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Grammar

Short lessons with tables, examples with Otti and his friends, and a few gaps to fill. A lesson takes five minutes.

Level A1

  1. Der, die, das: every noun has a gender
    Every German noun is masculine, feminine or neuter, and the article der, die or das shows which. Learn each noun together with its article.
  2. The plural: ein Tisch, zwei Tische
    German has several ways to make a plural, but the article is always die. Learn each noun with its plural, just like with its article.
  3. Ich, du, Sie: pronouns, sein and haben
    Who is speaking to whom? Learn the personal pronouns, when to say du and when Sie, and the two most important verbs, sein (to be) and haben (to have).
  4. The present tense: ich lerne, du lernst
    A German verb changes its ending with the person. Learn the six endings once, and most verbs follow them.
  5. Verb second: Heute trinkt Otti Tee
    In a German statement the verb always comes second. If you start with a time or a place, the subject (who does it) moves behind the verb.
  6. Questions: Wo wohnst du?
    A W-question starts with a question word, and the verb comes second. A yes/no question starts with the verb.
  7. Nicht or kein?
    German has two words for "not". Kein goes with nouns that have ein or no article, nicht with everything else. To say yes to a negative question, answer doch.
  8. The accusative: einen Apfel, den Kaffee
    What you buy, have or see is in the accusative. Good news: only masculine words change (der → den, ein → einen).
  9. Possessive articles: mein, dein, unser
    Mein, dein, sein and the others say whose something is. They take the same endings as ein: mein Bruder, meine Schwester, meinen Bruder.
  10. Modal verbs: können, müssen, wollen
    Modal verbs say if you can, must or want to do something. The modal verb comes second, the other verb goes to the end: Ich kann gut kochen.
  11. Separable verbs: ich stehe früh auf
    Some verbs have a prefix that breaks off: aufstehen → Ich stehe um sieben auf. With a modal verb it stays on: Ich muss früh aufstehen.
  12. The imperative: Komm! Kommt! Kommen Sie!
    With the imperative you tell or ask someone to do something. It has three forms: for du, for ihr and for Sie. With bitte it sounds friendly.
  13. Time and place: um, am, im, nach, bei
    Small words say when and where: um acht Uhr, am Montag, im Mai. You go nach Berlin or zu Frida, and you are in Berlin or bei Frida.

Level A2

  1. The perfect: ich habe gemacht, ich bin gegangen
    When Germans talk about the past, they mostly use the perfect (Perfekt): a form of haben or sein, and a participle at the end of the sentence.
  2. The simple past: war, hatte, konnte
    For most verbs you use the perfect when you speak. But sein, haben and the modal verbs have their own short past, the simple past (Präteritum), and you hear it every day.
  3. The dative: dem Hund, der Katze, mir
    The dative is the case of the person who receives something or gets help. The articles become dem and der, and the pronouns mir, dir, ihm.
  4. Two-way prepositions: wo? or wohin?
    Nine prepositions can take the dative or the accusative. If something is in a place (wo?), use the dative; if it moves to a place (wohin?), use the accusative.
  5. Prepositions with one case: für, mit, zum
    Some prepositions always take the accusative, others always take the dative. Learn them as two groups, and you never have to guess the case.
  6. Reflexive verbs: ich freue mich
    Some verbs come with a pronoun that points back to the person: ich freue mich, du beeilst dich. Learn the pronouns once, and when to say mir and dir instead.
  7. Subordinate clauses: weil, dass, wenn, ob
    After weil, dass, wenn and ob the verb with the ending goes to the very end, and a comma comes before them. Learn this once, and long sentences get easy.
  8. Comparing: größer als, am größten
    Add -er and als to say more: größer als. Use am and -sten for the most: am größten. With so … wie two things are the same.
  9. Adjective endings: der neue Tisch, ein neuer Tisch
    An adjective before a noun gets an ending. After der, die, das it is mostly -e; after ein it shows whether the noun is der, die or das. After a verb there is no ending.
  10. Polite requests: ich hätte gern, könnten Sie…?
    German has a special verb form for politeness, the Konjunktiv II: möchte, hätte, könnte, würde, wäre. It makes a wish or a question sound soft and friendly.

