On the phone
Vocabulary
| verbinden | to connect |
| Welche/-r/-s | Which |
| wissen | to know |
| Der Vorname | First name |
| Der Nachname | Last name |
| abheben | to pick up |
| Die Nachricht | Message / News |
| hinterlassen | to leave, leave behind |
| anrufen | to call |
| zurück | back |
| zurückgeben | to return sthg. |
Dialog
Concierge: Guten Tag. Schloß Hotel. Wie kann ich Sie verbinden?
Katharina: Guten Tag. Kann ich bitte mit Herrn Schmitt reden?
Concierge: Wissen sie in welchem Zimmer er wohnt?
Katharina: Nein, das weiß ich leider nicht. Aber ich weiß seinen Vornamen: Joachim.
Concierge: Joachim Schmitt, Zimmer zwei null sechs (206). Einen Moment, ich verbinde Sie.
Katharina: Vielen Dank.
…
Concierge: Es tut mir leid. Herr Schmitt hat nicht abgehoben. Wollen sie eine Nachricht hinterlassen?
Katharina: Ja. Sagen Sie ihm bitte dass Katharina ihn angerufen hat, und dass er mich zurückrufen soll.
Concierge: Ich werde es ihm sagen.
Katharina: Vielen Dank!
Concierge: Schönen Tag noch!
Concierge: Good afternoon. Castle Hotel. How can I connect you?
Katharina: Good afternoon. Could I please speak with Mr. Schmitt?
Concierge: Do you know which room he is staying in?
Katharina: No, I don’t know that. But I know his first name: Joachim.
Concierge: Joachim Schmitt, room two o six. I’ll connect you.
Katharina: Many thanks.
…
Concierge: I am sorry. Mr. Schmitt did not pick up. Do you want to leave a message?
Katharina: Yes. Please tell him that Katherine called, and that he should call her back.
Concierge: I will let him know.
Katharina: Thank you!
Concierge: Have a nice day!
Grammar
When you run into a situation in Germany that you don’t understand, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for help. To review, here are the five basic question words once more
| wer | who |
| was | what |
| wann | when |
| wo | where |
| warum | why |
You can use these words not only to ask questions, as we learned in lesson six, but also to express your lack of knowledge on a subject. Let’s take the basic sentence: I don’t know ___ that is.
I German, you would simply add the appropriate question word into the slot, as such:
| Ich weiss nicht ____ das ist. | I don’t know ____ that is. |
| Ich weiss nicht wer das ist. | I don’t know who that is. |
| Ich weiss nicht was das ist. | I don’t know what that is. |
| Ich weiss nicht wann das/es ist. | I don’t know when that is. |
| Ich weiss nicht wo das/es ist. | I don’t know where that is. |
| Ich weiss nicht warum das so ist. | I don’t know why that is. |
Because the object in this sentence is a gender-neutral one, this sentence makes an excellent, easy to remember, all-purpose phrase that will serve you well no matter what you do.
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