Video 16: Genitive Prepositions (während/innerhalb/außerhalb) and Travel Vocabulary

Source: Roughly 1 hour 4 minutes of extractable teaching content (full recording runs much longer but trails off into an unmonitored test/silence stretch). Approximate topic ranges (logistics, attendance/roll-call chat, and long silent stretches skipped):

• 00:00–05:40 — Vocabulary around nourishment/food (Veränderung, bewusst, Nahrungsmittel, vegan, Erklärung) — heavily garbled by ASR, low extractable content, mostly skipped
• 05:40–13:10 — A short narrative exercise about David und seine Frau (relative time expressions: vor 5 Jahren, im nächsten Jahr, bevor) followed by border/travel vocabulary — extracted below
• 13:10–15:08 — Vocabulary drilling around household chores/errands (aufräumen, einladen, wegfahren) — mostly single-word drill lines, skipped, low extractable content
• 15:08–24:50 — Reading text "Was macht uns glücklich?" (what makes us happy) — extracted below
• 24:50–32:10 — Word-association vocabulary game (find German words containing letters of "Freund") plus a message-matching exercise — mostly skipped, game/logistics
• 32:10–53:10 — Reading and translating a "Glück" (happiness) personal-essay text line by line (four short paragraphs) — extracted below
• 53:10–1:05:06 — Genitive prepositions: während, innerhalb, außerhalb — extracted below (core grammar segment of this class)
• 1:05:06–1:21:50 — Workplace-change reading/discussion (KI/AI at work, wegen der Technologie) and a professions-vocabulary matching exercise (Briefträgerin, Chemikerin, Mechatronikerin, Taxifahrerin) plus an interview with "Frau Mirsa/Merz" — extracted below
• 1:21:50–end — Long silent listening/exercise-attempt stretch with minimal teacher commentary, trailing into "Vielen Dank" filler lines — skipped, mostly silence

Topics Covered

• Travel/border vocabulary: Grenze, Botschaft, Konsulat, Visum, Staat vs. Stadt, überqueren
• Reading comprehension vocabulary: "Was macht uns glücklich?" (happiness text)
• Fixed expression: auf Dauer
• Genitive prepositions: während, innerhalb, außerhalb (rule + examples)
• Distinguishing während as preposition vs. connector
• bei vs. wegen vs. während (dative vs. genitive recap)
• Indefinite pronoun was as synonym for "etwas" referring to things
• Workplace vocabulary: KI (AI) at work, wegen der Technologie
• Professions vocabulary: Briefträgerin, Chemikerin, Mechatronikerin, Taxifahrerin
• Préteritum recap: mögen → mochte; ernst nehmen

Travel and Border Vocabulary

Drilled while discussing crossing borders / dealing with embassies while abroad:

• die Grenze = border/boundary
• das Konsulat = consulate
• das Visum = visa
• der Zoll = customs
• über/queren (überqueren) = to cross — works for borders but also general crossing, e.g. crossing a road: man überquert eine Grenze → "one crosses a border." The teacher noted you can also say die Straße überqueren ("to cross the road") — the same verb generalizes to any kind of crossing.
• die Botschaft = embassy — most countries keep their embassy in the capital city (Hauptstadt) of the host country.
• Unterschied zwischen Staat und Stadt: Stadt (with one "a") = city; Staat (with double "a") = state/country. The teacher flagged this minimal-pair spelling distinction explicitly since students mixed them up.
• Für manche Länder braucht man nicht nur einen Reisepass, man braucht auch ein Visum. → "For some countries you need not only a passport, you also need a visa."
• Wenn man im Ausland den Pass verliert oder ein Problem hat, dann kann man bei der Botschaft Hilfe bekommen. → "If one loses their passport abroad or has a problem, one can get help from the embassy."
• Class discussion clarified when to use Konsulat vs. Botschaft: when living in your own country, your passport process does not involve an embassy at all. When living abroad, your home country's diplomatic representation in that country issues/handles your passport matters — this is generally where the terms Konsulat and Botschaft become relevant, and in casual speech they are sometimes used interchangeably, though strictly a Botschaft is the main diplomatic mission (usually in the capital) and a Konsulat is a satellite office.

Reading Text: "Was macht uns glücklich?" (What Makes Us Happy)

A short magazine-style text was read and translated together, used to practice vocabulary and reported/indirect statements.