Level B1

  1. The simple past of every verb: machte, ging, dachte
    Books, stories and the news tell the past in the simple past (Präteritum). Regular verbs add -te, irregular verbs change their vowel, and a few mixed verbs do both.
  2. The past perfect: ich hatte gegessen, ich war gegangen
    When you tell a story in the past and something happened even earlier, use the past perfect (Plusquamperfekt): hatte or war and a participle.
  3. Time clauses: als, wenn, während, nachdem
    Als, wenn, während, bevor, nachdem, seit, sobald and bis say when something happens. Like weil, they send the verb to the end.
  4. Reasons and contrasts: weil, denn, deshalb, obwohl, trotzdem
    German has several words for a reason and for a contrast. They mean much the same, but each puts the verb in another place: at the end, in second place or right after the word.
  5. Purpose: um … zu, damit and zu + infinitive
    Um … zu and damit say what something is for. And many verbs and phrases take a second verb with zu: Ich habe vergessen, dich anzurufen.
  6. Relative clauses: der, den, dem, denen
    A relative clause describes a noun: der Kollege, der neben mir sitzt. It starts with der, die or das, a comma comes before it, and the verb goes to the end.
  7. The passive: Die Heizung wird repariert
    In the passive the action matters, not who does it: Die Heizung wird repariert. You make it with werden and the participle you know from the perfect.
  8. The Konjunktiv II: wenn ich mehr Zeit hätte…
    You know the Konjunktiv II from polite requests. It can do more: it speaks about wishes, gives advice and imagines what isn't real. Wenn ich mehr Zeit hätte, würde ich öfter kochen.
  9. Verbs with prepositions: warten auf, denken an
    Many verbs come with a fixed preposition: warten auf, denken an, sich interessieren für. Learn the verb, the preposition and the case together, like one word.
  10. The genitive: das Auto meines Bruders
    The genitive says whose something is: die Tür des Hauses, Ottis Fahrrad. You read it more often than you hear it, and it comes after wegen, trotz, während and statt.
  11. Werden and the future: Das wird schon klappen
    Werden has three jobs: it means to become, it makes the future with an infinitive at the end, and it makes the passive. For plans Germans usually just say the present with a time word.
  12. Two-part conjunctions: sowohl … als auch, je … desto
    Some linking words come in pairs: sowohl … als auch (both … and), weder … noch (neither … nor), entweder … oder (either … or), nicht nur … sondern auch, zwar … aber and je … desto. With them one sentence says more.
  13. The n-declension: der Kollege, den Kollegen
    A small group of masculine nouns gets -n or -en in every form but one: der Kollege, but den Kollegen, dem Kollegen, des Kollegen. Most of them are people and animals.
  14. Indirect questions: Wissen Sie, wo …?
    Können Sie mir sagen, wo …? is a polite way to ask. After the W-word or ob the verb goes to the end, as in every subordinate clause.

Level B2

  1. Indirect speech: Er sagt, er habe keine Zeit
    To pass on what someone said, German has its own verb form, the Konjunktiv I: Emil sagt, er habe keine Zeit. It shows that these are someone else's words, and you meet it above all in the news and in written texts.
  2. The Konjunktiv II of the past: Wenn ich das gewusst hätte…
    Wenn ich das gewusst hätte, wäre ich früher gekommen. With hätte or wäre and the participle you talk about a past that didn't happen: missed chances, regret and what someone should have done.
  3. More passive: muss repariert werden, ist repariert worden
    You know Die Heizung wird repariert from B1. Here the passive gets a modal verb (muss repariert werden), a Perfekt (ist repariert worden) and a partner that shows the result (ist repariert).
  4. Without werden: man, sich lassen, sein + zu, -bar
    Das lässt sich reparieren. Die Rechnung ist bis Freitag zu bezahlen. Das ist machbar. German has several ways to say what can or must be done without the passive with werden.
  5. Participles as adjectives: die schlafende Katze, das reparierte Fahrrad
    Both participles can stand before a noun like an adjective and take the usual endings: die schlafende Katze, das reparierte Fahrrad. In written German they often bring words of their own: die gestern gekaufte Lampe.
  6. Nominal style: wegen des Regens, nach seiner Ankunft
    Written German likes nouns where speech uses verbs: nach seiner Ankunft instead of nachdem er angekommen war. Learn how these nouns are made, which article they take and how to read a sentence full of them.
  7. How and with what result: indem, sodass, ohne … zu
    Indem and dadurch, dass say how something is done; sodass and so …, dass say what it leads to. Je … umso links two things that grow together, and ohne … zu and anstatt … zu say what doesn't happen.
  8. Modal verbs for guesses: Er muss den Bus verpasst haben
    Modal verbs can also say how sure you are: muss (almost sure), dürfte (probably), kann or könnte (perhaps). Soll and will pass on what others say. For the past, put the participle and haben or sein at the end: Er muss den Bus verpasst haben.
  9. Noun and verb as a pair: eine Entscheidung treffen
    In eine Entscheidung treffen the noun carries the meaning, and the verb hardly means anything on its own. Such pairs are everywhere in work emails, reports and the news, so learn them as one unit.
  10. Prepositions with the genitive: innerhalb, aufgrund, dank
    You know wegen, trotz, während and statt from B1. Written German has more prepositions with the genitive, like innerhalb, außerhalb, aufgrund, bezüglich and dank, while in speech the dative often takes its place.
  11. Relative clauses with wer, was and wo: alles, was ich weiß
    Not every relative clause starts with der, die or das. Wer means anyone who, was comes after alles, etwas or das Beste, and with a preposition was becomes worüber or womit.
  12. Modal particles: doch, ja, mal, halt
    Small words like doch, ja, mal and halt don't change the facts of a sentence, but they show how you feel about them: friendly, surprised, a little impatient. They belong to spoken German, and without them you sound like a textbook.

