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Translations of der Gang

Not too long ago, we sent out a lesson on homographs, which are words that are spelled the same and sound the same, but have different meanings. You could also say that it's when one word has various definitions. Anyway, the noun der Gang falls into this category.

 

One translation of der Gang is "the course," as in a course of events, or the way something happens.

 

Hier geht alles seinen ruhigen Gang.

Here, everything runs its quiet course.

Caption 21, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen - Part 9

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Just as a course can also refer to part of a meal in English, Germans say der erste Gang for the first course (though probably more often die Vorspeise / "the appetizer") and der Hauptgang for the main course.

 

Und da kommt auch schon der nächste Gang.

And here comes the next course already.

Caption 18, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen - Part 5

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Now it's time to shift into high gear, for which we can also use der Gang, as it is used to refer to a gear that you would shift into on a bicycle or in a car. Unlike in English, it does NOT refer to a gear in a wristwatch, which is das Zahnrad (die Zahnräder as a plural noun).

 

Dann legen wir den ersten Gang ein.

Then we shift into first gear.

Caption 17, Fahrschule - Wie man die Kupplung bedient

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Here you can see how der Gang is used to refer to someone's gait or the act of doing a walkthrough.

 

Es gibt ja viele Frauen, die...

There are many women that....

ja, ihren Gang auch ein bisschen verbessern können.

yes, can also improve their walk a little bit.

Caption 15, Auf dem Laufsteg - Modelcollege in Wiesbaden

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... deshalb schwingt bei einem Gang durch das Museum auch viel Nostalgie mit.

... therefore a tour through the museum also resonates with a lot of nostalgia.

Caption 23, Flipperautomaten - Kunstwerke für flinke Kugeln

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And then there's the very common translation of der Gang as a hallway or corridor:

 

Der rechte Gang und dann ganz hinten links.

The right hallway and then all the way in the back on the left.

Caption 18, Mein Weg nach Deutschland - Auf Arbeitssuche

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Further Learning
You'll find many instances of der Gang used on Yabla German, but why not also try to formulate your own sentences?

German Expressions of Frequency

In addition to adverbs of indefinite frequency, such as oft or häufig, and adverbs of definite frequency, such as täglich or morgens, there are also expressions for talking about how often something occurs. In English, we often say that something happens "once a month" or "every other week." How do we express this in German? 

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You likely know the phrase jeden Tag, or "every day." But do you know how to say "every other day"?

 

Dazu gehört auch, dass den Jungvögeln jeden zweiten Tag ein Tisch mit Knochen gedeckt wird.

This also means that every other day, a table is set with bones for the young birds.

Caption 29, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen 1

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You can say jede zweite Woche for "every other week," but generally something happening at particular intervals will be expressed with alle and not jede zweite. Take a look:

 

Die Bergbahn fährt alle zwanzig Minuten hoch zum Königstuhl

The mountain railway goes up to the Königstuhl every twenty minutes

und alle zehn Minuten zurück runter in die Innenstadt.

and back down to the city center every ten minutes.

Captions 12-13, Jenny zeigt uns - Das Heidelberger Schloss

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Bei warmen Temperaturen gebären sie

In warm temperatures, they give birth to

alle acht bis zehn Tage dreißig bis vierzig Jungtiere.

thirty to forty young every eight to ten days.

Caption 14, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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Wir finden hier alle vier Wochen eine Schildkröte.

We find a turtle here every four weeks.

Caption 42, Ausgrabungen - Auf den Spuren der Dinosaurier

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Das Projekt „Lunch Beat“ besteht in Hamburg seit dem vergangenen Sommer

The project "Lunch Beat" has existed in Hamburg since last summer

und findet in unregelmäßigen Abständen alle zwei bis drei Monate statt.

and takes place at irregular intervals every two to three months.

Captions 9-10, Lunch Beat - Tanzen in der Mittagspause

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To more specifically state that something happens "once" in a particular time interval, we can use the word einmal in + dative.

 

Das tue ich für gewöhnlich einmal in der Woche.

I typically do it once a week.

Caption 2, Wäsche waschen - mit Eva

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Einmal in der Woche trainiert Astrid Bittner-Utsch Frauen und Männer,

Once a week, Astrid Bittner-Utsch trains women and men

die ihrem Traumberuf ein Stück näher kommen wollen.

who want to get a little bit closer to their dream profession.

Captions 9-10, Auf dem Laufsteg - Modelcollege in Wiesbaden

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Leon, wieso? -Einmal im Jahr gibt es diese Mathe-Olympiade.

Leon, why? -Once a year, the Math Olympics take place.

Caption 20, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche

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Further Learning
Based on what you see above, how do you express "once a month"? What about "every five days" or "every five years"? Can you find another way to say "every other day"? For more practice, you can go to Yabla German to look for more examples, or translate some basic sentences about your current routine into German. 

Sentences with je... desto... and je... umso...

In English, we would say "the more you practice, the better you will speak German." In German, these types of parallel comparatives are called Proportionalsätze, and are constructed as follows:

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Je + comparative adjective (phrase)desto or umso + comparative adjective (phrase).

 

Take a look at the examples below, paying special attention to the positions of the adjectives (or the words mehr or weniger) and the verbs in both clauses. 

 

Und je positiver das ausfällt, desto motivierender.

And the more positive that is, the more motivational.

Caption 65, Gamification - Wie Spielen den Alltag interessanter macht

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Je niedriger die Regionalklasse, desto günstiger wirkt sich das auf den Versicherungsbeitrag aus.

The lower the regional classification, the cheaper it makes the insurance payment.

Captions 10-11, Kfz-Versicherung - Was ist die Regionalklasse?

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Denn je kälter es wird, desto weniger Zeit dürfen sie draußen sein.

Because the colder it gets, the less time they're allowed to be outside.

Caption 4, Im Zoo - Tiere im Winter

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Je mehr Energie ich spare, desto weniger muss ich auch jagen. So einfach ist das.

The more energy I save, the less I have to hunt. It's that simple.

Caption 17, Für Tierfreunde - Geparden

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Ja, und je braver wir zum Hund sind, desto mehr macht er, was er will.

Yes, and the nicer we are to the dog, the more he does just what he wants.

Caption 25, Haustiere als Geschenk? - Vier Pfoten unterm Weihnachtsbaum

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Often, you will see the word umso rather than desto

 

Aber je mehr uns davon gelingt, umso besser.

But the more it succeeds for us, the better.

Caption 31, Angela Merkel - beim Nachhaltigkeitsrat

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Je eleganter man wirkt, umso mehr wird man auch anerkannt... gesellschaftlich, beruflich...

The more elegant one appears, the more one is also accepted... socially, professionally...

Caption 42, Auf dem Laufsteg - Modelcollege in Wiesbaden

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Further Learning
Based on the structures you see above, make up your own sentences with je and desto umso. If you need some comparative adjectives to get you started, you can find a few helpful tables on this page. You can also visit Yabla German and look for further examples.