Video 32: nachdem Drill, Fable Vocabulary, and derselbe/dasselbe

Source: Roughly 2 hours 2 minutes total. Approximate topic ranges (stretches of pure silence/ "Thank you" placeholders and class-logistics chitchat — roll call, screen-sharing trouble, app recommendations, batch/schedule planning — are skipped):

• 00:00–04:01 — Silence (skipped)
• 04:01–11:45 — Worked nachdem tense-sequencing exercise correcting a multi-sentence drill — extracted below
• 12:12–14:34 — Synonym-matching vocabulary (unpünktlich sein, etwas unternehmen, putzen, erschöpft sein, sich entspannen, ausgehen) — extracted below
• 14:36–25:18 — Reading/cloze text about tabloid press and celebrity gossip, with vocabulary and sentence-by-sentence translation — extracted below
• 25:18–29:00 — Logistics: pace of vocabulary learning, recommendation of a vocab app (skipped, pure logistics/app-recommendation chitchat)
• 29:00–32:18 — Logistics: notebook habits, B2 scheduling, teacher's planned break (skipped, pure logistics)
• 32:18–47:31 — Main grammar/reading topic: a Präteritum fairy-tale text about a fearful rabbit (Der Hase), with Richtig/Falsch comprehension and vocabulary (Angst haben, dran sein, müssen vs. möchte, adjective-forming suffix -lich) — extracted below
• 48:01–58:00 — Expressing personal opinion (Ich bin der Meinung...), diplomatic vs. undiplomatic language, and two listening dialogues on the same theme — extracted below
• 58:00–1:17:50 — Listening exercise: 8 short dialogues (questions 1–8) with comprehension answers — extracted briefly below (dialogue content + key vocabulary only)
• 1:17:50–1:24:22 — derselbe / dasselbe ("the exact same") — adjective-ending table and worked examples — extracted below
• 1:24:22–1:39:13 — Brief note on relative pronouns with neuter/genderless antecedents (das instead of was/wer) and a tangent on wem gehört das? (whom does it belong to) vs. relative clauses — extracted below
• 1:39:13–1:48:07 — Vocabulary review/recall drill from a previously shared word list (chapter vocabulary check) — extracted briefly below (word list only)
• 1:48:07–1:57:08 — Reading text on conflict/harmony in relationships (Streit, Harmonie, Ich-Aussagen), plus diplomatic/undiplomatic sentence matching — extracted below
• 1:57:08–2:00:30 — Modal particles aber, denn, ja, mal, wohl — extracted below
• 2:00:30–end — Homework/schedule logistics, closing (skipped, pure logistics)

Topics Covered

• nachdem tense-sequencing drill (Plusquamperfekt/Präteritum/Perfekt → Präsens), reviewing the rule from a prior class with worked example sentences
• Synonym/paraphrase vocabulary: unpünktlich sein, etwas unternehmen, putzen, erschöpft sein, sich entspannen, ausgehen
• Tabloid/celebrity vocabulary cluster: berühmt, beschäftigt, beweisen, Blick, Einzelheiten, Ersatz, (sich) fürchten, Geheimnis, Mehrheit, Trennung vs. Scheidung, Prominenter, Versprechen, behaupten, Ehegatte, Wahrheit
• Präteritum fairy-tale reading ("Der Hase") with comprehension questions and vocabulary: Angst haben, dran sein, müssen vs. möchte, the adjective-forming suffix -lich (ängstlich, neblig, durstig, schriftlich, mündlich, handschriftlich, Unterschrift)
• Expressing opinion: ich bin der Meinung, dass..., meiner Meinung nach, ich bin überzeugt, dass..., ich denke/finde
• Diplomatic vs. undiplomatic language register, with two contrastive listening dialogues
• Listening comprehension: 8 short everyday dialogues (kindergarten holiday planning, concert ticket, parent-teacher evening, building caretaker/Hausmeister problems)
• derselbe / dasselbe / dieselbe ("the exact same") — article + adjective-ending table
• Relative pronouns with genderless/neuter antecedents (das vs. wer/was), and the question wem gehört das? ("whom does this belong to?") as a non-relative question construction
• Reading text on relationship conflict/harmony vocabulary (Streit, Harmonie, Ich-Aussagen, nachgeben)
• Modal particles: aber, denn, ja, mal, wohl

nachdem Tense-Sequencing Drill

A continuation/review of the nachdem rule from a previous class, worked through a multi-part fill-in exercise. The core rule restated: nachdem always introduces the clause whose action happened first, and the verb in that clause must be one "step" further in the past than the verb in the main clause.

