Vocab: Plants — B2

Plants vocabulary at B2 level.

Maskulin Feminin Neutrum Plural

der Feldahorn — field maple

Der Feldahorn is a tree species; it is not simply any maple growing in a field. The compound combines Feld, field, with Ahorn, maple.

Der Feldahorn wächst schnell.

The field maple grows quickly.

wächst schnell means grows quickly. Der Feldahorn is nominative because it is the subject, and the finite verb wächst stands in position two.

Wir pflanzen einen Feldahorn.

We are planting a field maple.

pflanzen means plant, and einen means a in the masculine accusative. Einen Feldahorn is accusative because pflanzen takes an accusative object.

In dem Feldahorn leben viele Insekten.

Many insects live in the field maple.

in dem Feldahorn means in the field maple, and viele Insekten means many insects. In takes dative for a location, so dem Feldahorn is dative; the verb leben is in position two.

Die Blätter des Feldahorns sind gelb.

The leaves of the field maple are yellow.

die Blätter means the leaves, and gelb means yellow. Des Feldahorns is genitive to show which tree the leaves belong to, and this masculine noun adds -s.

Die Feldahorne verlieren im Herbst ihre Blätter.

The field maples lose their leaves in autumn.

verlieren means lose, im Herbst means in autumn, and ihre Blätter means their leaves. Die Feldahorne is the plural subject, while ihre Blätter is an accusative object after verlieren.

das Schwammerl — mushroom

This is an Austrian and southern German word; standard German usually uses der Pilz. Schwammerl is often used when talking about collecting or cooking wild mushrooms.

Im Wald wächst ein Schwammerl neben dem Baum.

A mushroom is growing next to the tree in the forest.

der Wald means forest, wächst means is growing, neben means next to, and der Baum means tree. Ein Schwammerl is nominative because it is the subject, and the finite verb wächst stands in position two.

Ich sehe ein Schwammerl unter den Blättern.

I see a mushroom under the leaves.

sehen means to see, unter means under, and die Blätter means the leaves. Ein Schwammerl is accusative because sehen takes a direct object, while unter den Blättern is dative because it describes a fixed location.

Ich gebe dem Schwammerl noch etwas Zeit zum Wachsen.

I give the mushroom a little more time to grow.

geben means to give, noch etwas Zeit means a little more time, and wachsen means to grow. Dem Schwammerl is dative because it is the recipient of geben, and the direct object is Zeit.

Die Farbe des Schwammerls ist ungewöhnlich.

The mushroom’s colour is unusual.

die Farbe means colour and ungewöhnlich means unusual. Des Schwammerls is genitive because it shows whose colour it is; the genitive ending -s is added to the noun.

Auf dem Markt liegen frische Schwammerl.

Fresh mushrooms are lying at the market.

auf dem Markt means at the market, liegen means are lying, and frisch means fresh. Schwammerl has the same form in the plural, but frische and the article-free context show that it means more than one mushroom.