We use words like the ones above to add emphasis or clarification and generally aid the flow of conversation.

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The word eigentlich is both an adjective meaning "actual," "proper," or "real," and an adverb meaning "actually" or "in fact."

Also, die Seegrube ist eigentlich mein Lieblingsberg.

So, the Seegrube is actually my favorite mountain.

Caption 14, 48 h in Innsbruck: Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps

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Aber wie viele Legosteine eigentlich insgesamt?

But how many Lego bricks in total, actually?

Caption 4, 500 000 Legosteine Lübecker Museum zeigt Hansegeschichte

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Then there are in der Tat and tatsächlich, which both are used to emphasize that you are talking about how something really, truly is. 

Na, ob das Hotel Adlon tatsächlich so volksnah und zugänglich für jeden werden kann, das bleibt abzuwarten, denn hier schreibt man Luxus ganz groß.

Well, whether the Hotel Adlon can in fact become so casual and accessible for everyone, this remains to be seen, for here "luxury" is written in capital letters [idiom: extremely important].

Captions 20-21, Berlin: Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung

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Ich bin Linkshänderin aufm Tennisplatz, aber ansonsten bin ich tatsächlich Rechtshänderin.

I'm left-handed on the tennis court, but otherwise I'm actually right-handed.

Captions 15-16, Angelique Kerber: Generali fragt Angelique Kerber #2 | Ist Angie Frühaufsteherin?

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Nun, Sie scheinen sehr selbstbewusst zu sein, in der Tat.

Well, you seem to be very confident indeed.

Caption 33, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

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Die irischen Nationalisten denken in der Tat schon über eine Wiedervereinigung mit Irland nach.

The Irish nationalists are, in fact, already thinking about a reunification with Ireland.

Captions 16-17, BREXIT - Briten für EU-Ausstieg: Politisches Erdbeben in Europa

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The word zwar is also used for emphasis: 

Und zwar haben wir mega viele Skateparks bekommen, hier zum Beispiel die Zoobrücke.

And we did, in fact, get a mega ton of skate parks, like the Zoobrücke [Zoo Bridge] here, for example.

Captions 29-30, #180sec Köln Aggressive Inline-Skating

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One thing to watch out for is the adjective aktuell, which has nothing to do with "actually," but means "current." You'll find this in our previous lessons about false friends.

Further Learning
Try to write your own sentences with tatsächlich, in der Tat, zwar, and eigentlich. You'll find many reference examples on Yabla German.

You may know one or both of the words in the title above: der Mut means "the courage" and mutig means "courageous" or "brave." However, there are many nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that contain these words as roots, some of which have nothing to do with courage. Let's have a look.

As you can see, nouns ending in -mut may refer to a mood, emotional state, or feeling:

Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall.

Pride comes before the fall. 

Caption 24, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter

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Was bei vielen Autofahrern für Freude sorgt,

What causes happiness among many drivers,

stiftet Unmut bei den Grünen.

causes discontent among the Greens [Green Party].

Caption 19, Deutsche Autobahnen - Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzungen

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Die Queen residierte hier bereits und Michael Jackson

The Queen resided here already and Michael Jackson

hielt im Übermut sein Baby aus einem Hotelfenster.

held his baby boisterously out of a hotel window.

Captions 24-25, Berlin - Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung

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...in spektakulärer Anmut auf die Wasseroberfläche zu klatschen.

...to smack against the surface of the water with spectacular grace.

Caption 8, Evolution - Meeresbewohner

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Notice above that der Hochmut, der Übermut, and der Unmut are masculine, while die Anmut is feminine. You can also look up der Wagemut, der Missmut, die Sanftmut, and die Schwermut. For der Demut, you may more often see the related adjective (note the umlaut!):

Es war jedenfalls demütigend genug.

In any case, it was humiliating enough.

Caption 20, Lerchenberg - Das Wunder

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It's additionally good to know the adjectives ermutigend and entmutigend. These respectively mean "encouraging" and "discouraging."

When it comes to verbs, you may have seen zumuten, vermuten, and anmuten. These verbs each have a number of possible meanings.

Man vermutet, hier ist irgendwas in der Lüftung vom Willy-Brandt-Haus.

One suspects there is something in the ventilation here in the Willy-Brandt-Haus.

Caption 75, heute-show - Die männliche Merkel hat Erinnerungslücken

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Traditionen sind was Schönes

Traditions are something nice

und können für Nichteingeweihte mitunter ganz schön skurril anmuten.

and can occasionally appear quite bizarre to the outsider.

Captions 1-2, Barfuß unter Schafen - Schäferwettrennen

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Petrus muss Dortmund-Fan sein, anders ist kaum zu erklären,

Saint Peter must be a Dortmund fan, there's almost no other explanation

was der Himmel dem FC Bayern und seinen Fans zugemutet hat.

for what the heavens had in store for FC Bayern and its fans.

Captions 1-2, FC Bayern München - Triple-Feier im Dauerregen

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Further Learning
Look up these words using your favorite online dictionary or on Yabla German to understand the full extent of their meanings. Keep in mind that there are other nouns ending in -mut that are unrelated to emotional states, such as das Mammut or der Wermut.

