A2.2-level grammar review test covering: subjunctive forms of ‘werden’, ‘sein’ & ‘haben’ (würden, wären, hätten), comparative & superlative (predicate adjectives & adverbs), ‘trotzdem’ vs. ‘deshalb’, adjective endings. 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 2nd or 3rd-year students of German at the high school or college level. An answer key is provided. Some annotations explaining grammar are also shown.

This 3-page handout introduces students to the separable verb — first by comparing it to the English ‘phrasal verb’ and then providing examples in German. Many people learning English have initial success with the language, but are unable to get a handle on the large number of phrasal verbs, and the rich subtleties of the language remain impenetrable to them. A similar thing can happen in German with separable verbs, therefore it’s important to become familiar with them early. In this handout, nine common separable verbs have been chosen as examples — conjugated and used in sample sentences.

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.

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.)

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 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.

This is a reference list of some of the most commonly used reflexive verbs in the German language. A total of 30 verbs is included, with English translations. Paired prepositions follow the verbs that require them, together with grammatical case. The reflexive pronouns are listed at the end (accusative case only). A few example sentences are given.

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.)

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.

In this six-page lesson, students learn how to say the equivalent of ‘some’, ‘any’ or ‘one’ in German using indefinite pronouns. (Examples of these pronouns used in English would be: “I’d like some.” “Do you have any?” “Can you find one for me?”, etc.) Over 50 German example sentences are provided along with parallel English translations. A review of the demonstrative pronouns is included on pages 1 and 2.

Two-page set of printables on the major human body parts in landscape layout.

This two-page handout includes a color printable of assorted public clocks with the times written out, mostly in colloquial time (“Zeit im Umgangssprache” / “inoffizielle Zeit”). The second page shows the same clocks in greyscale, but with a blank line underneath instead of text. This page can be used as a homework assignment or for a test.

At the A1 level, students first learn to use the subjunctive mood (Konjunktiv II) for making polite requests. In this handout, students will learn how to use the subjunctive to describe improbable situations and make hypothetical statements. This lesson focuses on the verbs ‘würden’, ‘wären’ and ‘hätten’. Copious example sentences are provided with parallel English translations. The English subjunctive is described in detail alongside the German subjunctive, illustrating the structural differences between the two. At the end of the lesson is a section on how to use the adverbs ‘gern’, ‘lieber’ and ‘am liebsten’ together with subjunctive verbs.

This is an extensive 16-page lesson on two-way prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen) and how they behave in the dative and accusative cases. The material is geared primarily towards students at the A2 level wishing to increase their knowledge of the subject. Numerous example phrases and sentences are given, some color-coded. Exceptions to general tendencies and rules are discussed, along with the occasional anecdote. Although not intended as a primer on two-way prepositions, some A1 students may find this handout useful. Simple 3D illustrations clearly show the function of each preposition in the two cases. By studying the pictures and the accompanying text in the colored boxes, basic concepts can be absorbed quickly. A summary of the entire handout is provided, beginning on page 15. Before using this handout, students should already be comfortable with article declensions in the accusative and dative cases.

This 5-page lesson takes a thorough look at some common verbs with direct objects in the dative case (‘helfen’, ‘folgen’, ‘dienen’, ‘gefallen’, etc.) as well as other verbs often associated with the dative (‘empfehlen’, ‘erzählen’, ‘glauben’, etc.). Over 40 color-coded example sentences are provided, some with annotations. As a prerequisite, students should already know how to decline most articles in dative case.

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).

The subjunctive mood (Konjunktiv II) is often first introduced to students when learning how to make polite requests. Here, we show how the verbs ‘können’ and ‘werden’ are converted into their subjunctive forms. The relationship between ‘mögen’ and ‘möchten’ is also discussed.

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.

This is a very simple 2-page document that students can use for writing out the conjugations of new verbs. Conjugation sheets are very helpful for new students just beginning to get a handle on new verbs and how they’re conjugated. These can be hole-punched and placed in a binder with other hard-copy notes for quick reference. The second page is blank and can be photocopied / printed in bulk to suit your needs. The first page is an example sheet with six German verbs — fully conjugated in the present tense (kommen, lernen, sprechen, wissen, haben, sein).