Radio D Series 1 | Learning German | Deutsche Welle

It's a sad day in the Radio D office. Ayhan is saying goodbye and moving back to Turkey. Although his co-workers have prepared a surprise for him, the farewell party can't lift the blue mood.

Paula comes to work in the morning to find everyone is preparing for a party. But she doesn't like the occasion at all: Ayhan is leaving Radio D and going back to Turkey to help his father. To say goodbye, his co-workers have prepared a little speech and a gift to remind him of his friend Eulalia.

In honor of the farewell party, the professor leaves out the grammar portion. But he still manages to get in a few words about noun compounds.

The journalists try to understand the term "getürkt" and visit an unusual port where every ship is greeted in a particular way.At Port Willkomm-Höft, each ship is greeted with the national anthem of the country whose flag it's flying under. In their radio play, Paula and Philipp examine the origins of this tradition -- which may be associated with the meaning of the word "getürkt." Meanwhile, Ayhan kills time at the office by reading a book about owls.

Since Eulalia can't read, Ayhan reads to her. This episode focuses on verb prefixes and the ways a verb's meaning can change when its prefix is altered.

Eulalia the owl helps get Paula and Philipp on the right track. They discover that their co-workers from the Hamburg newspaper are in on the game.

Paula, Philipp and Eulalia find out that the Hamburg newspaper thought up the shark in the port basin and staged the whole thing in order to sell more copies. Later, Philipp and Paula get in a fight over the use of a particular word. Philipp hopes that his invitation to Port Willkomm-Höft will calm Paula down.

If Philipp had paid closer attention to his word choice, Paula wouldn't have gotten upset with him. A verb prefix may be short, but it can alter the whole meaning of the word. It's also important to note that some verb prefixes are separated from the infinitive.

Paula and Philipp solve the mystery of the shark sighting and once again uncover a fraud. However, the reason for the staged incident is unclear at first.

While looking for the missing surfer, Paula and Philipp meet a diver and discover a clue. With a shark fin on his back, the diver had scared half of Hamburg. But why? Meanwhile, Eulalia has shown up in Hamburg ready to help. She's made a discovery, too.

Eulalia just found a clue that might help Paula and Philipp -- a perfect opportunity to use the perfect tense. Pay close attention to forming the past participle.

Philipp and Paula search for traces of the shark and make a peculiar discovery. A surfboard without a surfer in the port basin and a confusing newspaper article peak their interest.

Away from the chaos of the crowd, the two journalists investigate the shark sighting. When they find a broken surfboard, they start to fear the worst. Then, in a Hamburg newspaper, they see a picture of the shark -- and their co-workers Laura and Paul with a look of fear on their faces. But how does all that fit together?

This episode emphasizes the pronouns "sie" and "er," which can also be used to refer to feminine or masculine nouns, respectively, that have already been mentioned.

When the temperature in the Radio D office becomes unbearable, Paula and Philipp are glad to get an assignment that takes them to the coast, where a shark has been spotted in the port basin.

Paula, Philipp and Ayhan don't have it easy. The heat in the office is insufferable and they don't even have a fan. Paula wishes she could go to the sea and, fortunately, Compu is able to make this possible. The journalists have to go to Hamburg because a shark has allegedly been sighted at the port. Due to the crowd of people who have already turned out to catch a glimpse of the big fish, Paula and Philipp can't get through.

Things also get complicated for the professor, who is tackling the accusative ending of masculine articles. The negative "kein" follows the same pattern of endings.

Paula and Philipp ask the listeners for their opinion. The topic of the program is, "Is lying a sin?" The listeners can express their thoughts on the fake crop circles and the farmers' behavior.

"Is lying a sin?" Paula and Philipp ask the listeners. The question is spurred by the events in the corn fields, which the two journalists reported on. Are the farmers' actions reprehensible, or is it the tourists' own fault for being so gullible? The listeners are unambiguous in their response.

Unlike the journalists, who ask the listeners a "yes" or "no" question, the professor presents a task with three possibilities. German nouns can have one of three genders: masculine, feminine or neutral. This is explained in this episode in conjunction with the articles "der," "die" and "das."

Although the crop circles were made by the farmers, Eulalia still believes that UFOs exist. Philipp and Paula's investigation into the fraud takes them to the local pub, where they talk with the villagers.

Paula and Philipp have solved the mystery of the crop circles, but they're still not sure if UFOs exist or not. And what does U-F-O mean anyway? Eulalia insists that she has seen one. Finally, the journalists ask the guests in a village pub what they think about the fake crop circles.

The pub visit is a good opportunity to introduce the past tense, especially with the irregular verb "sein" (to be). The modal verb "können" (to be able to) is also reviewed in this episode. Pay close attention to vowel changes when conjugating the verb.

Paula and Philipp want to get to the bottom of the crop circles and go at night to investigate. But what they find doesn't appear to be the work of aliens.

The owner of the field with the mysterious circles is charging tourists 5 euros to take pictures of it. Meanwhile, Philipp and Paula camp out in the forest at night to wait for UFOs. Instead, two men turn up with a machine. Did they make the crop circles to attract tourists? In the end, a UFO does seem to turn up, which adds more confusion to the mix.

The versatile verb "machen" is less confusing than the events in the corn field. In this episode, the professor shows you numerous ways to use the word.

When mysterious circles are discovered in a corn field, Paula and Philipp go to investigate. Did a UFO land here, or is somebody trying to pull a prank?

As Ayhan arrives at the Radio D office, Paula and Philipp are rushing out. Enigmatic circles have been discovered in a corn field and no one can explain how they got there. The two journalists aren't the only ones interested in the unusual attraction; many tourists come to check it out as well. The residents of the village soon find ways to profit from the mysterious event.

In the turmoil, many people with different interests come together. The tourists want to satisfy their curiosity, the journalists want to solve the mystery and the farmers apparently want to make money. Take a closer look at modal verbs in this episode.