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Grammar

Here you can learn all about:

  1. Tenses
  2. The four cases
  3. Verb conjugation

Use the below accordian to learn about the 6 German tenses

This is the most commonly used tense by Germans. We can use it to talk about the present and future. Firstly you can use it to express a fact/condition in the present for example: Das ist Felix. Secondly, we can use it to express an action taking place in the present for example: Jeden Dienstag geht er zum Fußballtraining. Thirdly, to express an action that expresses the duration of something for example: er spielt schon seit fünf jahren Fußball. Lastly, to express future plans for example: Nächsten Sonntag hat seine Mannschaft ein wichtiges speil.

This tense shows that an action took place in the past but the focus is on the result of the action for example: Gestern hat Matty sein Büro aufgeräumt- the result is thta teh office is now clean. We also use it to express an action that will be copleted by a certain point in the future for example: Bis nächste Woche hat er das bestimmt wieder vergessen. To conjugate it we use the present form of sein/haben and the past participle for example: haben gelernt (have learned).

This tense expresses facts and actions that started and ended in the past. It's used to tell stories in written German- not spoken German! We can use it to express a completed action in the past for example: Im letzten Jahr machte ich Urlaub in Deutschland. Secondly, to express a past fact for example: Die Strecke war fantastisch und ich hatte tolles Wetter.

This tense expresses actions that took place before a certain point in the past for example: Sie hatte sehr lange geübt, bevor sie das Stück so perfekt spielen konnte. We use it with the simple past. To conjugate the past perfect we use the simple past of sein/haben and the past participle.

This tense is used to express assumptions about the present. It expresses future intentions and future/present assumptions. The conjugation needs the finite form of em>werden and the infinitive of the verb. For example: Er wird sicher keine Zeit haben.

This tense expresses the assumption that a (past) action has been completed by the time of speaking/certain point. For example: Er wird wohl gestürzt sein oder bis dahin wird er das Fahrrad repariert haben.
Here is a video for you to watch regarding conjugated verbs accompanied with the correct pronouns:

Information:

In this video the 4 German cases are explained.The Nominative Case is the basic form of Nouns and describes the subject of the sentence (the person or thing that is acting or is talked about). The Accusative case is also known as the Direct Object. In sentences, the direct object is usually that with which something is done and that which is benutzt for the action. The question for the Accusative case is: Wen? or Was? However, we use the Accusative mainly after certain Verbs with Accusative, after Prepositions with Accusative and so-called Two-Part Prepositions.The Dative case is also known as the Indirect Object. The Indirect object is the noun that receives something (which usually is in the Accusative case).The question for the Dative case is Wem? or Was? However, we use the Dative mainly after certain Verbs with Dative and Prepositions with Dative, adjectives with dative and so-called Two-Part Prepositions.The Genitive case shows belonging or possession. It is used in Noun–Noun constructions. However, we also use the genitive after certain Verbs with Genitives, Prepositions with Genitives, and Adjectives with Genitives. The control question for the Genitive is Wessen? Masculine and Neutral nouns get an extra "s" or an "es" at the end.

Grammar verb conjugation

This table showcases German verb conjugation and provides examples of the infinitive verb, past form and the perfect form:

Infinitive Past form perfect form
lernen gelernt haben gelernt
spielen gespielt haben gespielt
laufen gelaufen haben gelaufen

Information:

This video outlines the past tense and when to use it. It also covers certain verb conjugation that only occur in this tense. The simple past describes an event within a time frame that is completed (compare the simple past "I cooked twice this week" with the present perfect, "I have cooked twice this week" — the former implies that that's all the cooking I'm going to do, while the latter leaves open the possibility that I might cook more). The past perfect tense describes events or situations that precede another point in the past that has been established through the the present perfect or the simple past. English creates this tense with a past participle and, as the name suggests, with the auxiliary verb, "to have," conjugated in its past-tense forms.

Here are some actvities to help you get to grips with verb endings that are specific to pronouns!

Learn these verb endings that change depending on the pronouns:

Now it's time for you to test yourself!

How many phrases can you remember?

You can use this table of general verb endings to help you. Remember that verbs ending with D or T take on an extra E when used with du/er/sie/es!

Pronouns Verb endings
Ich lerne
Du lernst
Er/sie/es lernt
Ihr lernt
Wir lernen
Sie lernen

Summary: This page has taught you A1/A2 German grammar. You should now be confident with the 4 German cases and when to roughly identify them, you should be able to use different tenses when appropriate as well as conjugating the verbs accordingly.

Click here to move onto content about vocabulary and translation.

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