Recognise, translate, move on
In classic literature, the Luther Bible, poems, hymns, fairy tales and fantasy novels you meet forms that everyday German has dropped. Today they also turn up in jokes, speeches and newspaper columns that want to sound grand or ironic. This lesson is for reading them: spot the form, find its modern equivalent, read on.
Old and modern side by side
Und es ward Licht.
And there was light.
Luther Bible, Genesis 1
Und es wurde hell.
And it became light.
the same event in today's German
The forms you will meet most
Old form and today's equivalent
| Today | English |
|---|---|
| wurde (1st and 3rd person singular) | became, was |
| mir scheint, ich finde | methinks, it seems to me |
| damit | so that, that |
| wegen | on account of |
| fragte, backte | asked, baked |
| dem Mann, im Haus | dative -e, still fossilised in nach Hause, zu Hause |
| bald darauf, eines Tages | forthwith, one day |
In context
Mich dünkt, er hat zu viel versprochen.
Methinks he has promised too much.
today: Mir scheint, er hat zu viel versprochen.
Erheben wir das Glas, auf dass wir uns bald wiedersehen!
Let us raise our glasses, that we may meet again soon!
still used in toasts, with a solemn or playful tone
Man rühmte ihn ob seiner Großzügigkeit.
He was praised for his generosity.
ob here is not whether; it means wegen
Da frug der König seine Tochter, wer ihr den Ring gegeben habe.
Then the king asked his daughter who had given her the ring.
fairy-tale register
The genitive in front
In modern German a genitive follows its noun, except for names: Annas Auto. Older and poetic German also puts ordinary genitives in front, article and all. The genitive article then stands where you expect the article of the subject, so the sentence seems to begin with the wrong case. English has a similar choice between the king's daughter and the daughter of the king.
Front genitive and modern order
Des Lebens ungemischte Freude ward keinem Irdischen zuteil.
Unmixed joy of life was granted to no mortal.
Schiller, Der Ring des Polykrates. Today: Die ungemischte Freude des Lebens wurde keinem Menschen zuteil.
Des Kaisers neue Kleider
The Emperor's New Clothes
the German title of Andersen's tale. Today: die neuen Kleider des Kaisers.
Das also war des Pudels Kern!
So that was the poodle's core!
Goethe, Faust I; now an idiom for the heart of the matter
Old forms in modern texts
When a modern writer uses one of these forms, it is a signal. In a column, Und es ward Montag mocks a dull week with biblical grandeur; in a speech, auf dass lends a toast ceremony. Read them as a tone, not as information.
