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The articles der, die, and das can also be used as demonstrative pronouns. In that case, they are almost always at the beginning of the sentence, and cannot be translated with „the“. See how they’re used to avoid repeating the noun by replacing it:
Wo ist das Geld? Das haben die Großkauf-Diebe!
Where is the money? The Großkauf Thieves have that!
We replace a man like Fritz with der, and a feminine noun like Anna with die, and things like “das Büro” with das. Demonstrative pronouns also put more emphasis on a person or thing:
Paul: Ja, und Fritz ist Polizist. Der hat viel Arbeit!
Yes, and Fritz is a policeman. That guy has a lot of work!
There is a similarity to the substitute pronouns from lesson 8. But those only mean „it“ in English, and don’t emphasize anything:
Der Computer? Er ist hier.
The computer? It is here.
More hints
German job titles for women usually have an -in ending:
male
der Verkäufer
female
die Verkäuferin
These words (male & female) are often used without an article:
Ich bin Studentin und Kellnerin.
I’m a student and a waitress.
Er ist Polizist.
He is a Policeman.
The word der Chef is a false friend because it does NOT mean the chef (short for: ‚chef de cuisine’).
It means the boss instead.
4 Read policeman Fritz’s thoughts & fill the gaps
Replace the nouns with the correct demonstrative pronoun: der, die, or das.
Read, listen and repeat
With a statement sentence, the voice is lowered towards the end:
Nein, er ist nicht geschieden. ➘
Er ist verheiratet. ➘
With a w-question sentence, the voice is normally lowered. But in some situations people also make it go up:
Wann heiraten sie? ➘
Wann heiraten sie? ➚
With a yes/no question sentence, the voice goes up.
Brauchst du das Foto? ➚
Gehst du zur Polizei? ➚
Klick on the button in the video.
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