One thing you may have quickly noticed when you began learning German is that all German nouns are capitalized. In English, it is only proper nouns that begin with a capital letter, with the exception of common nouns that are the very first word in a sentence. In German, nouns are always capitalized, regardless of gender, case, or position in the sentence. 

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Let’s take a look. In the following sentence, notice how the first word of each sentence and the proper noun "Munich" are capitalized in both languages. In German, however, the nouns die Bahn, die Stunden, and eine Verbindung also begin with a capital letter.

Aber auch die Bahn bietet alle zwei Stunden eine Verbindung von München an.

But also the train offers a connection from Munich every two hours.

Caption 22, 48 h in Innsbruck - Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps

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Capitalization can be especially helpful with verbs that often moonlight as nouns, such as das Schwimmen, das Tanzen, das Gehen, or das Schreiben. They are easy to identify as such because they then begin with a capital letter.

„Hm, das soll Wandern sein?“, wunderte sich Piggeldy. „So laufen wir doch jeden Tag umher.“

"Hm, this is supposed to be hiking?" Piggeldy asked. "We walk around like this every day, after all."

Captions 11-12, Piggeldy und Frederick - Das Wandern

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Note in this next sentence that jemanden and der are not capitalized. Unlike nouns, pronouns do not begin with a capital letter (das is capitalized, of course, because it is the first word in the sentence). Both nouns in eine Tasse Kaffee are capitalized, however, as is die Lobby.

Das ist wirklich genauso, äh, für jemand [jemanden], der vielleicht nur mal auf eine Tasse Kaffee bei uns in der schönen Lobby sitzen möchte...

It's really precisely the same, uh, for each person who, perhaps, would just like to sit for a cup of coffee with us in the beautiful lobby...

Captions 16-17, Berlin - Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung

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Die Lobby brings us to another point. In the next sentence, even though das Team is a noun adopted from English, it is capitalized in German. 

Das Team bereitet sich auf den gemeinsamen Tauchgang vor.

The team prepares for the joint dive.

Caption 50, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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Further Learning
So when did die Großschreibung develop? As early as the 14th century, capitalized nouns can be found in religious texts, but it wasn't officially implemented until the 17th century. For advanced learners, here is a text about it in German. Otherwise, you can choose any video on Yabla German and pay special attention to the nouns and their capitalization while you watch it.

Have you ever noticed that the adverb persönlich in German has three possible translations in English? Let's take a look. 

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As you would expect, it can mean "personally":
 

Mir ist es persönlich 'ne Herzensangelegenheit.

For me personally, it's a matter that's near and dear to my heart.

Caption 12, Berlin - Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung

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Sometimes it has more or less this meaning, but is better translated as "he himself" or "she herself":
 

Nein, er hat tatsächlich auf meinem, äh, Telefonapparat angerufen. -Persönlich?

No, he actually called me on my, uh, telephone. -Himself?

Caption 6, 3nach9 - Ehrlich Brothers - Show-Magier - Part 1

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Reisen, vielleicht sogar mit Niki Lauda persönlich als Piloten [sic, Pilot]

Traveling, perhaps even with Niki Lauda himself as pilot

– ab Frankfurt ist das möglich, dreimal täglich, morgens, mittags und abends.

— it's possible from Frankfurt three times a day, in the morning, at midday and in the evening.

Captions 58-59, Fluglinien - Niki Air

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You may also sometimes see the word höchstpersönlich, which can be used to emphasize that a task or appearance won't be delegated to another person. 

However, persönlich can also mean "in person":

War ja... Wir haben... wir haben ihn zum ersten Mal auch persönlich kennenlernen dürfen.

It was indeed... We were... we were also allowed to meet him in person for the first time.

Caption 32, 3nach9 - Ehrlich Brothers - Show-Magier - Part 2

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Das kann man entweder persönlich tun in einer Filiale oder online.

You can do that either in person at a branch or online.

Caption 14, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten

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One thing to remember: persönlich does not mean "personable"! This would be sympathisch or freundlich. 
 

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Further Learning
Search for more examples on Yabla German and try out a few sentences of your own in which you use persönlich to talk about your personal experiences, preferences, and opinions, or to talk about something you will do yourself or in person. 

In a previous newsletter, we outlined the difference between wann, wenn, and als. This week, we'll take a look at wann and wenn in the context of the words listed above, which tend to be a bit confusing for beginners. 

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Wann is a question word, like was or wie. It is concerned with at what point in time something will happen, but not if it will happen. 

Wann werden Sie diesen Flughafen eröffnen können?

When will you be able to open this airport?

Caption 28, Berlins regierender Bürgermeister - Pläne für 2014

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Genau, ja, wir schauen grad, wann der perfekte Zeitpunkt ist.

Exactly, yes, we are looking right now when the perfect time would be.

Caption 40, Wincent Weiss & Benni Freibott - Musik sein

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The word wenn can be confusing, because it can be translated as “if,” but also as “when” or “whenever.” 