• jeder = "everybody/every person" — flagged because in the sentence Diese Frage hat sich wahrscheinlich jeder einmal gestellt ("Everybody has probably asked themselves this question once"), jeder refers to a person, not a time period — students initially misread it as related to "every year."
• auf Wolke sieben schweben/landen → "to be on cloud seven" — the German idiom uses cloud seven, where English says "cloud nine." Same meaning: a state of euphoric happiness.
• liefern = to deliver/to provide. Google liefert dafür fast 3,5 Millionen Treffer. → "Google delivers/provides almost 3.5 million hits for that" — i.e., 3.5 million people search this question on Google.
• fast = "almost" (not "fast" as in speed — a classic false-friend trap for English speakers).
• Besonders im verregneten Norden freuen wir uns über sonnige Tage. → "Especially in the rainy north, we look forward to sunny days." (sich freuen über = to be happy about/look forward to.)
• Aber nur, wenn die Sonne nicht immer scheint. → "But only if the sun doesn't always shine" — the text's argument: happiness from sunshine depends on it being irregular; if it were constant, it would lose its special value (the teacher illustrated with the contrast of cities with constant sun valuing rain more, and vice versa).
• sich gewöhnen an = to get used to/become accustomed to — Man kann sich auch an die Sonne gewöhnen. → "One can also get used to the sun." If a person is used to constant sun, sun no longer makes them especially happy.
• Das Glücksgefühl wird dadurch schnell kleiner. → "The feeling of happiness quickly becomes smaller because of that" — i.e., habituation shrinks the happiness effect.
• Genauso ist das beim Geld. → "It's the same with money."
• Ein hohes Einkommen garantiert auf Dauer kein Glücklichsein. → "A high income does not guarantee long-term happiness."
• eine Formel aufstellen = to set up/derive a formula — Die Wissenschaftler von der Jacobs Universität haben eine Formel aufgestellt. → "The scientists from Jacobs University have derived a formula."
• The happiness formula given in the text: Glück = Haben + Lieben + Sein → "Happiness = Having + Loving + Being." This includes things like a good home (eine gute Wohnung), nurturing social relationships (soziale Beziehungen pflegen), and taking part in social activities/engagement (soziales Engagement).
• Sport treiben und ausreichend schlafen → "to do sports and sleep sufficiently" — given as part of the scientists' answer to "what can someone do to become happier."
• Außerdem hilft auch mal der Blick nach unten und nicht immer nur nach oben. → "It also helps to sometimes look downward and not always only upward" — the idea of comparing yourself to people who have less (rather than always comparing upward to people who have more) supports happiness.
• Auf Dauer is a fixed expression meaning "long-lasting" / "permanently" / "in the long run." It is always written together as a set phrase (preposition + noun functioning as one adverbial unit) and was flagged as something to memorize as a chunk rather than translate word-by-word.
• Freude = joy/happiness (noun) — distinguished from Freund (friend) in a word-association drill; the teacher confirmed both share letters but are unrelated in meaning.

Genitive Prepositions: während, innerhalb, außerhalb

The class had previously covered two genitive prepositions, wegen ("because of/due to") and trotz ("despite"), plus genitive connectors. This class added three more genitive prepositions, all primarily used with time expressions (though innerhalb/außerhalb also have a spatial sense).

Quick recap drilled first:

• wegen = because of/due to
• trotzdem (connector) = despite that / nevertheless
• Prepositions take one verb; connectors (like trotzdem) link two verbs/clauses.

während — "while" / "during"

• Used when two activities happen at the same time (simultaneity).
• Examples: während des Unterrichts höre ich Musik → "during class I listen to music"; während der Besprechung habe ich meinen Chef gefragt → "during the meeting I asked my boss"; während der Party tanze ich → "during the party I dance."
• während is a genitive preposition — the noun that follows takes genitive case.
  • der Unterricht (masculine) → während des Unterrichts (add -s to the noun in genitive masculine/neuter).
  • die Klasse (feminine) → während der Klasse (die → der in genitive feminine).
  • die Prüfung (feminine) → während der Prüfung → Du darfst während der Prüfung nicht sprechen. → "You may not talk during the exam."
• während can also be a connector, not just a preposition — same meaning ("while/during"), but used to join two clauses instead of governing a noun:
  • As preposition: Während des Aufräumens höre ich Musik. → "During the cleaning, I listen to music." Here Aufräumen is nominalized (capitalized, used as a noun) and put in genitive: des Aufräumens.
  • As connector: Ich höre Musik, während ich mein Zimmer aufräume. → "I listen to music while I clean my room." Here während introduces a full clause with its own conjugated verb (aufräume) at the end, not a genitive noun.
  • Test to tell them apart: if a full clause with a verb follows, it's a connector; if a genitive noun (or nominalized verb) follows, it's a preposition.
• A related dative preposition, bei, can sometimes express a similar idea informally — Beim Putzen höre ich Musik ("While cleaning, I listen to music") — but bei is dative, not genitive, and is closer in flavor to weil in some colloquial uses. The teacher noted that bei and wegen look similar in function but differ in case: bei = dative preposition; wegen and während = genitive. The exact nuance of when natives prefer bei vs. während in casual speech was acknowledged as not clearly documented ("that's not clear even on the internet").

