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Year 7

At and after school: present tense (weak verbs) 1st and 3rd person singular

Learning outcomes

I can understand, talk and write about what I or another person does at school and at home, using the 1st and 3rd person singular.

I can pronounce the long and short [i] correctly.

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New
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Year 7

At and after school: present tense (weak verbs) 1st and 3rd person singular

Learning outcomes

I can understand, talk and write about what I or another person does at school and at home, using the 1st and 3rd person singular.

I can pronounce the long and short [i] correctly.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [i] can be either short (followed by 2 consonants) or long (followed by a single consonant, double vowel or 'h').
  2. Remove 'en' from the infinitive and add 'e' for the 1st person singular of weak verbs in German.
  3. Remove 'en' from the infinitive and add 't' for the 3rd person singular of weak verbs in German.
  4. Practise using common high frequency verbs with varied vocabulary in different contexts (at school and at home).

Keywords

  • [i] - pronounced as in 'wir' or 'finden'

  • Verb stem - created by removing the '-en' ending from the infinitive

  • Verb ending - added to the verb stem to show who is doing an action

  • 1st person singular - the form of the verb used to talk about 'I'

Common misconception

In cognates, e.g., ‘Musik’, [i] makes the same sound as in English ‘music’.

The [i] sound is short (like English) when followed by 2 consonants, e.g., ‘Film’. Otherwise, it’s a long vowel.

In Task C1, asking students 'Wer macht mehr?' will reinforce understanding of the main ideas in the activity and is another opportunity to exploit vocabulary.
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Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
When are German vowels short?
when followed by a single consonant, as in 'rot'
when followed by the letter 'h', as in 'holen'
Correct answer: when followed by more than one consonant, as in 'Kopf'
Q2.
Match the questions below to the appropriate answers.
Correct Answer:Wer ist der Erste?,Wolf ist der Erste.
tick

Wolf ist der Erste.

Correct Answer:Wer hat einen Grund?,Ich habe einen Grund.
tick

Ich habe einen Grund.

Correct Answer:Hast du ein Beispiel?,Ja, ich habe ein Beispiel.
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Ja, ich habe ein Beispiel.

Correct Answer:Wo ist Wolf?,Wolf ist hier.
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Wolf ist hier.

Correct Answer:Wer ist Wolf?,Wolf ist mein Freund.
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Wolf ist mein Freund.

Q3.
Which person of the verb is 'er/sie'?
1st person singular
2nd person singular
Correct answer: 3rd person singular
Q4.
What is removed from the infinitive before adding a verb ending?
-t
-e
-d
Correct answer: -en
Q5.
Match the German vocabulary below to the correct English translations.
Correct Answer:machen,to do, doing
tick

to do, doing

Correct Answer:spielen,to play, playing
tick

to play, playing

Correct Answer:im Unterricht,in lessons
tick

in lessons

Correct Answer:schreiben,to write, writing
tick

to write, writing

Correct Answer:die Aufgabe,task
tick

task

Correct Answer:reden,to talk, talking
tick

to talk, talking

Q6.
Add the correct verb form to the following sentence: 'Sie in der Schule.' (She learns at school.)
Correct Answer: lernt

5 Questions

Q1.
Which words have the same [i] sound in English and German?
Correct answer: der Film
die Musik
Correct answer: der Finger
Berlin
privat
Q2.
Match the German words or phrases below to the correct English translations.
Correct Answer:das Zimmer putzen,to clean the room
tick

to clean the room

Correct Answer:zu Hause arbeiten,to work at home
tick

to work at home

Correct Answer:im Garten sitzen,to sit in the garden
tick

to sit in the garden

Correct Answer:eine Liste schreiben,to write a list
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to write a list

Correct Answer:nochmal,again
tick

again

Correct Answer:Ich verstehe nicht!,I don't understand!
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I don't understand!

Q3.
Which of these is true of a weak verb?
Correct answer: it follows a regular pattern of changes, e.g., 'ich lerne', 'sie lernt'
it follows an irregular pattern of changes, e.g., 'sein', 'ich bin', 'sie ist'
it is the dictionary form of a verb
Q4.
Add the correct verb form to the following sentence: 'Ich zu Hause.' (I cook at home.)
Correct Answer: koche
Q5.
Add the correct verb form to the following sentence: 'Sie im Unterricht.' (She works in lessons.)
Correct Answer: arbeitet

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