Wenn man die Augen schließt und an Berlin denkt, was sieht man da?

If you close your eyes and think about Berlin, what do you see there?

Caption 1, Berlin - Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung

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Wenn schon so starker Schneefall ist, dann muss man die Zeit eigentlich optimal nutzen.

When there is such heavy snowfall, then you actually have to use your time optimally.

Caption 30, 48 h in Innsbruck - Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps

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The word ob means "whether," but is also translated as "if." It is generally used in sentences that involve two options or a question that could be answered with "no" just as easily as "yes."

Ich bin mir aber nicht sicher, ob das Eurem Vater gefällt.

But I'm not sure if your father will like that.

Caption 12, Das Märchen von der Prinzessin - die unbedingt in einem Märchen vorkommen wollte

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Ich möchte schauen, ob ihr die Regeln verstanden habt.

I want to see whether you have understood the rules.

Caption 63, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Trennbare Verben und Wortstellung

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Falls also means "if," but, unlike wenn, can only be used with the conditional type I and not conditional type II or III. It is also often translated as "in case." 

Ähm, falls Ihre Schwester trockene Haut hat, wär' des [das] ganz toll. -OK, super.

Um, if your sister has dry skin, that would be totally great. -OK, super.

Captions 35-36, Rhein-Main-TV - Eva Padberg beim Weihnachtseinkauf

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Natürlich auch einen warmen Pulli, falls es kalt wird.

Of course, also a warm pullover, in case it gets cold.

Caption 9, Christiane - fährt in den Urlaub

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Further Learning
To review the types of conditional sentences in English (mentioned above), take a look at this website. A newsletter on creating conditional sentences in German is forthcoming, so it's a good way to prepare! When you watch videos on Yabla German, note how wenn, ob, and falls are translated. Consider whether the word used could be swapped out for one of the others, and why or why not. 

You are already familiar with adjectival possessive pronouns: instead of saying "the man's black hat" you may say "his black hat," etc. The main German singular possessive pronouns are ihr and sein, usually translated as "his" and "her."

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In German, der Mann is a grammatically masculine noun, but in any language, a man is naturally masculine too: he is the male of the species. The same rule applies to die Frau: grammatically feminine in German, but naturally female. Thus, the possessive pronoun for der Mann is sein (his) and the possessive pronoun for die Frau is ihr (her), and it follows that the grammatical genders and natural genders are matching in these cases: 

Michael Jackson hielt im Übermut sein Baby aus einem Hotelfenster.

Michael Jackson held his baby boisterously out of a hotel window.

Captions 24-25, Berlin - Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung

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Astrid North hat ihr neues Album in Eigenregie produziert.

Astrid North has self-produced her new album.

Caption 28, Astrid North - Solo-Debüt

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The possessive pronoun of any grammatically masculine German noun is also masculine, just as any feminine noun takes a feminine pronoun. However, English does not translate the gender-specific sein and ihr respectively to "his" and "her" when referring to non-animate objects and many animals, but uses the gender-neutral "its" instead: 

… anhand eines massiven Sterns, der sein Leben aushauchte.

… based on a massive star which exhaled its last breath.

Captions 23-24, Unser Universum - Sternengeburt - Das Leben nach dem stellaren Tod

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Die Nordsee. Sieben Länder teilen sich ihre Küsten.

The North Sea: Seven countries share its coastlines.

Caption 10, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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As you see above, non-animate nouns follow their gender equivalents in German, but in English both are translated as "its" rather than "his" or "her." But how does German deal with pronouns of neuter nouns? 

Für jeden von uns bringt das neue Jahr seine ganz eigenen Herausforderungen mit sich.

For each one of us, the New Year brings its own very [unique] challenges with it.

Caption 2, Angela Merkel - Neujahrsansprache

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Im Wechsel der Gezeiten verändert das Watt ständig sein Gesicht.

With changing tides, the intertidal zone is continuously altering its appearance.

Caption 10, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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As you see in the examples above, German does not have a unique possessive pronoun for neuter nouns, but instead reverts to the masculine pronoun sein. This can lead to the rather odd situation of a grammatically neuter pronoun such as das Mädchen—which is naturally feminine in that "the girl" is a female of the species—taking the masculine pronoun sein: 

Schnell nahm das Mädchen ein neues Streichholz in seine zitternden Hände.

The girl quickly took a new match in her trembling hands.

Caption 37, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Das kleine Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern

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As you see, seine was translated to "her"—not "his"—in this case, because only "her" is correct in English. Although it is formally correct to use sein for das Mädchen, it is very common to see feminine pronouns such as ihr used for grammatically neuter but naturally feminine figures. In fact, in the video quoted above, every single pronoun reference to das Mädchen actually used grammatically incorrect feminine pronouns! So while it is good to be conscious of this rule, it won't sound unnatural if the occasional Mädchen winds up as ihr in your German!

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Further Learning
Look on Yabla German for the possessive pronouns sein and ihr being used in a real-world context, and take a look at this previous Yabla lesson about possessive pronouns.