• Maxime besuchte seinen besten Freund, nachdem dieser mit seiner Frau Streit gehabt hatte. — "Maxime visited his best friend after the latter had had a fight with his wife." (the main verb is Präteritum, so the nachdem-clause needed to be Plusquamperfekt.)
• Valeria lebte in einer eigenen Wohnung, nachdem sie lange mit einer Freundin zusammengewohnt hatte. — "Valeria lived in her own apartment after she had lived together with a friend for a long time." (main clause Präteritum lebte → nachdem-clause Plusquamperfekt hatte zusammengewohnt.)
• Nachdem Luca Vater geworden ist, unternimmt er etwas mit seiner Familie. — "After Luca became a father, he does things with his family." Identified as Perfekt → Präsens, because the main-clause verb unternimmt is present tense.
• Nachdem Antonio sein Studium beendet hatte, wollte er eine Freundin in Australien besuchen. — "After Antonio had finished his studies, he wanted to visit a girlfriend in Australia." Main clause wollte is Präteritum, so the nachdem-clause is Plusquamperfekt.
• Amelia freute sich auf einen Abend mit ihren Freunden, nachdem sie den ganzen Tag gearbeitet hatte. — "Amelia was looking forward to an evening with her friends, after she had worked all day." Both Präteritum/Plusquamperfekt.
• Distinguishing fühlt (present, no extra -e) from fühlte (Präteritum, extra -e) was flagged as a small but important spelling cue for telling tenses apart at a glance: present tense ich fühle / du fühlst / er fühlt vs. Präteritum ich fühlte / du fühltest / er fühlte — the presence of the extra -e- before the personal ending signals Präteritum.
• Ich habe viele neue Leute beim Sport kennengelernt, nachdem ich öfter ins Fitnessstudio gegangen bin. — "I got to know a lot of new people through sport, after I started going to the gym more often." Discussed as a tricky item because two options both seemed plausible out of context, and only the full sentence logic (not just tense-matching) decided the correct answer.
• A reused vocabulary point: wegziehen ("to move away") was confirmed to also take sein as its auxiliary (like other movement-verbs), consistent with verbs of motion/change-of-state patterns covered earlier in the course.

Vocabulary: Synonym Matching

A short matching exercise pairing everyday verbs/expressions with their paraphrase or synonym:

• unpünktlich sein — to be late/not punctual
• etwas unternehmen — to undertake/do something (with others)
• putzen / sauber machen — to clean
• erschöpft sein — to be exhausted
• sich entspannen / sich ausruhen — to relax/rest
• ausgehen / abends weggehen — to go out (in the evening); noted that ausgehen has a second meaning, "to date somebody," but in this context it simply means "to go out."

Tabloid / Celebrity Gossip Reading Text

A cloze-style reading text about celebrity gossip magazines, covered with vocabulary and sentence-by-sentence translation.

