Reading · A1 · Text 26

Erdmännchen

56 words1 min read70% known at A1

Erdmännchen können bis zu dreimal pro Jahr Junge bekommen.
Meerkats can have young up to three times a year.
Sie wachsen etwa elf Wochen im Bauch der Mutter heran.
They develop in the mother's womb for about eleven weeks.
Die Augen und Ohren öffnen sie erst etwa zwei Wochen nach der Geburt.
They only open their eyes and ears about two weeks after birth.
Zwei Monate lang saugen sie Milch bei ihrer Mutter.
They suckle milk from their mother for two months.
Nach etwa einem Jahr können sie selber Junge bekommen.
After about a year, they can have their own young.
Erdmännchen werden etwa sechs Jahre alt.
Meerkats live to be about six years old.

11 words above A1

Erdmännchen← das Erdmännchen

meerkat Plural: die Erdmännchen (same)

bekommen

to get, to have (babies) Strong verb: bekommt, bekam, bekommen; 'Junge bekommen' = to give birth to young

Geburt← die Geburt

birth Plural: die Geburten

wachsen

to grow Strong verb: wächst, wuchs, ist gewachsen; in this text used with 'heran' = heranwachsen (to grow up)

saugen

to suck, to nurse (milk) Irregular: saugt, sog/saugte, gesogen/gesaugt; 'Milch saugen' = to drink milk

lang

for (a period of time) Used after a time expression to indicate duration, e.g. 'zwei Wochen lang' = for two weeks long; lengthy (in space or time); tall; many (indicating the length of the time in total) A2/laŋ(k)/

etwa

about, approximately

pro

per, for each Used with time periods: pro Jahr = per year

selber

themselves Same as 'selbst'; emphasizes the subject

dreimal

three times Compound of drei (three) + mal (times)

heran

up (separable prefix) Separable prefix of 'heranwachsen'; in the text it appears at the end of the sentence

Grammar in this text

Modal verb with infinitive at the end

Erdmännchen können bis zu dreimal pro Jahr Junge bekommen.

The modal verb 'können' is conjugated in second position, and the main verb 'bekommen' appears as an infinitive at the end of the sentence.

Separable verb in present tense

Sie wachsen etwa elf Wochen im Bauch der Mutter heran.

The verb 'heranwachsen' is separable: the prefix 'heran' goes to the end of the sentence, while the finite part 'wachsen' is conjugated in the second position.

Duration with 'lang'

Zwei Monate lang saugen sie Milch bei ihrer Mutter.

A period of time followed by 'lang' means 'for that period', indicating how long an action lasts.

Temporal preposition 'nach' + Dativ

Nach etwa einem Jahr können sie selber Junge bekommen.

'nach' means 'after' when used temporally and is always followed by the dative case, e.g. 'einem Jahr' (dative of 'ein Jahr').

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Text from Erdmännchen — Klexikon, used under CC BY-SA 4.0. See sources.

Translation, glossary and grammar notes are machine-generated and inherit the same licence.