Grammar

Level B1

1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.