ARTICLES

In German we distinguish masculine (m), feminine (f) and neutral (n). There are three definitive articles: der (m), die (f) and das (n). Though the gender differs, they have the same translation in English – "the". Gender differentiation is not always the same in English and German either: e.g. the moon is (m) in German (der Mond) and (f) in English; the cat is (m) in English and female in German (die Katze; tomcat is (m) though – der Kater).

An English native speaker also pointed out to me that e.g. "ship" is neuter in English, but used as feminine in conversation or literature, which further complicates the matter – in German, the article is "fixed" though, i.e. Katze will be (f), no matter what way the word is used, conversation or literature.

For the proper gender (and therefore article) in German consult a dictionary – I recommend Langenscheidt (we worked with those at High School and I find that I still use them most often to look up a word) and Harper Collins.

Indefinite articles are: ein (m), eine (f) = "a" in English

Nouns are always capitalized (!)

Examples:
der Freund (a man); die Freundin (a woman) – (the) friend
die Liebe – (the) love
das Herz – (the) heart
ein Sack – a bag
eine Vase – a vase

DUZEN – SIEZEN

Du – Sie (formed like 2nd person plural and ALWAYS capitalized(!)) = you (!)
This may be explained by the use of thou/thee e.g. in middle English:

Du = thou/thee (between family and friends, lovers, for those you want to belittle)
Sie = you (formal, polite, respectful, for those you don't know)

It’s very important to distinguish between 'du' and 'Sie' – otherwise you might seriously offend someone.

E.g.: you say 'du' to a child, but when you address a teenager (I'd say from age 16/17 upwards is the broad and general distinction) you don't know, you will use 'Sie'. If you know him/her you might still use 'du' of course.

Usually, two adults who meet use 'Sie' at all times until one or the other offers the use of 'du', which is often accompanied by using each other's first name. [Another complication: 'Sie' is always capitalized, 'du' isn't, unless you write a letter – then it is polite to capitalize the addressing form of 'Du'; this usage is, sadly, falling into disrepute more and more.]

It ought to be noted here that in general no distinction is made between 'Miss' and 'Mrs.' You use 'Frau' (Mrs.) and 'Fräulein' (Miss) – yet, call a young woman 'Miss' (Fräulein) and you might offend her unless she works as a waitress and you are calling for her to come to your table. In the German language, you won't find the neutral 'Ms.' available to English speakers.
Usually, you start referring to someone as 'Frau' (Mrs.) once she has reached 17/18 years of age, regardless of her being married or not (this is a matter of politeness; you might refer to an unmarried/young woman as 'Fräulein', yet it is not entirely politically correct anymore).

By the way, in Austria, 18 is the age when you legally become an adult. You may vote (but not until you are 21 may you vote for the President of State!), drive (driving licence is at 18, though you are allowed to learn how to drive, accompanied by an adult from age 16 onwards now) and are generally personally accountable for all you do.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS:

Singular:
I - ich
You - du
He - er
She - sie
It – es

Plural:
We – wir
You - ihr
They - sie

VERBS: As in English there are rules and exceptions to these rules…

Irregular Verbs:

Sein – to be
Ich bin – I am
Du bist – you are
Er/sie/es ist – he/she/it is
Wir sind – we are
Ihr seid – you are
Sie sind – they are

Haben – to have
Ich habe – I have
Du hast – you have
Er/sie/es haben – he/she/it has
Wir haben – we have
Ihr habt – you have
Sie haben – they have

General Rule *smiles*

Infinitive: leben (to live)
Present: ich lebe, du lebst, er/sie/es lebt; wir leben, ihr lebt, sie leben
Past: ich lebte, du lebtest, er/sie/es lebte; wir lebten, ihr lebtet, sie lebten
Past participle: gelebt
Past Perfect Tense: ich habe gelebt, du hast gelebt, er/sie/es hat gelebt; wir haben gelebt, sie haben gelebt, ihr habt gelebt
Future Tense: ich will leben, du willst leben, er/sie/es will leben; wir wollen leben, sie wollen leben, ihr wollt leben

i.e. for present tense: infinitive minus the -en and plus
1. person singular: -e
2. person singular: -st
3. person singular: -t
1. person plural: -en
2. person plural: -t
3. person plural: -en

SOME OFTEN USED WORDS AND READY-MADE PHRASES:

Bitte. – Please.
Danke. – Thank you.
Gern geschehen. – My pleasure.
Danke vielmals. – Thank you very much.
Tschüs! – Bye! (usually used between friends)
Auf Wiedersehen! – Goodbye! (formal; 'auf Wiedersehen' does not have the exact same meaning as 'goodbye' – note that 'Wiedersehen' means 'to see again/to meet again' !)
Sei vorsichtig! – Be careful!
Pass auf dich auf! – Take care of yourself!
Gib mir deine Hand. – Give me your hand.
Jemandem die Hand schütteln – to shakes someone's hand (ich schüttle dir die Hand – I shake your hand.)
Jemanden umarmen – to hug someone (ich umarme dich – I hug you.)
Jemanden küssen – to kiss someone (ich küsse dich – I kiss you.)
Bis bald. – See you soon.
Bis morgen. – See you tomorrow.
Hilfe! – Help!
Wo bin ich? – Where am I?
Wo sind wir? – Where are we?
Ich habe Angst. – I am frightened. (spoken usage: Ich hab' Angst. – I'm frightened.)
Ich liebe dich. – I love you.
Könnten Sie mir weiterhelfen? – Could you help me along? (formal and polite)
Ich möchte dass du weißt, dass… - I want you to know that…

Numbers:

0 = null
1 = eins
2 = zwei
3 = drei
4 = vier
5 = fünf
6 = sechs
7 = sieben
8 = acht
9 = neun
10 = zehn
11 = elf
12 = zwölf
13 = dreizehn
14 = vierzehn
15 = fünfzehn
16 = sechzehn
17 = siebzehn
18 = achtzehn
19 = neunzehn
20 = zwanzig
21 = einundzwanzig
22 = zweiundzwanzig
and so forth...
30 = dreißig
40 = vierzig
50 = fünfzig
60 = sechzig
70 = siebzig
80 = achtzig
90 = neunzig
100 = einhundert

I suggest that you ask a native speaker for help if you intend to work on any longer or more complicated translations, since that is the only way to ensure there are no mistakes as far as I know ;D. If you have further questions, or find mistakes in here, don't hesitate to contact me (see e-mail addy above).

Cheers and best!

With the help of: Langenscheidt’s Grammatiktafel English (edited by Dr. Emil Heckmann)