Welcome Back!Hello,
ymapazagain, welcome back! I look forward to following your participation in many other discussions concerning language learning.
Introductory Language Courses and GrammarFor a number of sound reasons, most introductory language German courses de-emphasize the study of grammar, providing only a minimal overview of the basic concepts such as gender, cases, verb conjugations, prepositions, adjectives and the like. A more comprehensive treatment of the subject is often reserved for (genuine) intermediate-level courses where the basic concepts are re-introduced in greater depth, coupled with massive amounts of new vocabulary. Beginning students wishing to learn more about grammar early on (and I speak as a grammar freak) often turn to specialized books on the subject.
Pimsleur and GrammarAs you have mentioned that you are using the Pimsleur Method (a programme of which I am particularly fond), you are probably already aware that the “mysteries of grammar” can seem even more confounding for students who begin their studies with this programme. The problem (from the student’s perspective) is that grammar is not addressed directly as is done in most language courses. Rather, the Pimsleur programme is designed such that the user is supposed to deduce the essential elements of the target language’s structure from its slow-but-certain revelation by example. This approach definitely has its strengths. However, for a language which is heavily governed by a case system (and given that the voice actors do not make an effort at clearly enunciating the case endings), these subtleties of the language can seem a little elusive at times.
Delving Deeper Into Grammar at the Beginner’s LevelMy standard advice to beginners is that they should refrain from acquiring an elaborate/advanced grammar before entering the intermediate level of language study. The reasons are that, quite often, the examples used to illustrate a given point of grammar: (1) involve complex sentences which are simply too challenging for the beginner, (2) use vocabulary which is well beyond his level, causing him to divert his attention to a dictionary where he will be confronted with multiple meanings of a word which might not even clarify the situation for him, particularly in cases where relatively common idiomatic expressions have been used in the example, and (3) contain other elements of grammar which are not readily apparent to the beginner, but which are essential to his understanding of the example and the rule of grammar presently under discussion. Consulting an elaborate/advanced grammar before one is truly ready to do so can have the paradoxical effect of confounding rather than illuminating the beginner. That is, these books are an invitation to slide down a rabbit hole where bewilderment awaits the unprepared.
Beginners’ GrammarsI often recommend that the beginner used on a “basic” grammar. While many excellent grammars are available, I would recommend
“German Verbs & Essentials of Grammar.” I would suggest that you leaf through the grammar, familiarize yourself with the way in which the information is organized and presented, review the present indicative tense and become notionally aware of the case system without trying to master it. Then, put the book aside, embark on your Pimsleur German studies and return to the grammar as needed. Do not try to become an expert in German grammar at this stage!
Grammar-Heavy CoursesSome introductory language courses place, or would seem to place, a heavier emphasis on grammar than the average run-of-the-mill language course. Courses employing the “audio-lingual” method would fall into this category and perhaps the finest example for the study of German would be the
“FSI German Basic*” course. The basic structure of the language is reinforced through the (massive) repetition of sentence-pattern drills. Although the method, and this particular course, have their detractors (I appeal to everyone to resist the temptation of turning this discussion thread into yet another battle over the continued relevance of the FSI courses), the repetition of the drills does work. The procedure might not be stimulating for everyone, but it does work. An alternative would be the
“DLI German Basic” course. The notes on grammar are truly the best that I have ever encountered in an introductory language course. Regrettably, the DLI German sentence-pattern drills are suffocatingly boring. Finally, another alternative worth considering is the often overlooked
“DLI German Gateway” course. Although the audio-lingual method was not used in this course, it does contain some excellent notes on basic German grammar as well as an impressive quantity of exercise materials designed to support the presentation of German grammar. All three of these courses are freely-available via the
Yojik website:
https://yojik.eu/Bare-Knuckled Study of Grammar (Workbooks)You might be tempted to delve more deeply into the study of German grammar through the completion of a workbook or two, or three, or four. It’s your decision to do so and many members would likely encourage you in such efforts. While my recommendation would be that the beginner should forestall such studies, I will mention a few of the more popular alternatives:
Practice Makes Perfect (German)McGraw-Hill offers a large collection of grammar workbooks under the “Practice Makes Perfect” series, all of which are so enticingly titled that they are hard to resist (geez, I need that one too!). I have the entire series for German. Paraphrasing myself from a recent discussion thread on the series, the list of titles in the series leaves me with the impression that the publisher is (
unfairly)
exploiting the insecurities of many students who most likely attend German classes and who are in genuine need of support in matters touching upon the structure of the language, and this, so as to compensate for the abysmal nature of the average course book designed for use in a classroom setting. In my opinion, as a collection, these workbooks are terribly expensive and are no more comprehensive than “Shaum’s Outline of German Grammar” which I also have.
Shaum’s Outline of German GrammarThe Shaum’s series of study aids has helped literally millions of North American senior high school and college students review the essential elements of a broad range of academic subjects and the publisher’s “Outline of Grammar” workbooks are every bit as solid as those covering Algebra and the like. The only drawback that I see for a true beginner is that, because these workbooks are designed to be used at the intermediate level as well as the beginner’s level, and therefore delve into some of the nuances of grammar which a beginner might not really appreciate, they represent an almost unavoidable descent down a rabbit hole where pursuing one problem will lead to more questions and so on almost without end.
A-Grammatik, B- Grammatik, C- GrammatikA few years ago, Schubert Verlag introduced their A-B-C- Grammatik series of workbooks for the study of German grammar. Although these workbooks are in German, there is an edition containing English annotations (in a smaller typeface). A nice feature is that these graded workbooks (A1-A2, B1-B2, C1-C2) are available with one audio CD. The books are quite popular and for good reason. Should you embark on the use of one of these right now? I have already answered this question.
Deutsche WelleIf these people don’t know German grammar, no one does …
https://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469German Resources – LLORGComplied by the inimitable member reineke whose absence is much regretted.
https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2910/*FSI German Basic (expansion)Before embarking on a study of the FSI German Basic course, should you have already completed, say, Pimsleur German I, II, III and should you have developed a level of comfort with the language’s grammar as revealed in the Pimsleur programme, you will not need to begin the FSI German Basic course at Unit 1 … and so much the better! I found the first two units of this course to be particularly poorly-written. I am not saying that the materials are incorrect. Rather, in my opinion, the sentence-pattern drills are devoid of any sense of creativity, so much so that I found it very difficult maintaining my interest in studying with these materials. Fortunately, as of Units 3 and 4, the authors began to display more ingenuity in the crafting of the sentence-pattern drills, vocabulary drills, and other exercises. Why, they’re practically little gems of prose! So then, should you decide to use the FSI German Basic course subsequent to having completed a couple of levels of Pimsleur German,
I would recommend that you begin with Unit 3.
EDITED:
Typos, formatting.
Expanded comments on FSI German Basic.