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.

This brief handout explains how to use separable verbs in the ‘Perfekt’ tense. Participles for eleven different separable verbs are shown here in example sentences. Some elementary knowledge of the ‘Perfekt’ tense is recommended before using this study guide.

This is a brief 2-page handout introducing students to the very basics of the German ‘Perfekt’ tense. The ‘Perfekt’ is similar in appearance and structure to the English present perfect tense, however, the way in which it’s used is different. The ‘Perfekt’ is widely used in colloquial German when referring to events in the past. It is formed by using a helping verb together with a past participle. Similar to English, participles can be either regular (“weak”) or irregular (“strong”). Examples of weak and strong participles are provided along with sample sentences in German.

This 3-page set of study notes provides common rules and exceptions for forming the plural in German and can be used for test prep. This is not an exhaustive lesson on how to form the plural in all circumstances — but a list of some of the tendencies, set rules, exceptions and common idiosyncrasies the beginner is most likely to run across.

Many verbs in German are paired with specific prepositions. Quite often, these prepositions have nothing to do with location or direction. Examples in English would be: “to think about”, “to wait for”, “to be afraid of”, etc. Knowing which preposition to use is so natural that the native English speaker doesn’t have to think about it at all. It’s automatic. But when the English learner repeatedly uses incorrect verb-preposition combinations, it can cause that person sound overly “foreign”. The same problem can occur in German if the German learner isn’t aware of which specific preposition(s) to use for a given verb. This handout provides a list of over 60 common German verb-preposition combinations that a student is likely to encounter in normal conversation, writing and media reporting. (Grammatical case is indicated for 2-way prepositions.)

Many verbs in German are used in tandem with specific prepositions. Examples of similar combinations in English are: ‘to think about’, ‘to be afraid of’, ‘to suffer from’, etc. Very often, these prepositions have nothing to do with location or direction, but instead link verbs to nouns in a more abstract way. German has its own set of verb-preposition combinations, but since the German learner doesn’t always have the luxury of hearing them being used in a natural environment, these combinations also have to be studied and memorized. By this point, a student may have already run across some of them: ‘denken an’, ‘sorgen für’, ‘Angst haben vor’, and a number of others. This lesson will introduce the student to verb-preposition combinations in a more deliberate and concentrated way, opening the door to greater fluency in both reading and speaking. For students wishing to skim the highlights of this topic, the first two pages provide a good introductory view. These students can skip forward to the “More Example Sentences” section at the bottom of page 6. Here, nine frequently occurring verb-preposition combinations are illustrated in different tenses. For students wishing to delve deeper into the subject, the rest of the document provides plenty of information and new vocabulary to help assist in fluency. Over 70 verb-preposition combinations are provided in this lesson. Twenty of these combinations are illustrated in example sentences, some color coded for clarity. (As a prerequisite, students should already be familiar with how to use reflexive verbs.)

In English we have what’s known as active voice and passive voice. The active voice is the typical mode in which people talk and write. An example of the active voice in English would be: “The center fielder threw the ball all the way to home plate”, with the noun ‘ball’ acting as the direct object. An alternate way of saying the same thing would be to switch the nouns and use the passive voice: “The ball was thrown by the center fielder all the way to home plate.” Although the ‘ball’ is still the thing being thrown, it’s now the subject of the sentence. This is the essence of the passive voice. The passive voice is used in many languages, including German. To form the passive voice in German, you use the verb ‘werden’ together with the past participle of the action verb. This handout takes a detailed look at the German passive voice, with mini-lessons and example sentences in the present tense, preterite tense and perfect tense. This handout also explains how to use modal verbs in the passive voice, both in the present and past tenses. The lessons end with a brief explanation on how to tell a passive-voice sentence apart from other sentences that also contain the verb ‘werden’.

A short, two-page lesson on the verb ‘möchten’, complete with conjugation tables. This verb is compared with its parent form ‘mögen’ and is a good first introduction to the German subjunctive mood (Konjunktiv II). Color-coded example sentences and some cultural notes are included.

