One of the first phrases you learned in German was likely similar to the following: 

Hallo, mein Name ist Julia und ich komme aus Düsseldorf.

Hello, my name is Julia and I'm from Dusseldorf.

Caption 1, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Besuch

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Several German prepositions can be translated as "from," but when talking about the permanent fact of your country of origin or hometown, you will always use aus. 

There are instances, however, where von is used with the verb kommen to reference location. One is when you are talking about getting from place to place: 

Aber wie komme ich von Deutschland nach England oder Schottland?

But how do I get from Germany to England or Scotland?

Caption 16, Jenny: Reiseziele

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Wie komme ich von Stuttgart zum Europapark?

How do I get from Stuttgart to Europapark?

Caption 12, Reiseplanung: Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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Kannst du mir bitte den Weg erklären, wie ich von hier aus am besten zur Stadthalle komme?

Can you please explain to me the way to get to City Hall most easily from here?

Captions 31-32, Melanie und Thomas: treffen sich

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In these sentences, von is paired with the appropriate preposition for the place that follows. 

Another instance in which the preposition von is used is when a person has just been somewhere and expresses that they have come directly from that location. 

Ich komme gerade von der Agentur für Arbeit.

I have just come from the employment agency.

Caption 19, Nicos Weg: Weiterbildung

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One thing to be aware of is that there are also two separable verbs, davonkommen and auskommen, which have distinct meanings. In this case, what looks like a preposition is actually part of the verb. 

Ich weiß gar nicht, wie die Menschen früher ohne Kreditkarte ausgekommen sind.

I have no idea how people got by before without credit cards.

Caption 18, Kein Kredit: im Land der Klone

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Das heißt, so ein Verleumder kommt einfach ungeschoren davon?

That means such a slanderer easily comes away unscathed?

Caption 22, Die Pfefferkörner: Gerüchteküche

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Further Learning
After looking at these examples from Yabla German, create your own sentences or questions (one of each type!) to practice saying out loud. 

The verb holen itself most often means "to get" in the sense of "to retrieve" rather than "to receive." As you see below, there are also other uses:

Hast du die Butter für mich geholt?

Did you get the butter for me?

Caption 36, Deutsch mit Eylin - Pronomen

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An die Wasseroberfläche kommen sie nur, um Luft zu holen.

They only come to the water's surface to draw breath.

Caption 17, Evolution - Meeresbewohner

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However, holen is also the root of many other verbs, some of which are separable and some of which are inseparable. Let's take a look at those that are most commonly used: 

Non-separable verbs: (sich) erholen ("to recover," "to rest"), überholen ("to overtake," "to pass"), wiederholen ("to repeat")

Heute haben sich die weltweiten Bestände der Buckelwale weitestgehend erholt.

Today, the global populations of humpback whales have largely recovered.

Caption 50, Evolution - Meeresbewohner

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Ihr seid erst gleich schnell gefahren, aber dann hat es dich überholt?

You first drove at the same speed, but then it passed you?

Captions 17-18, Konjugation - Das Verb „fahren“

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Kannst du das bitte noch einmal wiederholen?

Can you please repeat that once again?

Caption 19, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 49: Mengen und Preise

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Separable verbs: abholen ("to pick up"), nachholen ("to make up"), einholen ("to catch up to")

Vielleicht ist es besser, wenn wir sie am Bahnhof abholen?

Maybe it's better if we pick her up at the train station?

Caption 49, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch

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Ein Mann möchte mit dreißig Jahren in Deutschland sein Abitur nachholen.

A man wants to make up his high school diploma in Germany at the age of thirty.

Caption 34, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest

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Ich hab gedacht, ich hab sie abgehängt Aber sie holt mich immer wieder ein.

I thought I'd left it behind But it keeps catching up with me.

Captions 1-2, AnnenMayKantereit - Ozean

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Further Learning
Look up the additional verbs aufholen, ausholen, rausholen, zurückholen, and dazuholen using a dictionary, then search for examples on Yabla German.

It has truly been a year of ups and downs, to the extent that it takes a pretty advanced vocabulary to describe what we're feeling sometimes. This week, we'd like to provide a list of some adjectives that are used to express both positive and negative emotions. 

The adjective aufgeregt in German describes a mixture of "excited" and "nervous," like before you do a presentation or go on a roller coaster. On the other hand, gespannt is used to describe a type of excitement more linked to curiosity or looking forward to something. Besorgt could be translated as "worried" or "concerned."