• berühmt — famous, popular
• beschäftigt — busy/occupied (contrasted with beschädigt — damaged; these two look similar but are different words)
• beweisen — to prove
• der Blick — view/glimpse (e.g. der erste Blick — "the first glimpse/first impression")
• die Einzelheiten — details
• der Ersatz — replacement
• (sich) fürchten (vor) — to fear/be afraid (of)
• das Geheimnis — secret
• die Mehrheit — majority
• die Trennung vs. die Scheidung — distinguished as a pair: Trennung = separation (no official document, but living apart), Scheidung = divorce (official/legal).
• der/die Prominente — celebrity
• das Versprechen — promise; überzeugen — to convince
• behaupten — to claim
• der Ehegatte — spouse
• die Wahrheit — truth (contrasted with Fake News)
• Worked sentences (reconstructed from the text):
  • Wann haben Sie das letzte Mal eine Zeitschrift mit den neuesten Nachrichten über das Leben eines Prominenten gelesen? — "When did you last read a magazine with the latest news about a celebrity's life?"
  • Wer amüsiert sich nicht gern über das Pech oder das Glück der Stars? — "Who doesn't enjoy [reading about] the bad luck or happiness of the stars?"
  • Aber möchten Sie Ihr Leben mit ihnen tauschen? — "But would you like to swap your life with them?"
  • Auf den ersten Blick scheint das wunderbar. — "At first glance that seems wonderful."
  • Aber denken Sie auch über die Konsequenzen danach nach? — "But do you also think about the consequences afterward?"
  • Nichts in ihrem Leben bleibt ein Geheimnis, ständig behauptet die Presse etwas Neues. — "Nothing in their life remains a secret; the press constantly claims something new."
  • Ein betrunkener Ehegatte, eine angebliche Scheidung nach zwei Monaten Ehe... — "A drunk spouse, an alleged divorce after two months of marriage..."
  • Die News bringen den Journalisten Geld, und sie müssen ihre Schlagzeilen oder Behauptungen nicht beweisen. — "The news brings the journalists money, and they don't have to prove their headlines or claims."
  • Fake News oder Wahrheit — das ist wahrscheinlich den meisten Lesern nicht wichtig. Die Hauptsache ist, dass man für ein paar Minuten beschäftigt ist. — "Fake news or truth — that's probably not important to most readers. The main thing is that one is occupied/ entertained for a few minutes."
  • Nur die Stars sind davon meistens nicht begeistert — "Only the stars are usually not happy about this" — because they fear that the press's influence on their private life becomes too big and can damage their relationships. Conclusion drawn in class: Geld und Erfolg sind kein Ersatz für ein glückliches Familienleben — "money and success are no replacement for a happy family life" — so maybe we should take care of our own private lives rather than worry about the stars'.

Präteritum Fairy Tale: "Der Hase" (Reading + Vocabulary)

A short fairy-tale-style text about a fearful rabbit, used to practice Präteritum narrative reading (the teacher explicitly noted: fairy tales/stories are told almost entirely in Präteritum, with very little Perfekt or Plusquamperfekt — unlike the personal-narrative texts used earlier for nachdem practice).

