These little posters are free for teachers to download and use, like all the other materials on this blog. They contain only public domain images. It should be possible to print them in either A3 or A2 size. The main tenses used are the present and the perfect, since these are the ones most commonly taught in the junior years of high school.
Both options above could be translated: We are going to the supermarket to buy milk.
The word zum is a contraction of zu + dem. It is a convenient standard way of saying to the in German and is used with both masculine and neuter place nouns.
The combination of in + the accusative articleden can be used for to the if the ultimate destination is inside a building. For instance, in den Supermarkt gehen is an alternative translation of to goto thesupermarket.
Feminine Place Nouns
Ich gehe
zur Bäckerei,
in die Bäckerei,
zur Post,
auf diePost,
um Brot 🍞zu kaufen.
um ein Paket 📦 zu schicken.
Both Bäckerei options above could be translated: I am going to the bakery to buy bread.
Both Post options above could be translated: I am going to the post office to send a parcel.
The word zur is a contraction of zu + der. It is a convenient standard way of saying “to the” in German before feminine place nouns.
The combination of in + the accusative articledie can be used for to the if the ultimate destination is inside a building. This means that the phrase in die Bäckerei gehen is an alternative translation of to goto thebakery.
Neuter Place Nouns
Sie gehen
zum Fitnessstudio,
ins Fitnessstudio,
um zu trainieren 🏋🏾.
Both options above could be translated: They are going to the gym to work out.
The word zum is a contraction of zu + dem. It is a convenient standard way of saying to the in German and is used with both neuter and masculine place nouns.
The word ins is a contraction of in + das. The combination of in + the accusative articledas can be used for to the if the ultimate destination is inside a building. Therefore, ins Fitnessstudio gehen is an alternative translation ofto go to the gym.
das Altenheim oder das Seniorenheim – aged care facility
Ältere Menschen wohnen oft in einem Altenheim, wo sie Unterstützung und Hilfe erhalten können. – Older people often live in an aged care facility, where they can receive support and help.
Wollen wir schnell einen Kaffee trinken? In der Nähe des Brandenburger Tors gibt es ein kleines Café. – Shall we have a quick coffee? There’s a little café near the Brandenburg Gate.
In einem Einkaufszentrum gibtes viele Geschäfte. Man kann zum Beispiel Bücher, Kleidung, und Schuhe kaufen. – There are many shops in a shopping centre. For example, you can buy books, clothes and shoes.
Wir gehen morgen in den Freizeitpark. Ich fahre hoffentlich mit der Achterbahn! – We’re going to the amusement park tomorrow. I hope to go on the roller coaster.
das Gymnasium – high school
Bild von Gundula Vogel auf Pixabay (a high school in Templin in the rural district of Uckermark)
Ein Gymnasium in Deutschland ist eine akademische Schule. – A “Gymnasium” in Germany is an academic high school.
Der Hamburger Hafen ist spektakulär. Auf diesem Bild sieht man auch den Uhrturm. – The Hamburg harbour is spectacular. In this picture you can also see the clock tower.
Auf diesem Foto siehst du den Hauptbahnhof von Berlin, der Hauptstadt von Deutschland. – In this picture you can see the main railway station of Berlin, the capital of Germany.
In einem Museumkann man eine Menge über Geschichte und andere Kulturen lernen. – In a museum you can learn a great deal about history and other cultures.
Tausende von Fußballfans gehen gerne ins Stadion, um sich ein Fußballspiel anzusehen. – Thousands of football fans like going to the stadium to watch a football game.
Minh fits a lot into a day and visits many places in her city. This is a picture quiz with sentences and fill-the-gap tasks to help with consolidating the wording in the Bildlexikon above.
The flexibility of German word order opens up expressive possibilities that are unimaginable in English. As a result, a German writer or speaker can emphasise key ideas in dramatic and memorable ways. Nevertheless, there are rules: the first and most important one is about the position of the verb.
The anchor of the German sentence is the conjugated verb in the second position. Once the conjugated verb is moored in place, the rest of the sentence can flow around it, freed from the constraints of English word order.
