When forming the ‘Perfekt’ tense in German, most participles appear together with the helping verb ‘haben’. However, there are many participles with ‘sein’ as the helping verb. This handout explains how to tell which participles fall into this category. Twenty separate infinitives and their participles are shown — with many of these in example sentences. The handout also includes an extra bonus section on participles without the “ge-” prefix.

Single-page printable on various kitchenware, cookware and eating utensils. Small glossary included.

This handout introduces the student to the different ways of expressing likes and dislikes in everyday situations, starting with the adverb ‘gern’ and then progressing to the verbs ‘mögen’ and ‘gefallen’. Numerous sample sentences are provided — including questions and sentences with negations.

Single-page printable on basic German weather terms. A short glossary is included.

Two-Page quiz on assorted ‘Perfekt’ tense verbs for students at the end of A1 or the beginning of A2 (second-year students). Strong and weak verbs as well as separable and inseparable forms are covered. Answer key with notes provided.

Two-Page quiz on regular ‘Perfekt’ tense verbs, also known as ‘weak’ verbs. This quiz is suitable for students at the end of A1.1 or the beginning of A1.2 (first year students). Answer key with notes provided.

Two-Page quiz on separable verbs in the ‘Perfekt’ tense. This quiz is suitable for students at the end of A1 or the beginning of A2 (most second year students). Answer key is provided.

10 pages of vocabulary notes (5 lessons) on basic greetings, countries & languages, personal data and family members. The numerals 1-20 are also included. Sample sentences are used for most of the new words, showing basic changes in verb conjugation. Sentences showing inflections (following the prepositions ‘aus’ and ‘von’) are also included.

10 pages of vocabulary notes (5 lessons) on housing, rooms & furniture, paying rent and measuring physical dimensions including length & area. Basic colors and the numerals up to 1,000 and beyond are touched upon. In these notes, students can also review basic predicate adjectives in pairs of opposites (e.g., ‘groß’ / ‘klein’ ) as well as the verb ‘gefallen’. Sample sentences are used for most of the new words, showing basic changes in verb conjugation.

A two-page quiz on inseparable prefix verbs. In the first section, the verb in parentheses is conjugated in the present tense. In the 2nd section, the verb in parentheses is put in its ‘Perfekt’ tense form. In the final section, the student is presented with both separable and inseparable verbs and instructed to put the verb in its proper form, given the cues available. This could be in the present tense, the ‘Perfekt’ tense or in the verb’s infinitive form. An answer key is provided along with some grammatical notes. Appropriate for 2nd or 3rd-year students of German, or for adult learners at around the A2.2 level.

A two-page quiz on separable verbs for the A2 level. In the first section, the verb in parentheses is conjugated in the present tense. In the 2nd section, the verb in parentheses is put in its ‘Perfekt’ tense form. In the final section, the student is instructed to put the verb in its proper form based on available cues. Answers may be in the present tense, the ‘Perfekt’ tense or in the verb’s infinitive form. An answer key is provided along with some grammatical notes. Appropriate for 2nd or 3rd-year students of German, or for adult learners at around the A2.1 level.

Quiz on local prepositions in the dative case (lokale Präpositionen im Dativ). Match the vocabulary words with the objects in the picture, then fill in the blanks with the appropriate preposition and article/ending. Answer key provided.

Two-page translation quiz emphasizing the ‘Perfekt’ tense. Translation is from English to German. Some helpful translation cues are given, especially for the more difficult grammar concepts and vocabulary that haven’t yet been studied (dative case, adjective endings). This quiz is intended for students at a high A1 level or the beginning of A2 and assumes a basic knowledge of the accusative case. Strong and weak verbs as well as separable and inseparable forms are covered. Answer key with notes provided.

In his short, two-page story we learn about Marie and her journey from Milan, Italy to Cologne, where she goes to school to get her training in office administration. This story tests skills in using the ‘Perfekt’ tense. A list of verbs is provided at the top of the first page. Using these verbs, students reading the story will fill in the blanks with the appropriate participle and helping verb. Included is a small glossary, an answer key and an English translation of the text. Appropriate for 2nd or 3rd-year students of German, or for adult learners at around the A2.2 level. A knowledge of some subordinating conjunctions and related word order rules is helpful.

Two-Page quiz on irregular ‘Perfekt’ tense verbs, also known as ‘strong’ verbs. This quiz is suitable for students at the end of A1.1 or the beginning of A1.2 (first year students). Answer key with notes provided.

A1.1-level German grammar review test covering: nominative and dative personal pronouns (dative: ‘mir’, ‘dir’ & ‘Ihnen’ only), regular-verb conjugations (present tense), stem-changing verb conjugations (present tense), Nominative-case possessives (‘mein’, ‘dein’ & ‘Ihr’ only). The test consists of fill-in-the-blank questions. It’s suitable either as a mid-course or end-of-course assessment for informal adult classes, but can also be used for 1st-year German classes at the high school or college level. Some of the sentences are written at a slightly higher level than what the average student might expect, but the answers themselves are appropriate for the A1.1 level. An answer key is provided. Translations and additional notes are not included for this test.

This four-page study guide shows how to use the prepositions ‘vor’, ‘seit’ and ‘für’ when discussing events. Graphical timelines illustrate where and how each of these prepositions should be used, and in what tense. Color-coded example sentences and declension charts for the article “ein” in the nominative, accusative and dative cases are provided.

This handout breaks down some of the most commonly encountered stem-changing verbs by vowel change type. For example, verbs with ‘a’ to ‘ä’ vowel changes are grouped together and studied as a unit. There are always exceptions to some of these patterns, and these are noted in the handout. Twenty-one verbs are looked at in total. At the end of the lesson are 8 different stem-changing verbs used in sample sentences (three examples are provided for each verb).

This short, two-page story about Jana and her vegetable garden can be used to test students’ knowledge of various coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. Students reading the story will fill in the blanks with the appropriate conjunction. Included is a small glossary, an answer key and an English translation of the text. Appropriate for 2nd or 3rd-year students of German, or for adult learners at around the A2.2 level.

In this lesson, the student is introduced to definite articles in the nominative case (der, die, das). A tight relationship exists between these articles and a noun’s gender, and so gender is discussed here in detail. Techniques for memorizing gender are covered as well. There is a section on the plural article (die), with examples of plural nouns used in sample sentences. The handout ends with a short exercise on definite articles and gender.