Grammar · A1–A2–B1–B2
German grammar, explained simply
The topics that matter at the start — each with example sentences you can listen to, the mistakes everyone makes, and exercises whose answer is one click away.
Word classes
Der, die, das and ein, eine A1Why do different words appear before nouns?→Nouns, verbs and adjectives A1What do “Suppe”, “spiele” and “groß” tell you?→Plural nouns A1What changes in “Brüder” and “Kinder”?→Personal pronouns A1Personal pronouns replace nouns and indicate the person.→Adjective endings A2Why “einen roten Mantel” but “eine freundliche Person”?→Groß, größer, am größten A2What does “am liebsten” mean compared with “gern”?→Mein, dein, sein: whose is it? A2Whose passport does “Ihren Reisepass” refer to?→Nominalization B2Nominalization means turning verbs or adjectives into nouns.→
Sentence structure
The verb in second position A1Where is the verb after “Heute”?→Nicht and kein A1What does “nicht” do in these sentences?→Asking questions A1Why does one question start with “Wo” and another with “Kann”?→In, auf, unter: place or direction A2Why is it “in die Schule” but “in einem Büro”?→Join sentences with weil and dass A2Where is ist after weil in “Sie ist traurig, weil er weg ist”?→Relative clauses B1Relative clauses give additional information about a noun.→Infinitive constructions B1Infinitive constructions with 'zu' replace subordinate clauses.→Extended participle constructions B2Extended participle constructions are typical of formal German texts.→Correlative connectors B2Two-part connectors join parts of sentences or whole sentences in complex ways.→
Tenses
Present tense: regular verbs A1Why is it “ich spiele” but “du spielst”?→The perfect: talking about the past A2Why do “hast” and “gemacht” appear together?→War and hatte: the simple past A2What does war show in “Gestern war ein schöner Tag”?→Past perfect B1The past perfect describes an action that took place before another action in the past.→Konnte, musste, wollte A2How do you use können for a past ability?→Future perfect B2The future perfect describes an action that will be completed at a future point in time.→
Cases
Verbs
Sein and haben A1Why is it “ich bin” but “er ist”?→Separable verbs A1Why is “auf” at the end?→Können, müssen and wollen A2Why does “sein” appear after “muss”?→Reflexive verbs A2Why is mich in “Ich freue mich auf das Wochenende”?→Passive voice B1The passive voice is used when the action is more important than who performs it.→Subjunctive II B1Subjunctive II expresses unreal situations, wishes, polite requests, and hypothetical conditions.→Requests and commands A2What should you do in “Würze die Suppe”?→Reported speech B1Reported speech conveys what someone has said.→Participles B1The present participle is formed from the infinitive + '-d' (lachend, spielend) and describes a simultaneous action.→Ich hätte gern, könnten Sie A2Why does “Ich hätte gern” sound more polite than a direct wish?→Verbs with prepositions A2Which small words follow freuen, ärgern and hoffen?→Subjunctive I B2Subjunctive I is mainly used in reported speech, especially in news reports and formal texts.→Light verb constructions B2Light verb constructions (FVG) consist of a light verb (e.→
Usage
Academic language B2German academic language is characterized by nominalizations, passive constructions, impersonal expressions, and complex sentence structures.→Language registers B2German has different registers: colloquial speech (informal), standard language (neutral), and elevated language (formal).→
Grammar is not learnt by heart
Rules stick when you meet them in sentences you need anyway. That is why every topic sits next to a lesson from the course: there you hear the sentences, repeat them days apart and test yourself.
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