• der Hase — rabbit/hare
• Comprehension (Richtig/Falsch) items discussed:
  • Der Hase ist sehr ängstlich und möchte das ändern. — Richtig. "The rabbit is very fearful and wants to change that."
  • Der Hase kann immer gut schlafen. — Falsch. He sleeps with his eyes open out of fear.
  • Die Frösche bleiben im Wasser, als der Hase angerannt kam. — Falsch (they jump out/scatter).
  • Der Hase freut sich darüber, dass er anderen Angst machen kann. — Richtig.
• Angst haben — to be afraid/have fear; wer Angst hat, ist eigentlich unglücklich dran — "whoever has fear is actually unlucky/unhappy" (dran sein flagged as an idiomatic filler here, not adding independent meaning).
• Nichts kann er in Ruhe genießen, immer passiert etwas Aufregendes. — "He can enjoy nothing in peace, something exciting is always happening." dran sein here is part of the fixed expression; genießen = to enjoy.
• Aus Angst schlafe ich mit offenen Augen, das muss sich ändern. — "Out of fear I sleep with open eyes; that has to change." müssen here (≈ "must/has to") was distinguished from möchte ("would like to") — even though both convey a similar wish to change, muss expresses necessity/obligation while möchte expresses a wish; the text used muss.
• Aber wie? So saß er und überlegte lange. — "But how? So he sat and thought/pondered for a long time."
• Dabei war er aber immer vorsichtig, und alles konnte ihn erschrecken — "But he was always careful, and everything could startle/scare him" — vorsichtig = careful, erschrecken = to startle/frighten.
• Ein Geräusch, eine Bewegung oder sogar nichts — er war immer ängstlich. — "A sound, a movement, or even nothing — he was always fearful." (Note: Geräusch, capitalized, is the noun "sound/noise"; written lowercase as an adjective it would mean "loud.")
• Plötzlich hörte er etwas leise auf den Boden fallen. — "Suddenly he heard something fall quietly onto the ground." leise = quietly.
• Sofort sprang er auf und rannte los. — "Immediately he jumped up and ran off."
• Er lief schnell bis an das Ufer eines kleinen Sees. — "He ran quickly to the shore of a small lake." das Ufer = shore/bank.
• Dort sprangen alle Frösche, klein und groß, ins Wasser. — "There all the frogs, small and big, jumped into the water."
• "Sie laufen vor mir weg," sagte der Hase. "Es gibt also auch Tiere, die vor mir Angst haben." — "'They're running away from me,' said the rabbit. 'So there are also animals who are afraid of me.'" Angst haben vor (+Dat.) = to be afraid of (fixed preposition).
• "Was bin ich für sie? Ein Held?" — "What am I to them? A hero?" — followed by the conclusion that he can't be that frightening; the text implies es gibt immer jemanden, der noch mehr Angst hat — "there's always someone who is even more afraid [of something]."
• Adjective-forming suffix -lich/-ig drilled, building adjectives from nouns/verbs:
  • ängstlich — fearful
  • neblig — foggy/misty (from Nebel, fog) — contrasted with wolkig/bewölkt — cloudy
  • durstig — thirsty
  • schriftlich — written/in writing (from Schrift — script/writing), e.g. die schriftliche Prüfung — the written exam
  • mündlich — oral/verbal, e.g. die mündliche Prüfung — the oral exam; ich habe die mündliche Prüfung bestanden — "I passed the oral exam"
  • die Handschrift — handwriting
  • die Unterschrift — signature (Schrift = "script/writing"; Unterschrift = the writing placed "under" something, i.e. a signature)

Expressing Opinion & Diplomatic Language

A short section on phrases for giving one's own opinion (die eigene Meinung):

• Ich bin der Meinung, dass... — "I am of the opinion that..."
• Meiner Meinung nach... / nach meiner Meinung... — "In my opinion..." (both word orders confirmed as correct; lowercase nach at the start does not capitalize since it is not sentence-initial in the alternative ordering being discussed).
• Ich bin überzeugt, dass... — "I am convinced that..." (überzeugen = to convince).
• Es scheint mir, dass... das Wichtigste ist... — "It seems to me that... the most important thing is..."
• Ich finde es viel schlimmer/schlechter, dass... — "I find it much worse that..."
• Diplomatisch vs. undiplomatisch: being diplomatisch means expressing your true feelings (e.g. anger) in a friendly way that doesn't hurt the other person, while still getting your point across. Being undiplomatisch means saying exactly what you feel without filtering your words — more rude/blunt. Two listening dialogues were used to identify which speaker was being diplomatic vs. undiplomatic, and to identify the topic of each argument:
  • Dialogue 1 topic: die Seite des Büros / Arbeitszeit (office matters/working hours) — judged overall undiplomatisch.
  • Dialogue 2 topic: Pünktlichkeit (punctuality) — judged overall diplomatisch.
  • Example undiplomatic line: Du übertreibst aber etwas! — "But you're exaggerating a bit!"
  • Example diplomatic line: Das ist ja nicht so schlimm. — "That's not so bad."
  • Das kann doch nicht wahr sein! — "That can't be true!" / "I don't believe it!" — flagged as usable in either register depending on tone.
  • Das nervt mich wirklich. — "That really annoys me."