innerhalb — "within" / "inside"

• Two meanings: (1) within (a time period), and (2) inside/within (a place — spatial).
• Always takes the following noun in genitive.
• Time example: Wir haben alles innerhalb einer Stunde fertiggemacht. → "We finished everything within an hour." (eine Stunde → genitive feminine einer Stunde.)
• Spatial example: Es gibt viele Berge innerhalb des Landes. → "There are many mountains within/ inside this country." (das Land, neuter → genitive des Landes.)

außerhalb — "outside" / "beyond"

• Used for time, places, and areas. Also takes genitive.
• Time example: außerhalb der Geschäftszeiten → "outside/beyond business hours" (die Geschäftszeiten, plural → genitive plural der Geschäftszeiten). Full sentence: Sie können außerhalb der Geschäftszeiten anrufen. → "You can call outside business hours."
• Spatial example: Bitte parken Sie Ihr Auto außerhalb des Kalenders [Geländes]. → "Please park your car outside the premises." (Note: ASR likely mis-heard Gelände — "premises/grounds" — as "Kalender"; the genitive ending des ...-es pattern is the grammar point, the noun itself should be Gelände, neuter.)

Workplace and Professions Vocabulary

• KI = Künstliche Intelligenz (AI) — discussed in the context of how technology is changing work. Im Gegensatz zu früher ist die Arbeit heute mental stressiger. → "In contrast to before, work today is more mentally stressful." Wenn wir KI benutzen, müssen wir nicht mehr so viel Stress haben. → "If we use AI, we don't have to have as much stress."
• wegen der Technologie ist die Arbeit heute einfacher → "because of technology, work today is easier" (genitive preposition wegen recap, with die Technologie, feminine → der Technologie).
• Bewerber/Bewerberin = (job) applicant. Es gibt heute weniger Stellen und mehr Bewerber. → "Today there are fewer positions and more applicants."
• Professions vocabulary drilled via a matching exercise (activity description → job title):
  • die Briefträgerin = postwoman/mail carrier — Post austragen (to deliver mail), früh am Morgen anfangen (starts early in the morning).
  • die Chemikerin = chemist — am Computer arbeiten, im Labor arbeiten (works in a lab).
  • die Mechatronikerin = mechatronics technician — etwas von Technik und Elektronik verstehen (understands technology and electronics), eine Ausbildung machen (does an apprenticeship/vocational training).
  • die Taxifahrerin = taxi driver — bei jedem Wetter unterwegs sein (out and about in any weather), keine geregelten Arbeitszeiten haben (no fixed working hours), Trinkgeld bekommen (gets tips), viele Stunden im Auto sitzen, in der Nacht arbeiten, Personen von A nach B bringen.
  • bearbeiten = to edit/process/work on (something), e.g. Metall bearbeiten (to work/process metal).
• Mini-interview reading ("Frau Mirsa/Merz"): used mögen → mochte (Präteritum of mögen) — Ich habe das Fach in der Schule gern gemocht. → "I liked the subject in school." The teacher reminded students mögen is present tense, mochte is Präteritum.
• ernst nehmen = "to take seriously" — Aber dann habe ich meine Liebe für Technik ernst genommen. → "But then I took my love for technology seriously."
• was as an indefinite pronoun can act as a synonym of etwas ("something") when referring to things — contrasted with jemand (used for referring to persons). The teacher tied this back to indefinite pronouns covered earlier in the course (A2-level review): jemand for people, was/ etwas for things.

Notes & Tips

• während / innerhalb / außerhalb all take genitive — if there's no article before the noun in the test sentence, the genitive ending often shows up on an adjective or as the -(e)s suffix on masculine/neuter nouns, or der on feminine/plural nouns. Memorize this trio together with the earlier-taught genitive set (wegen, trotz) since exam fill-in exercises mix them.
• während can be both preposition and connector with the same meaning — check whether a genitive noun or a full clause (verb at the end) follows to decide which one it is.
• Staat vs. Stadt: easy to mix up when listening — Stadt = city, Staat = state/country (note the double "a").
• fast in German means "almost," not "quickly" — a recurring false-friend trap for English speakers.
• auf Dauer is a fixed adverbial expression ("long-term/permanently") — learn it as a chunk, not word-by-word.
• For reading comprehension: watch for words like jeder that can refer to a person even in a sentence that otherwise reads like it's about time/frequency — don't assume based on surface word shape.