Reading · B1 · Text 11

Gewissen

62 words1 min read98% known at B1

Ganz kleine Kinder haben noch kein Gewissen.
Very young children do not yet have a conscience.
Sie müssen noch lernen, was Gut und Böse bedeutet und was am Bösen schlimm ist.
They still have to learn what good and evil mean and what is bad about evil.
Allerdings gibt es Leute, die es nie lernen.
However, there are people who never learn it.
Sie kennen den Unterschied von Gut und Böse nicht oder es macht ihnen nichts aus, Schlechtes zu tun.
They do not know the difference between good and evil, or they do not care about doing bad things.
Es kann sein, dass das an ihrem Gehirn liegt, dass sie also krank sind.
It may be that it is due to their brain, that they are sick.

13 words above B1

Gewissen

conscience no plural conscience (moral sense or faculty) B1/ɡəˈvɪsən/

Böse

evil (as a concept) nominalized adjective, no plural evil; malicious; wicked; bad; naughty; mean, dark (of jokes, satire, tricks, etc.) A2/ˈbøːzə/

schlimm

bad, terrible bad, terrible, serious (seriously bad), dire, horrible, awful; hurting, ill, infected; badly, severely A2/ʃlɪm/

Allerdings← allerdings

however, though but, however; indeed! A1/ˈʔalɐdɪŋs/

Unterschied

difference plural: die Unterschiede A2/ˈʔʊntɐˌʃiːt/

Schlechtes← das Schlechte

bad things, wrong nominalized adjective, no plural

Gehirn

brain plural: die Gehirne B1/ɡəˈhɪʁn/

krank

sick, ill ill, sick (in bad health); sick, morally or mentally degenerate; very interesting or unusual (in the positive or negative); sick A1/kʁaŋk/

bedeutet← bedeuten

means bedeuten, bedeutete, hat bedeutet to imply, to mean, to signify, to indicate, to spell, to betoken; to have meaning, to be important to some degree (to a person); to signify, to… A1/bəˈdɔɪ̯tn̩/

macht ... aus← ausmachen

to matter, to bother separable verb: ausmachen, machte aus, hat ausgemacht to turn off, switch off; to put out, to extinguish; to agree (to), to settle on ; to schedule, to make (an appointment) A2/ˈʔaʊ̯smaxn̩/

liegt← liegen

is due to, lies in liegen, lag, hat gelegen to lie (to be in a horizontal position); to lie down; to be, to lie somewhere (of flat objects, also of inpatients in a hospital; otherwise use… A2/ˈliːɡən/

lernen

to learn regular verb to learn, to acquire knowledge; to study (revise or review materials); to train to become something A1/ˈlɛrnən/

kennen

to know kennen, kannte, hat gekannt to know; to be acquainted with; to be familiar with A1/ˈkɛnən/

Grammar in this text

Subordinate clause with 'was' as relative pronoun

was Gut und Böse bedeutet

The relative pronoun 'was' introduces a subordinate clause referring to an entire idea or indefinite thing. The verb goes to the end.

Subordinate clause with 'dass'

dass das an ihrem Gehirn liegt

The conjunction 'dass' introduces a subordinate clause. The finite verb is placed at the end of the clause.

Infinitive with 'zu' after 'haben'

Sie müssen noch lernen, was Gut und Böse bedeutet

The verb 'lernen' is used with an infinitive clause introduced by 'was' (indirect question). Note the comma and the verb-final order in the subordinate clause.

Separable verb in main clause

es macht ihnen nichts aus

The separable verb 'ausmachen' is split: the prefix 'aus' goes to the end of the main clause, while the conjugated part 'macht' stays in second position.

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Same text, graded forA2 version B2 version

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

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