This 5-page lesson provides detailed information on how to express opinions using the verbs ‘finden’ and ‘gefallen’. Color-coded example sentences explain the underlying grammatical differences between these two verbs. Students will learn to how to use them to make statements, to ask yes-no questions and questions with “wie”.

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.

teacher and student can focus on different aspects of the imperative. Separate sections are dedicated to Sie-commands and ihr-commands, while the rules for du-commands are explained in detail over the course of several pages. Some example sentences are color coded for clarity. (The du-command rules are illustrated using large fonts and graphics.) Students new to the imperative mood can concentrate on pages 1-5, while more advanced students can make use of the material on pages 6-8, which deals with du-commands ending in “e” and commands using “bitte”, “doch bitte” and “doch mal”. This topic is at the middle to upper A1 level. To get the most out of this lesson, students should already be familiar with at least 30-40 of the most common verbs in everyday German. A glossary for some of the more advanced vocabulary used in the example sentences is provided on page 8. Some cultural information is also provided.

This 2-page study guide goes over the so-called “W” words, which often appear at the beginning of questions in German. The words ‘was’, ‘wie’, ‘wie viel’, ‘wer’, ‘wann’, ‘wo’, ‘woher’, ‘wohin’, ‘warum’ and ‘welch-’ are all covered here. Important grammar notes and exceptions to the normal rules are included. Each question word is shown in two or more example sentences.

A1.2-level grammar review test covering: Most of the temporal prepositions including ‘in’, ‘ab’ and ‘bis’, using ‘möchten’, ‘könnten’ and ‘würden’ for making polite requests (Konjunktiv II), dative-case articles, dative-case personal pronouns, and setting up / changing appointments (using ‘vereinbaren’, ‘absagen’, ‘ändern’, etc). The test consists mostly of fill-in-the-blank questions and includes some English to German translation. It’s suitable as an end-of-course assessment for informal adult courses, but can also be used for 1st and 2nd-year students of German at the high school or college level. An answer key is provided. Translations of the German text are also provided at the end of the handout.

A1.2-level grammar review test covering: Prepositions of location and direction, including the 2-way prepositions, the difference between ‘nach’, ‘in’ and ‘zu’ when saying “to”, the difference between ‘bei’, ‘an’ and ‘in’ when saying “at”, the difference between ‘von’ and ‘aus’, giving directions (Wegbeschreibungen) and using verbs containing ‘steigen’ (einsteigen, aussteigen, umsteigen). The test consists entirely of fill-in-the-blank questions and includes some English to German translation. It’s suitable as an end-of-course assessment for informal adult courses, but can also be used for 1st and 2nd-year students of German at the high school or college level. An answer key and some annotations are provided. Translations of the German text are also provided at the end of the handout.

A1.2-level grammar review test covering: The verbs ‘werden’ and ‘tun’, using ‘tun’ with dative personal pronouns, possessive articles. The test consists entirely of fill-in-the-blank questions and tables, including translation exercises from German to English. It’s suitable as an end-of-course assessment for informal adult courses, but can also be used for 1st and 2nd-year students of German at the high school or college level. An answer key and some color-coded annotations are provided. A translation sheet is also provided for some of the German text.

A1.2-level grammar review test covering: modal verbs (all six modals in the present tense, conjugation & usage), imperative mood ‘Perfekt’ tense (irregular participles and participles without ‘ge-’ prefix). The test consists entirely of fill-in-the-blank questions and tables. It’s suitable as an end-of-course assessment for informal adult courses, but can also be used for 1st or 2nd-year students of German at the high school or college level. An answer key with English translations is provided. Some annotations explaining grammar are also shown.

A1.2-level grammar review test covering: prepositions of time (‘seit’, ‘vor’, ‘für’, ‘am’, ‘an’, ‘um’, ‘von’ & ‘bis’), accusative & dative declensions of articles, plural noun declensions preterite of ‘haben’ & ‘sein’ preterite tense vs. ‘Perfekt’ tense The test consists entirely of fill-in-the-blank questions and tables. It’s suitable as an end-of-course assessment for informal adult courses, but can also be used for 1st or 2nd-year students of German at the high school or college level. An answer key and some annotations explaining grammar are provided.