Listening Dialogues (Comprehension)

Eight short transactional dialogues were played with Richtig/Falsch and multiple-choice questions (answers discussed briefly in class):

1. Kindergarten holiday planning — two Erzieher (childcare workers) discuss organizing activities for the children during the upcoming three-week holiday, including possibly hiring a clown, but agree to be careful not to overdo it / cause stress, and to keep parents' phone numbers on hand for emergencies (im Notfall).
2. Concert ticket surprise — Anna-Lena is given a surprise concert ticket by a friend after thinking she wouldn't be able to go. 3–4. Vacation/relatives dialogue — a couple stayed home this year instead of their usual annual bike tour (Fahrradrundreise) because the wife wanted to rest (sich erholen); they ended up having a relaxing time anyway because the husband's brother visited them with his family for a week. Vocabulary: erholsam — relaxing (adjective from sich erholen, to recover/rest). 5–6. Parent-teacher evening (Elternabend) — Esma and Joel discuss what they learned about their children's school year: a Theaterprojekt (theater project) for 7th grade this year instead of the usual mountain class trip (Klassenfahrt in die Berge zum Wandern), and an exchange program with France (Schüleraustausch) that happens in 8th grade, not this year. stattfinden — to take place (separable verb), e.g. die Klassenfahrt findet dieses Jahr nicht statt — "the class trip is not taking place this year." 7–8. Building caretaker (Hausmeister) dialogue — Frau Flair reports building problems to Hausmeister Herr Schurig: the hallway lamp was already fixed by a neighbor (Herr Becker), but the doorbell/buzzer at the building entrance doesn't work, forcing visitors to ring another resident's buzzer to get in. der Hausmeister = building caretaker/superintendent; der Anrufbeantworter = answering machine; die Klingel = doorbell/buzzer; läuten = to ring.

derselbe / dasselbe / dieselbe ("The Exact Same")

Introduced as a more precise alternative to gleich ("similar/same") for expressing "the exact same," with no real change at all.

• gleich = similar/same (looser); English "same" can also work loosely but is "not very related" grammatically; derselbe/dasselbe/dieselbe = the exact same, more precise.
• Cannot be used with the indefinite article ("a/an exact same") — derselbe is always constructed with the definite article fused with "selb-" plus an adjective ending, never with ein.
• Formation method taught: write the definite article for the noun's gender/case first, then attach selb- with the adjective ending that the definite article (E/EN) table would require for that case — i.e. treat selb- like an adjective following a definite article.

Case	Maskulin	Neutrum	Feminin	Plural
Nominativ	derselbe	dasselbe	dieselbe	dieselben
Akkusativ	denselben	dasselbe	dieselbe	dieselben
Dativ	demselben	demselben	derselben	denselben

• Worked example: Ich habe denselben Kuli. — "I have the exact same pen." (der Kuli, masculine; accusative because haben takes a direct object → den + selb- + adjective ending -en → denselben.)
• The construction is written as a single word (derselbe, denselben, etc.), not as separate article + adjective.

Relative Pronouns with Neuter/Genderless Antecedents

A short clarifying note while working through a relative-clause exercise:

• When the antecedent is a noun like das Kind (neuter, with a clear gender/article), the relative pronoun must still be das (matching the noun's grammatical gender) — students cannot substitute a generic question word like wer or wen even when referring to a person in a general/indefinite sense, if the antecedent noun has an identifiable gender.
• wer (as a free-standing relative/indefinite pronoun, "whoever") is used only when no specific gendered noun is being referred to — e.g. wer Geld hat, ist reich — "whoever has money is rich." Since "whoever" has no inherent gender, wer is used instead of der/die/das. This use of question words as relative pronouns (wer, was, wen, wem) was flagged as a later topic (B2-level), not yet covered in full at B1.
• Clarified distinction: "Ich habe die Schlüssel gefunden. Wem gehört das?" ("I found the keys. Whom does this belong to?") is not a relative clause — it's a separate question following a statement, so the normal question word wem is used (gehören takes the dative). This contrasts with a true relative clause like Ich habe ein Buch gefunden, das teuer ist ("I found a book which is expensive"), where das links the two clauses into one sentence and the verb moves to the end.

