These interactive tips are integrated into German Steps and explain the
basic workings of the language. They are not a complete guide to German
grammar, but provide a grounding in most of the main points. Each of them links
to extra notes explaining structures and patterns in more detail.
| Unit | Grammar Tip | Extra Grammar |
|
Introducing yourself Andrea meets her colleague Claus at the airport. |
The sounds of German: Introduction to pronunciation |
Simple introductions: Sein: Ich bin, Sie sind |
| Family and friends: Andrea invites Claus for dinner at her house. |
Saying 'my': Introduction to gender. Possessives: mein, meine |
Words similar to English: Recognising cognates |
|
Saying what you do Andrea's chatting to some people in a bar. |
Saying 'you': Personal pronouns: du, Sie |
Masculine and feminine: Nouns and gender: professions |
|
Where you live and come from Andrea's at a party and makes new friends from abroad. |
Regular verbs: Regular verbs: endings for ich, du, Sie |
Saying where you're from: Prepositions: aus, in |
|
Sightseeing Andrea shows her visiting colleague Claus Berlin. |
Saying 'the': The definite articles: der, die, das |
Asking questions: Interrogatives |
|
Taking a taxi Andrea's taking a taxi to the New National Gallery. |
Asking and talking about destination: Destination: wohin, zu, nach |
Asking and talking about location: Location: wo, in, an |
|
Asking for directions Andrea can't find her way around the Ku'damm |
Letters ä ö ü: Umlauts |
Using 'bitte': Basic formalities: bitte |
|
Taking a bus Andrea needs to take a bus to the airport. |
Changing vowels: Vowel shift - fahren, fährt |
Numbers 1-10: |
|
Coffee and cake Ordering some sweet snacks. |
Quantities and portions: Partitive expressions: ein Stück, eine Tasse |
Compound nouns: Introduction to compound nouns |
|
Having a snack Andrea is visiting a beergarden. |
Saying 'a': The indefinite articles: ein, eine, einen |
Saying 'I'd like...': Making a choice: ich möchte |
|
Ordering a meal Andrea and her husband are visiting a restaurant. |
Saying 'no': Negatives: nein, nicht, kein, keine, keinen |
Saying what you like: Preference: gern |
|
Shopping for food Watch Andrea at the supermarket. |
Plurals: Plurals: die, -e, -n, -en |
Numbers 11-99 |
|
Arranging a day trip Andrea and a friend organise an outing. |
Irregular verbs: Irregular verbs: ich habe, du hast |
Saying 'there' and 'there is/are': Basic impersonal structures: es gibt |
|
Driving Andrea and her friend are on their way out of town. |
Using Sie: Personal pronouns: Sie, sie |
Saying 'I need': Necessity: brauchen |
|
Holiday accommodation Getting acquianted with the ammenities. |
Saying 'must' and 'can': Obligation, permission: müssen, dürfen |
Agreeing: Agreement: ich verstehe, in Ordnung, kein Problem |
|
Discussing the weather Andrea is chatting to her neighbour. |
Time and place: Word order: inversion |
Talking about the future: Present tense as future |
|
Booking a room Andrea is planning a conference. |
Giving dates: Dates: von… bis zum, am, ordinal numbers |
Months: Months |
|
Making an appointment Andrea is arranging to see a colleague. |
Telling the time: Telling the time: um |
Days of the week: Days of the week |
|
Taking the train Watch Andrea buying a ticket for the train. |
Saying 'leaves' and 'arrives': Introduction to separable verbs |
Saying 'it': Personal pronouns: er, sie, es |
|
Attending a conference Andrea arrives at the conference centre. |
Saying 'your': Possessives: Ihr, dein, ihr |
Saying 'from': Prepositions: von, aus |
|
Shopping for presents Andrea buys a little toy. |
Using 'den': Introduction to accusative |
Describing objects: Introduction to adjectives |
|
Renting a car Watch Andrea at the car rental. |
Making comparisons: Adjectives: comparative forms |
Numbers 100 and above: Numbers 100 and above |
|
At the chemist's Andrea is having a headache. |
Saying 'it hurts': Describing pain: der Schmerz, es tut weh |
Understanding instructions: The imperative: Nehmen Sie |
|
Lost property Andrea has lost her handbag. |
Talking about the past: Introduction to the past tense |
More about the past: Participles |
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