Sandwiching the Verb Between the 1st and 3rd Positions
As the examples above show, the positions of the subject and the adverb are often interchangeable. They frequently inhabit the first and third positions, with the verbsandwiched between them.
In contrast to English, a subject and an adverbcannot appear together at the start of a German sentence. The verb must be placed in between and no comma is required. In fact, since German comma rules are far more exact and prescriptive than those of English, a comma is simply wrong.
❌ Leider, die Partywar ein glatter Reinfall.The comma must be deleted and the verb inserted between the adverb and the subject, as in the correct examples below:
✅ Leiderwardie Party ein glatter Reinfall. ⇢ Unfortunately, the party was a total flop.
✅ Die Partywarleider ein glatter Reinfall. ⇢ The party was unfortunately a total flop.
The prepositions in the middle of this diagram are the trickiest ones in German, since they are followed by either the accusative case or the dativecase, depending on the context of the situation.
Examples with Possessive Pronouns: MASCULINE: Accusative: Sie hat ihre Gartengeräte in meinenGarten gebracht. Dative: Ihre Gartengeräte sind in meinemGarten. FEMININE: Accusative: Er hat sein Fahrrad inmeine Garagegestellt. Dative: Sein Fahrrad ist inmeiner Garage. NEUTER: Accusative: Er geht in sein Zimmer, um sich zu entspannen. Dative: Er entspannt sich in seinem Zimmer.
When the context refers to movementinto a particular area, the preposition is followed by the accusativecase.
When the context refers to remaining, existing or beingwithinan area, however, the preposition must be followed by the dative case.
These rules also apply to the endings on possessive pronouns.
These nine essential prepositions are always followed by the dative case. The example sentences below clarify their meaning and illustrate their usage. Click on each preposition in the list to jump to its description:
Die Familie hat ein kleines Haus bei Berlin. ⇢ The family has a small house near Berlin.
Ich habe die Schokolade bei Woolworth gekauft. ⇢ I bought the chocolates at Woolworths.
Sie wohnt noch beiihrerFamilie, weil die Mietkosten sehr hoch sind. ⇢ She still lives with her family because the cost of renting is so high.
BeiSonnenaufgang bin ich aufgewacht und spazieren gegangen. ⇢ I woke up at sunrise and went for a walk.
Beiuns in Australien ist es üblich, andere Menschen mit dem Vornamen anzusprechen. ⇢ It is commonly accepted in Australia to address one another by first names.
Bei schönem Wetter gehen wir oft zum Strand.⇢When the weather is fine, we often go to the beach.
Er arbeitet bei der Post. ⇢He works for the postal service.
Heute Abend gehen wir zueinerFreundin. Vielleicht werden wir beiihr übernachten. ⇢ This evening we are going to a girlfriend’s place. Perhaps we’ll sleep over at her place.
Der Frosch ist zu einem Prinzen geworden. ⇢ The frog turned into a prince.
•Wollen wir zuFuß hingehen? •Nein, wir nehmen das Auto. ⇢ •Shall we go on foot? •No, we’ll take the car.
Zu Weihnachten haben wir immer ein großes Familienfest. ⇢ We always have a big family party at Christmas.
Meine Mutter ist nicht zuHause. ⇢ My mother is not (at) home.
*Note the German use of the present tense with seitwhenever the action continues into the present. In English, the perfect tense is required in such cases.
Examples
Wir kennen uns seit ewig. ⇢ We’ve known each other for ages / for ever.
Seit zwei Jahren habe ich ihn nicht mehr gesehen. ⇢ I haven’t seen him for two years.
Ich lerne schon seit zehn Jahren Deutsch. ⇢ I have been learning German for ten years.
Muslime tragenseit dem Mittelalter zur europäischen Kultur und Wissenschaft bei. ⇢ Muslims have contributed to European culture and science since the Middle Ages.
Seit ihrer Kindheit sind die Mädchen enge Freundinnen. ⇢ The girls have been close friends since their childhood.