Relationship Vocabulary: Streit & Harmonie

A short reading text on everyday relationship conflict, with vocabulary and translated lines:

• der Streit — fight/argument; streiten — to fight/argue; die Harmonie — harmony
• Konflikte gehören zum Alltag. — "Conflicts belong to/are part of everyday life."
• Wenn man jemanden wirklich liebt, dann streitet man auch mal, denn Streit schadet einer Beziehung nicht. — roughly, "When you really love someone, you also argue sometimes, because arguing doesn't damage a relationship" — schaden = to damage/harm.
• nachgeben — to give in (make an effort/concession); fixed expression mal muss der eine nachgeben, mal der andere — "sometimes one person has to give in, sometimes the other" — der eine... der andere = "the one... the other," a fixed pairing using the definite article for the first and ein- for the second.
• Wenn man wirklich tolerant ist, ist man auch bereit, etwas zu akzeptieren. — "If you're really tolerant, you're also ready to accept something." Das gilt auch für die Freundschaft und in der Arbeit. — "This also applies to friendship and at work." gelten (für) = to apply/be valid (for).
• Wichtig ist, dass man ruhig und diplomatisch bleibt — "What's important is staying calm and diplomatic" — and avoiding accusatory "du"-statements (Du machst das immer!) in favor of Ich-Aussagen ("I"-statements, e.g. "I wish that...") — a more diplomatic way of phrasing criticism. Es erleichtert vieles, wenn man Ich-Aussagen formuliert. — "It makes a lot of things easier when you formulate I-statements."
• Manchmal gehört Kritik zum Austausch (in einer Beziehung). — "Sometimes criticism is part of exchange [communication] (in a relationship)."
• Mit ein wenig Übung gelingt das auch. — "With a little practice, this also succeeds."

Modal Particles: aber, denn, ja, mal, wohl

A brief recap of modal particles seen throughout the course, framed as something learned through exposure to texts rather than as an explicit grammar rule (the teacher noted a fuller treatment is a whole chapter in B2):

• aber (as a particle, not "but") — expresses surprise, often pleasant surprise, e.g. das ist aber schön! — "that's really nice!" (surprised tone).
• denn — used in questions to signal genuine interest/curiosity, e.g. wann ist denn dein Geburtstag? — "so when is your birthday?" (interested, mostly in questions).
• ja (as a particle) — signals shared/common knowledge, "as you know," e.g. das ist ja bekannt — "that's [as you know] well-known."
• mal — as a filler softens a statement; can also hint at "probably," and is used for a friendly request, e.g. Kannst du mal das probieren? / Kannst du mal das versuchen? — "Could you just try that?" (friendly, casual request).
• wohl — expresses assumption/supposition (Vermutung), roughly "probably," e.g. Er ist wohl in der Küche. — "He's probably in the kitchen."

Notes & Tips

• nachdem: keep checking which action happened first and put that clause one tense-step further into the past (Plusquamperfekt/Präteritum/Perfekt) than the main clause (Präsens or a less-past tense) — this remains the recurring B1-exam trap from earlier lessons.
• Präteritum vs. present: a quick visual/aural cue — present-tense forms have no extra -e- before the personal ending (er fühlt), while Präteritum forms often do (er fühlte); don't rely on meaning alone to tell tenses apart in fast reading.
• Fairy tales/narrative stories are conventionally told in Präteritum, almost never switching to Perfekt or Plusquamperfekt — recognize the genre cue when deciding which past tense to expect in a reading-comprehension text.
• Trennung vs. Scheidung: don't confuse these — Trennung is informal separation (no legal paperwork), Scheidung is the official, legal divorce.
• beschäftigt vs. beschädigt: these look alike but mean different things (busy/occupied vs. damaged) — a common point of confusion in vocabulary lists.
• derselbe/dasselbe/dieselbe is never used with the indefinite article — always built from the definite article + adjective ending, fused into a single word.
• wer/was/wen/wem as free relative pronouns ("whoever," "whatever") are a later (B2) topic — for B1, stick to der/die/das-based relative pronouns whenever the antecedent has an identifiable grammatical gender.
• Ich-Aussagen over Du-Aussagen is a useful real-world and exam-writing tip for the diplomatic register: phrase criticism/wishes starting with "ich," not accusatory "du" statements.