Exercises in German Syntax and Composition For Advanced Students

Excerpts from the Introduction.

A WORD of excuse may seem needed for adding another book on German composition to the large number already in existence. But we feel that the many such books issued during the last few years have all neglected to provide for one large class of students and one real need of language work. There are many excellent books dealing with what the Germans call Realien, or the facts and words of every-day life, but there are very few which give an advanced student the vocabulary necessary for the study of literature and literary criticism; there are various books for giving practice in the elementary rules and forms of German, there are practically none which deal systematically with more advanced German syntax. Now composition work based on Realien finds its proper place in the work of the first and second years, when the main object of instruction is to familiarize the pupil with the simple vocabulary of every-day conversation and the elementary forms of the language, but as soon as the study of the literature is begun, a different and wider vocabulary is needed. As all students of German, except in purely business courses, look forward to some study of the literature as one of the chief reasons for learning the language, there should be room for a book especially adapted to their needs.

The most valuable feature of this book is probably the series of exercises on German syntax which form the first part. These exercises are the result of an unsuccessful effort to find something to meet the needs of the authors' own classes at Vassar College. After the elementary study of the grammar, and of the simple exercises which accompany it, has been followed by some translation of simple English into German, and perhaps by some practice in freie Reproduktion, the student needs a thorough review of the principles of grammar and syntax and an opportunity for acquiring proficiency in more difficult constructions. Most of the larger grammars are provided with exercises intended to afford such opportunity, but these exercises consist generally of disconnected sentences, each illustrating one rule or construction, but without any effort to connect these sentences into a whole, or to build up vocabulary systematically — an aim of which the teacher of languages should never lose sight. Being unable to find what we wanted for such work with our own classes, we wrote this series of exercises, which have borne the test of two years' use in the class-room, and have proved to be thoroughly satisfactory. Each group of rules is taken up separately, and for each a specially prepared German model text is given, which illustrates the rules to be studied. On this text the English exercise is based. Each part of the exercise, German and English, forms in itself a consecutive whole, treating a subject of interest and value to the student. In each exercise the vocabulary is carefully planned to introduce new and valuable words and expressions, while fixing in the memory, by frequent repetition, those which have been given in the preceding lessons….

The second part consists of selections for translations from English into German, which are graded in difficulty. The subject-matter is also for the most part literary, and gives opportunity to use and enlarge the vocabulary already acquired. In some of the passages selected an occasional word or phrase has been altered (with the permission of the author), for the purpose of facilitating translation into German….

The third part contains suggestions for simple themes or papers in German based on such dramas and poems as are usually read in our schools and colleges. The first series consists of questions which may be answered in short themes of two or three pages; the second series gives suggestions for longer essays….