As we discussed in Part 1, it's only natural that you'll think in English when you begin to learn German. But the number one mistake made by beginners is thinking too literally and translating word-for-word. As you progress you need to start to "think German" more and more. Even beginners can learn to "think" in German phrases at an early stage. If you keep using English as a crutch, always translating from English to German, you're doing something wrong. You don't really know German until you start to "hear" it in your head! German doesn't always put things together like English. - A related problem could be called "The Misuse of the English-German Dictionary." Don't just take the first word you find. See our dictionary tips below for more.
HELP > How to Use a Dictionary | Learning Tips
German Mistake 2: Gender
While languages such as French, Italian, or Spanish are content to have just two genders for nouns, German has three! Since every noun in German is either der, die, or das, you need to learn each noun with its gender. Using the wrong gender not only makes you sound stupid, it also can cause changes in meaning. Yes, I know it's aggravating that any six-year-old in Germany can rattle off the gender of any common noun, but that's the way it is. But there are ways to predict the gender of many nouns in German, as we point out in "Gender Hints" below.
HELP > Gender Hints
German Mistake 3: Case
If you don't understand what the "nominative" case is in English, or what a direct or indirect object is, then you're going to have problems with case in German. Case is usually indicated in German by "inflection": putting different endings on articles and adjectives. When der changes to den or dem, it does so for a reason. That reason is the same one that makes the pronoun "he" change to "him" in English (or er to ihn in German). Not using the correct case is very likely to confuse people a lot!
HELP > The Four Cases in German
German Mistake 4: Word Order
Another term for "word order" is syntax. German syntax is more flexible than English syntax and depends more on case (see Mistake 3) and case endings for clarity. In German, the subject may not always come first in a sentence. In subordinate (dependent) clauses, the conjugated verb may be at the end of the clause.
HELP > Word Order in German | German Subordinating Conjunctions
German Mistake 5: 'Sie' and 'du'
Almost every language in the world—besides English—has at least two kinds of "you": one for formal use, the other for familiar use. English once had this distinction ("thou" and "thee" are related to German "du"), but for some reason it now uses only one form of "you" for all situations. This means that English-speakers often have problems learning to use Sie (formal) and du/ihr (familiar). The problem extends to verb conjugation and command forms, which are also different in Sie and du situations.
HELP > Sie und du (You and thou) | Pronouns: Lesson 2 of German for Beginners
NEXT > More mistakes that beginners make in German: Mistakes 6-10
MORE > Learning Tips for German