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Gleich geht's los, ein bisschen aufgeregt bin ich schon.

It will start momentarily, I am certainly a little bit nervous.

Caption 3, Deutsche Welle - Hin und weg - Best of Europa-Park!

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Ich bin mal gespannt, wie es klappt. Ich hoffe, es gefällt euch.

I am excited to see how it will go. I hope you like it.

Caption 41, Eva Croissant - Interview

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Ich bin ein bisschen besorgt, ob ich es zu der Wohnung von den beiden schaffe.

I'm a little bit worried as to whether I'll be able to make it to their apartment.

Caption 21, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch

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When something turns out well, your reaction may range from zufrieden ("pleased," "satisfied") to erstaunt ("astonished"), depending on whether the outcome was expected or not. 

Ich bin sehr zufrieden. Für diese gute Leistung geb ich dir eine Eins.

I'm very satisfied. I'll give you a "one" for this good performance.

Caption 51, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte - Bayern

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Eine Freundin von mir war schon einmal in der Hauptstadt Oslo und sie war begeistert.

A friend of mine was already in the capital, Oslo, once and she was thrilled.

Caption 11, Jenny - Reiseziele

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Die Menschen waren erstaunt über das, was sie sahen.

The people were astonished at what they saw.

Caption 63, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Des Kaisers neue Kleider

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Of course, many of us have had our share of difficult experiences this year and had to face their corresponding emotions:

Ich war total gestresst, weil mein Chef im Büro mich so genervt hat.

I was totally stressed out because my boss was really getting on my nerves at the office.

Caption 19, Konjugation - Das Verb „brauchen“

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Müde und erschöpft stand er schließlich vor ihrer Tür.

Tired and exhausted, he finally stood in front of their door.

Caption 20, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Büchse der Pandora

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Die Leute wären genauso enttäuscht und genauso deprimiert.

People would be just as disappointed and depressed.

Caption 55, Böhmermann - Wie geht man als Satiriker mit Rechtspopulismus um?

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Na ja, also, der Junge ist einfach schlichtweg überfordert mit dem Projekt.

Well... well, the boy is just completely overwhelmed by the project.

Caption 8, Mama arbeitet wieder - Die Trennung

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Völlig überwältigt stellt sie sich den vielen Fernsehkameras.

Completely overwhelmed, she faced the many television cameras.

Caption 41, Miss Germany 2011 - Auf High Heels zur Krone

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The hope is, of course, that we can generally find a balance and remain optimistic as the year comes to an end.

Ich versuche, optimistisch zu bleiben,

I am trying to stay optimistic,

aber ich habe das Gefühl, dass ich die Stelle nicht bekommen habe.

but I have the feeling that I didn't get the job.

Captions 4-5, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch

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Wart ihr sehr aufgeregt oder wart ihr ganz entspannt?

Were you very nervous or were you totally relaxed?

Caption 37, Modedesignerin Nina Hollein - Floria Prinzessin von Hessen

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Further Learning
There are many more adjectives you can look up on Yabla German, of course. You can start with erleichtert, froh, verärgert, verzweifelt, wütend, verängstigt, and zuversichtlich. Since adjectives and adverbs can often be identical in German, do not be surprised if you encounter these words being used as adverbs as well — it's a 2 for 1 deal! 

In German, you will see the adverb erst, along with its synonym zuerst, used to express "first" or "at first" and establish temporal order. 

Dazu müssen wir die Äpfel erst schälen.

For this, we first have to peel the apples.

Caption 21, Apfelpfannkuchen - mit Alina und Sabine

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Zuerst möchte ich euch das Wahrzeichen der Stadt vorstellen.

First, I would like to show you the town's landmark.

Caption 9, Jenny zeigt uns - den Speyerer Dom

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Ich muss sagen, ich hatte erst richtig viel Angst da oben im Flugzeug.

I must say, I was at first really afraid up there in the airplane.

Caption 13, Abenteuer und Sport - Fallschirmspringen

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However, erst is also used as an adverb to express that something didn't occur or will not occur until a particular moment. There isn't a precise English translation for this, but usually a phrase with "only" or "not until" is used. 

Also werden wir uns erst nächste Woche Montag entscheiden.

So, we won't decide until Monday of next week.

