This unit guides learners towards talking about their families and pets. The words for family members are introduced, along with adjectives for describing their characteristics. There is a free booklet for students to download, along with quizzes and activities, including an interactive online crossword and a Kahoot about family and pets.
You can read the text in the quiz below the audio and fill in the missing words.
Note: This text is quite challenging for beginners. It was recorded for this blog by two lovely young teachers from Germany, Diana Bösel and Cheryl Blessing. So you may need to pause the audio between the slides of the quiz.
This text was both written and recorded by Diana Bösel and Cheryl Blessing.
Below are seven essential prepositions that are followed by the accusative case. The example sentences clarify their meaning and illustrate their usage.
* The everyday word for mnemonic in German is Eselsbrücke, literally donkey’s bridge.
Der Radfahrer fährt durchden Tunnel. – The cyclist is riding through the tunnel.
Ich kann deine Musik durchdie Wand hören. Kannst du sie bitte leiser stellen? – I can hear your music through the wall. Can you please turn it down?
Durchdeine Hilfe habe ich mich in Mathe wirklich verbessert. – I have really improved in maths because of / through your help.
ohne ➡️ without
Examples
Ich gehe nirgendwohin ohnemein Handy. –I don’t go anywhere without my mobile.
Ohnedich hätte ich die Deutschprüfung nie bestanden. – Without you, I never would have passed the German exam.
Die Kinder stammen aus armen Familien, deshalb kommen sie ohneSchuhe zur Schule. – The children originate from poor families; that’s why they come to school without shoes.
gegen ➡️ against, towards
Examples
Junge Chinesen protestieren gegendie Corona-Politik ihrer Regierung, auch wenn sie dafür im Gefängnis landen könnten. – Young Chinese people are protesting against the Corona policy of their government, even though they could land in prison as a result.
In einer Apotheke:Haben Sie etwas gegenKopfschmerzen? – In a pharmacy: Do you have something for headache? In German, you say “against headache”.
Der Schreiner lehnte die Leiter gegendie Mauer. – The carpenter leaned the ladder against the wall.
für ➡️ for
Examples
Die Schokolade ist fürdich. – The chocolate is for you.
Wir fahren für zwei Wochen in den Urlaub. – We are going on holiday for a fortnight.
Der Computerkurs ist für ältere Menschen. – The computer course is (intended) for older people.
Ich schäme mich fürmeinVerhalten. – I am ashamed of my behaviour. In German: “ashamed for my behaviour”.
um ➡️ about, around, at
Examples
Letztes Jahr haben meine Eltern eine Reise umdie Welt gemacht. – Last year, my parents took a trip around the world.
Die Kleinen gehen um acht (Uhr) ins Bett. – The little ones go to bed at 8 (o’clock).
Der Roman geht umeine irischeFamilie während der Kartoffelkrankheit im 19. Jahrhundert. – The novel is about an Irish family during the potato blight in the 19th century.
Mein Freund kommt gerade umdie Ecke. – My friend is just coming round the corner.
bis ➡️ until
Examples
Bis nächsteWoche! – See you next week. (Literally: Until next week.)
Die Bibliothek ist von neun Uhr morgens bis acht Uhr abends geöffnet. – The library is open from nine in the morning till eight in the evening.
Bis dahin müssen wir versuchen, allein zurechtzukommen. – Until then we must try to cope on our own.
Wir sind bis spät in die Nacht aufgeblieben. – We stayed up till late in the night.
Note: When bis is used before another preposition, such as in (above) or zu, the second preposition determines the case that follows: for example, in biszum nächstenWochenende, the preposition zu triggers the dative case.
entlang ➡️ along
Examples
Wir gehen die Straßeentlang und gucken in die Schaufenster. – We are walking down / along the street and looking in the display windows.
Auf dem Elbe-Radweg kann man den Flussentlang fahren. Dort sieht man kleine Dörfer, große Felder, Kühe und Schafe mit schwarzen Gesichtern. – You can cycle along the river on the Elbe bike path. You’ll see small villages, large fields, cows, and sheep with black faces.
Just like a cup and saucer, the two parts of a German separable verb can appear as one entity or they can be detached and work as two separate parts. The dictionary entry is under the whole verb.
When a world-changing event such as the Covid-19 pandemic takes place, speakers and writers naturally coin new words and word combinations. For a language nerd like me, their choices are intriguing.
The Germans, for instance, coopted the word Lockdown and made it masculine. On their children’s program, Die Sendung mit der Maus, there was a discussion about whether the word Virus is masculine or neuter. The answer was that it can be either, but never feminine. Now there’s one issue that the English-speaking world never has to consider. Jump to links and videos to find out more about Covid-19 in Germany and its impact on the German language.
But first, in the Bildlexikon below I’ve collected some essential wording for talking about life after the world changed.
Bei einem schweren Covid-Verlauf muss man ins Krankenhaus gehen, aber die meisten Menschen haben eine relativ mildeErkrankung und können zu Hause bleiben.
→ If your COVID infection is severe, you have to go to hospital, but most people have a relatively mild illness and can stay at home.
The story of a Year 12 student’s experience in Melbourne, 2020: Covid lockdowns, learning from home, taking one walk per day, missing friends – and sometimes even missing teachers. – Recorded by Charlotte Yates
Ich trinke gern Mineralwasser. – I like drinking mineral water.
Trinkst du lieber Tee oder Kaffee? – Do you prefer to drink tea or coffee?
Er trinkt keine Milch. – He doesn’t drink milk.
Key Verb: trinken – to drink
Note: The verb trinken is completely regular in the present tense.
ich trinke
du trinkst
er / sie / es trinkt
wir trinken
ihr trinkt
sie trinken
Simple Sentences
Ich mag gern Süßigkeiten. – I like sweets.
Was magst du lieber auf deinem Brot, Käse oder Schinken? – What do you prefer on your bread, cheese or ham?
Er mag am liebsten Vollkornbrot. – He likes wholemeal bread best.
Key Verb: mögen – to like
Note: The verb mögen is irregular in both its stem and its endings. So you need to learn the conjugation by heart. Notice in particular that there is no -t ending on the er / sie / es person.
Was isst du zum Frühstück? – What do you eat for breakfast?
Answer / Antwort:
Normalerweise esse ich Müsli mit Joghurt und Milch. Ich trinke immer eine Tasse Kaffee. – Usually I eat muesli with yoghurt or milk. I always drink a cup of coffee.
So früh am Morgen esse ich lieber nicht. – I prefer not to eat so early in the morning.
Mittagessen | Lunch
Question / Frage:
Was isst du zu Mittag? / Was isst du zum Mittagessen? – What do you eat for lunch?
Answer / Antwort:
Zu Mittag esse ich ein Brötchen oder ein Sandwich.– I eat a bread roll or a sandwich for lunch.
Abendessen|Dinner
Question / Frage:
Was esst ihr zu Abend? / Was esst ihr zum Abendessen? – What do you eat for dinner? (referring here to more than one person)
Answer / Antwort:
Zum Abendessen essen wir gern Hähnchen, Nudeln oder Pizza. – We like to eat chicken, pasta or pizza for dinner.
Actually, there isn’t a food for every letter. It was hard to fit 26 pictures on the screen. All the same, this is an easy way to learn many key nouns for food. The pins are colour-coded: masculine | feminine | neuter. So you will learn the genders as well.
Learn the names of some essential lunch and dinner foods. The letter labels are colour-coded according to noun gender: masculine | feminine | neuter | plural.
Then focus on the conjugation of the verb mögen and practise using the correct wording for asking and answering questions about lunch and dinner.
