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.
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.
Here are thirty freshly updated Kahoots to accompany teachers and learners through the last exhausting months of this year. These games could be just the thing to get you through a torturous afternoon period in a long and wearing week. Students can also play them in little groups with one student hosting.
I’ve listed the Kahoots roughly in order from the simplest to the most difficult, with links to related pages that also offer individual quizzes for early finishers.
Please note: You may have to click through Kahoot’s marketing prompts initially. But hopefully you will get to a point where you can “continue as guest” or log in if you have an account.
Learners respond to each question by placing four words (or sets of words) in the right order. This could be played with a class or by a small group of students.
This is a simple introductory game for students who are in the first 2-3 months of learning German. Players need to choose the correctly written sentence in each question.
This is a jumble puzzle in which students need to place words in the correct order to form or complete a sentence. Each question allows a minute to work out the puzzle.
This quiz offers 20 questions in which simple vocabulary is introduced and then reiterated in the following question. Ideal after a year or two of German.
This quiz is purely in German. A new word is introduced with the help of a simple sentence and picture, then reinforced in one or two of the following questions. The students therefore learn new German words by applying their existing general knowledge.
This is actually my most popular German Kahoot – it has been played more than any other. Who would have thought?
Practise using and conjugating werden in two of its roles: as a verb meaning to become, to get, to turn; and as an auxiliary verb to create the future tense.
This Kahoot focuses purely on the correct conjugation of the auxiliary verb: sein or haben. There are several simple sentences with a variety of activities represented.
The key task for learners is to choose the correct past participle from four options. There are several simple sentences with a variety of activities represented.
Each question has a sentence in the present tense, followed by an equivalent sentence in the perfect tense. Players have to choose the correct auxiliary verb and past participle to complete the perfect tense sentence.
Players choose between sentences that describe school holiday activities. They also revise W-question words, which should then allow them to pose questions about the holidays themselves.
This Kahoot introduces key verbs for love, marriage and marriage breakdown, as well as exploring the complexity of family relationships in a very simple fashion.
This Kahoot reinforces vocabulary for describing how people get along — or don’t. Some questions require the use of weil to give reasons for feelings; others revise the reflexive pronouns.
Learners practise the usage of verbs such as sich anziehen, sich verstehen, sich beeilen, etc. This Kahoot provides good practice for the accusative reflexive pronouns and common verbs that require them.
In each question a typical teenager experience is described. The students have to decide what kind of day is represented. Later questions present players with 4 situations; they have to choose which belongs to a happy day or an awful one.
Players are asked to choose between options that are friendly to the environment and actions that might lead to harm. The vocabulary is summarised in the two pages buttoned below.
This is a relatively challenging quiz for senior or more advanced students. Students need to choose between relative pronouns and distinguish between nominative, accusative and dative cases.
This is a relatively challenging quiz for senior or more advanced students. I made it originally for students learning German at the Goethe-Institut in München, so it is completely in German and includes some photos from that visit.
German word order is delightfully fluid. The only immovable part is the conjugated verb, which is reassuringly anchored in the second position. In the examples below, the conjugatedverb is a modal verb. Other elements can move around, as illustrated by the floating subject, which is usually placed first or third. In sentences with modal verbs, the other verb in the infinitive form generally goes to the end.
This quiz is quite difficult even though it is full of pictures. Click on the for translations of all the phrasing. Each picture must be matched with a phrase about taking environmentally friendly action.
Players are asked to choose between options that are friendly to the environment and actions that might lead to harm. The vocabulary includes the wording summarised on this page, some modal verbs, and the use of denn to give explanations.
This worksheet is based on the audio and text titled Besuch aus der Zukunft, written by Jana Kühn. It provides guided questions for working through the vocabulary in the text, in particular vocabulary relating to environmental choices and separable verbs.
At the end, there is a simple task providing support with developing sentences containing müssen.
The audio quiz above is an online version of this worksheet.
for translations of all the phrasing. Each picture must be matched with a phrase about taking environmentally friendly action.
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