Caption 67, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch

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Ich bin gerade erst vor kurzem Veganerin geworden.

I've only just recently become a vegan.

Caption 28, Buchtipp - Aufregen für Fortgeschrittene

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Als Erstes and erstens generally are used when a series of steps is mentioned or at least implied. When erstens is used, zweitens (and possibly drittens) will generally follow, and als Erstes implies that there is a step that comes als Nächstes. 

Als Erstes suche ich mir einen Koffer aus.

First, I'm going to pick out a suitcase.

Caption 3, Christiane - fährt in den Urlaub

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Wo eine Parkscheibe vorgeschrieben ist,

Where a parking disk is required,

darf man erstens nur so lange parken, wie es auf dem Zusatzschild angegeben ist,

you should, first of all, only park as long as indicated on the additional sign,

und zweitens nur, wenn man die Parkscheibe auf die nächste volle halbe Stunde nach der Ankunft einstellt.

and secondly, only if you set the parking disk for the next full half hour after arrival.

Captions 18-20, Richter Alexander Hold - Richtig parken

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The adverb erst mal can be translated as "first," "first of all," "to begin with," or even "for now." 

Aber jetzt gehen wir erst mal zu deiner Tante.

But first let's go to your aunt's now.

Caption 22, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 23: Ich habe kein…

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Aber ich brauche erst mal nichts.

But I don't need anything for now.

Caption 47, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch

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One false friend to keep in mind is the adverb zunächst. Unlike als Nächstes, this word has nothing to do with "next" and actually also means "first" or "initially."

Wenn man sich sehr schlecht fühlt,

If you feel very badly,

geht man in der Regel zunächst einmal zum Arzt.

you generally first go to the doctor.

Caption 5, Eva erklärt - Gesundheit

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Ja, ich habe zunächst auf Werbemuster von Christina Hoffmann gewartet.

Yes, I was initially waiting for advertising samples from Christina Hoffmann.

Caption 16, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Further Learning
You can find many examples of all of these adverbs on Yabla German. When you see one, take note of where it is positioned in the phrase and consider whether any of the other adverbs above could also be used.  

In German, there are a number of prepositions that can be translated as "to" to express movement from one place to another: nach, zu, in, an, and auf. Often it is difficult to know which one to use in what context and with what type of place, and you simply have to memorize certain patterns. This week, let's begin with the preposition nach. 

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We use nach when the destination is a city, and also for most countries. However, there are some exceptions to this in which in is used with countries, for example, with die Türkei, die Schweiz, and die Vereinigten Staaten (As you may remember, some countries have genders in German). And keep in mind that the preposition in is used when the destination is die Stadt ("the city" or "the town") or das Dorf ("the village"). 

Ihre Nachkommen wanderten auch nach Italien und Österreich aus.

Their offspring also migrated  to Italy and Austria.

Caption 26, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten

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Er will in die Schweiz reisen. Schön, was noch?

He wants to travel to Switzerland. Nice, what else?

Caption 37, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Über jemanden sprechen

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Hi, ich bin Marie. Ich bin gerade mit Julia nach Berlin gezogen.

Hi, I'm Marie. I just moved to Berlin with Julia.

Caption 3, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch

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Eines Tages machte sich der Kaufmann auf den Weg in die Stadt, um Geld zu verdienen.

One day, the Merchant set out for town in order to earn some money.

Caption 9, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Schöne und das Biest

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Nach is also used for cardinal directions and with "left," "right," "up," and "down."

Es drehte sich nach links... -Und du? -und dann nach rechts.

He turned to the left... -And you? -and then to the right.

Caption 18, Meine Freundin Conni - Conni schläft im Kindergarten

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Der Russe dreht mit starken Kräften westlich der Düna nach Norden ein.

The Russians are turning west of the Daugava River towards the north with strong forces.

Caption 25, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944 

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Another rule: while we say "go/drive/come home" in English, the equivalent phrase in German has a preposition: nach Hause + verb.

Und als der Bär nach Hause kam, machten sie sich einen gemütlichen Abend.

And when the bear came home, they had a cozy evening.

Captions 37-38, Janoschs Traumstunde - Post für den Tiger

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Further Learning
We will cover the other prepositions used to express movement from one place to another in coming newsletters. Pay attention to how "to" is translated with various places and directions on Yabla German and stay tuned!