've heard some songs so often that I can sing them immediately.
• Ich habe manche Lieder so oft gehört, dass ich die Texte schon kenne. → I've heard some songs so often that I already know the lyrics.
  • Side note: kennen (to know/be familiar with) is used mostly with places and people (and things like songs/lyrics); wissen (to know facts/information) would also be grammatically possible here but kennen is the better fit.
• Ich habe manche Lieder so oft gehört, dass ich Sänger werden müsste. → I've heard some songs so often that I'd practically have to become a singer. (der Sänger → singer)
• Ich habe manche Lieder so oft gehört, dass ich mich jetzt nicht erinnern kann. → I've heard some songs so often that I can't remember [which one] now.
  • sich erinnern an (+ accusative) → to remember — reflexive verb, drilled here as ich erinnere mich an... / dass ich mich ... erinnern kann.
• Im Internet gibt es viele Sonderangebote, sodass ich mich nicht entscheiden kann, was ich kaufen soll. → There are many special offers on the internet, so that I can't decide what to buy.
• Im Internet gibt es viele Sonderangebote, sodass ich viele unnötige Dinge einkaufe. → There are many special offers on the internet, so that I buy a lot of unnecessary things.
• Mein E-Book-Reader funktioniert nicht, sodass ich ein neues günstiges E-Book-Reader suche. → My e-book reader isn't working, so I'm looking for a new, affordable e-book reader.
• Mein E-Book-Reader funktioniert nicht, sodass ich ein neues Handy kaufe. → My e-book reader isn't working, so I'm buying a new phone.
• Mein E-Book-Reader funktioniert nicht, sodass ich keine Lust mehr zum Lesen habe. → My e-book reader isn't working, so I no longer feel like reading.
• Mein E-Book-Reader funktioniert nicht, sodass ich mich informieren muss. → My e-book reader isn't working, so I have to find out [information] / look into it.
  • Side note: a student asked about expressing "so that" in a different, more causal sense (introducing a reason rather than a result) — the teacher flagged that as a different construction taught later (chapter 5), distinct from this sodass = "with the result that".
• Mein E-Book-Reader funktioniert nicht, sodass ich den Kundenservice der Marke angerufen habe. → My e-book reader isn't working, so I called the brand's customer service. (Geschehen-type past tense drilled: angerufen habe)
• Mein E-Book-Reader funktioniert nicht, sodass ich ins Geschäft gehen muss. → My e-book reader isn't working, so I have to go to the shop.
• Mein E-Book-Reader funktioniert nicht, deshalb plane ich, mit dem Lesen von Büchern [umzusteigen]/auf Bücher umzusteigen. → My e-book reader isn't working, that's why I'm planning to switch to reading [physical] books.
  • wechseln/umsteigen (auf) → to switch/change over (to) — teacher noted that with so many repeated key words (planen, lesen, wechseln) in one sentence, it's fine to restructure the sentence rather than force every word in literally.

Imperative Mood: du / ihr / Sie Commands

Introduced as a new grammar topic: the Imperativ is used for commands or requests.

• Identify which pronoun (du, ihr, Sie) the imperative is aimed at before conjugating.
• du-form: use the verb stem only (drop the -(s)t ending and the pronoun du) — e.g. du trinkst → Trink Wasser! (Drink water!) — pronoun is omitted, only the bare stem remains (umlaut/irregular stem changes from present tense are also dropped for most verbs at this level).
• ihr-form: use the normal present-tense conjugated ending for ihr, but drop the pronoun ihr — e.g. ihr trinkt → Trinkt Wasser! (no "ihr" written).
• Sie-form: keep both the conjugated verb and the pronoun Sie, with Sie placed right after the verb — e.g. Trinken Sie Wasser!
• Worked examples from a request/response drill ("can you do X for me?" → "no, do it yourself"):
  • Putzen Sie Ihr Fenster selbst! → Clean your window yourself! (formal/Sie)
  • Drucken Sie die Dokumente selbst! → Print the documents yourself! (formal/Sie)
  • Packt den Koffer selbst! / Parkt das Auto selbst! → Pack the suitcase / park the car yourselves! (ihr-form)
  • Renoviert eure Küche selbst! → Renovate your kitchen yourselves! (ihr-form; possessive eure matches the ihr-group; renovieren → imperative renoviert)
  • Wasch das Auto selbst! → Wash the car yourself! (du-form)
• dringend → urgently (vocabulary aside).
• General reminder: identify the pronoun being addressed first (look at context clues like euer/eure signaling ihr, or formal phrasing signaling Sie), then apply the matching imperative formation rule.

Notes & Tips

• When reading a genitive-heavy text, watch for the -s/-es ending on masculine/neuter nouns (e.g. des Hauses, des Bildschirms, des Gastes) and the bare der article (no extra ending) on feminine/plural genitive nouns (e.g. der Familie, der Bewohner).
• wirken (to appear/seem) is a high-frequency, simple verb worth memorizing — e.g. Das wirkt traurig. (That seems sad.)
• The modal particle ja in casual statements is a filler with no direct translation — don't try to translate it word-for-word.
• When evaluating opinion statements (positiv/kritisch) in reading comprehension, watch for concession structures ("X, but despite that, Y") — these often deserve both labels rather than a single one.
• Distinguish viele (many — countable) from viel (much/a lot — uncountable) when building sodass-sentences about money, time, etc.
• Distinguish kennen (familiarity with people/places/things) from wissen (knowing facts/ information) — a common confusion point.
• sich erinnern an (+ Akkusativ) is reflexive — don't forget the reflexive pronoun (mich, dich, sich...) when using it.
• For the Imperativ, the three forms to memorize are: du → bare stem, no pronoun; ihr → normal conjugation, no pronoun; Sie → normal conjugation + Sie kept after the verb.
• Homework: write a complaint email (~9-10 lines minimum recommended, though the real exam expects less) about a broken device, incorporating trotz (despite the guarantee/despite having bought it), wegen (because of the guarantee), and lassen + Infinitiv (ich möchte es reparieren lassen — "I'd like to have it repaired") — submit as email or PDF, not WhatsApp.
• Vocabulary test reminder: only the first two pages of the shared internet-vocabulary PDF are required for the next test; later pages are not yet in scope.