Go to the homepage of our German Course Chapter 8: Telephone Calls University of Portsmouth
8.1 Calling the doctor (1) Includes sound files!

Click here to listen to the conversation!In the following conversation, Anna Müller tries to make an appointment with the doctor by phone. Pay particular attention to how they express the words for times. You can listen to her conversation by clicking here or on the sound icon at the top of this paragraph.

From now on we will also be giving you translations of our conversation passages. Only use it if you really get stuck. Click here for a translation of the passage:

Anna Müller Telephone Frau Krug

Anna Müller Guten Morgen, Frau Müller am Apparat. Hat die Frau Doktor Weber einen Termin frei?
Frau Krug Ja, natürlich, Frau Müller. Um 10.20 Uhr haben wir einen Termin frei, oder zehn Minuten später um halb elf. Ist das in Ordnung?
Anna Müller Wie spät ist es jetzt?
Frau Krug Es ist zehn Uhr fünf.
Anna Müller Nein, das schaffe ich nicht. Haben sie einen späteren Termin frei?
Frau Krug Der nächste ist um 11.00 Uhr. Ist Ihnen das Recht?
Anna Müller Um 11:00 Uhr? Ja, da kann ich. Vielen Dank, auf Wiederhören.
Frau Krug Auf Wiederhören.
  Click here for a translation.

Telephone

der Termin (-e)  appointment 
die Ärztin (-innen)  This is the word to describe the profession of "doctor". The masculine is "der Arzt" (pl. - Ärzte). When you are using "doctor" in connection with a name, you would use the word "der Doktor" regardless of gender - i.e. Frau Doktor Weber. 
Hat (sie) einen Termin frei?  "Does she have a vacant appointment?". The word "frei" literally means "free".
natürlich  of course
um 10.20 Uhr  "At 10.20". Note that this is said "um zehn Uhr zwanzig", although "Uhr" actually follows "zwanzig" when it is written.
später  later
um halb elf "At half-past ten". Literally: "half (to) eleven".
ist das in Ordnung?  Is that OK?
schaffen  to do; manage
das schaffe ich nicht  I can't make that
ein späterer Termin  "A later appointment". The comparative of the adjective also takes adjective endings. This will be discussed in more detail later.
der nächste  "The next one", as in the next appointment. As "der Termin" is a masculine noun, the gender of the definite pronoun will also be masculine.
um 11.00 Uhr  Spoken = "um elf Uhr" - "at 11 o'clock".
ist Ihnen das Recht?  Is that all right for you?
da kann ich  "I can manage that". The verb for "manage" can be omitted after the modal verb "können"
auf Wiederhören  goodbye (on phone)

Weiter! Chapter 8.2: Conversation - Calling the doctor (2)


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