Level C1

  1. Guesses with werden: Sie wird den Zug verpasst haben
    Werden doesn't only look ahead. Er wird jetzt zu Hause sein is a guess about now, and the Futur II, Sie wird den Zug verpasst haben, is a guess about the past. Wohl, sicher or vermutlich show how sure you are.
  2. Unreal comparisons: Er tut, als hätte er nichts gehört
    With als ob, als wenn or just als and the Konjunktiv II you compare reality with something that isn't true: Er tut, als hätte er nichts gehört. After als ob the verb goes to the end; after a bare als it comes straight after als.
  3. The Konjunktiv I beyond reported speech: Man nehme…, Es lebe…
    The Konjunktiv I does more than pass on what others say. It gives instructions in old recipes (Man nehme drei Eier), makes wishes in set phrases (Es lebe das Brautpaar, Gott sei Dank) and sets up examples in maths and academic texts (Gegeben sei ein Dreieck). Today you meet it mostly in fixed phrases.
  4. Participle clauses: Am Bahnhof angekommen, rief Otti Frida an
    Am Bahnhof angekommen, rief Otti Frida an. A participle with its own words can replace a whole subordinate clause and say when, why or how something happens. It is good written style; in conversation you mostly hear it in set phrases like ehrlich gesagt.
  5. Prepositions of formal German: angesichts, infolge, zufolge
    You know aufgrund, dank and bezüglich from B2. Reports, contracts, academic texts and the news use many more: angesichts, infolge, mangels, kraft, hinsichtlich, zwecks, anlässlich, seitens and ungeachtet take the genitive, and zufolge follows its noun and takes the dative. In conversation a plain wegen, für or von is usually better.
  6. Connectors for precise German: zumal, sofern, es sei denn
    You know weil, obwohl, trotzdem and the two-part conjunctions from B1, and indem and sodass from B2. At C1 the finer ones join them: zumal, wohingegen, sofern, insofern (als), es sei denn, geschweige denn, indessen and nichtsdestotrotz. Each has its own word order and its own register.
  7. Although and even if: obgleich, selbst wenn, so … auch
    You know obwohl and trotzdem from B1. German has many more ways to say that something happens against the odds: obgleich and wenngleich, selbst wenn and auch wenn, so … auch, wie … auch and noch so, dennoch and allerdings. Each has its own shade of meaning and its own word order.
  8. Es and darauf before a clause: Es ist wichtig, dass …
    In Es ist wichtig, dass … and Ich freue mich darauf, dass … a small es or darauf points ahead to the clause that follows. Grammars call it a correlate. Learn which verbs need it, which can do without it, and when es disappears.
  9. Passive variants: Er bekommt den Vertrag zugeschickt
    You know the passive with werden from B1 and B2. German has a few more forms: bekommen puts the person who receives something first (Er bekommt den Vertrag zugeschickt), the passive without a subject names an activity (Hier wird nicht geraucht), and gehören + participle gives a strong opinion (Das gehört verboten).
  10. Word formation: Stadtklima, entsiegeln, Machbarkeit
    German builds long words from short parts you already know. Once you know how compounds, prefixes and suffixes work, you can guess most new words: Stadtklima, entsiegeln, Machbarkeit.
  11. Word order and emphasis: what comes first?
    You know that the verb comes second. At C1 you choose what comes before it, what stays in the middle and what may follow the end of the sentence bracket, and that is how you decide what a sentence stresses.
  12. Register and style: erhalten or kriegen?
    German sounds different in an email to a professor, in a talk and in a chat with friends. Learn the pairs that mark the register (erhalten and kriegen, wegen des and wegen dem, habe and hab) and choose the right one for each situation.