icon-background-square
New
New
Year 7

What I do and when: inversion in statements with adverbs of time

Learning outcomes

I can distinguish between word order 1 and word order 2 and use both to say what I do and when.

I can correctly pronounce [th].

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 7

What I do and when: inversion in statements with adverbs of time

Learning outcomes

I can distinguish between word order 1 and word order 2 and use both to say what I do and when.

I can correctly pronounce [th].

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [th] is pronounced as in 'Theater'. All German words containing [th] come from other languages. The 'h' is silent.
  2. Word order 1 (WO1) - subject, verb, adverb, noun - is the standard word order of a simple German sentence.
  3. To emphasise when something happens, swap the position of the subject and the adverb. This is word order 2 (WO2).
  4. The verb remains in the same position in WO2 as in WO1.

Keywords

  • [th] - pronounced as in ‘Theater’

  • Word order - the order of words in a sentence

  • WO1 - abbreviation for word order 1, the standard word order of a German sentence, i.e., subject then verb

  • WO2 - abbreviation for word order 2, which inverts the subject and verb in a sentence

  • Adverb - word that describes a verb or an adjective

Common misconception

In word order 2, all the words in a sentence change position from word order 1.

The verb remains in the same position in word order 2 as in word order 1. If emphasis is on the adverb, the adverb and subject swap position.

Use mini whiteboards to practise ordering parts of a sentence by dictating sentences for students to copy, translate and label with correct metalanguage.
speech-bubble
Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the German and the English.
Correct Answer:Bücher (ntpl),books
tick

books

Correct Answer:Filme (mpl),films
tick

films

Correct Answer:Hose (f),trousers
tick

trousers

Correct Answer:Keks (m),biscuit
tick

biscuit

Correct Answer:Gutschein (m),voucher
tick

voucher

Correct Answer:Obst (nt),fruit
tick

fruit

Q2.
Sort the words below into the correct order to form a statement.
1 - du
2 - kannst
3 - Musik
4 - hören
Q3.
In terms of pronunciation, the 'stress' in a word means ...
Correct answer: which syllable of a word is emphasised.
which syllable of a word is the first one pronounced.
which syllable of a word is pronounced differently in German.
which syllable of a word is the second one pronounced.
Q4.
Select the adverbs.
wir
mögen
Correct answer: einmal die Woche
Correct answer: dann
macht
Q5.
What is meant by word order 1?
Correct answer: the order of words in a simple, standard German sentence
Correct answer: the words in a sentence follow the order subject - verb - adverb - noun
the order of words in a closed question
the order of words in an open question
Q6.
Translate the following sentence into German: 'I often see the girl.'
Correct Answer: Ich sehe oft das Mädchen., Ich sehe oft das Mädchen

6 Questions

Q1.
German words containing [th] __________ come from other languages.
Correct answer: always
sometimes
never
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:Bibliothek (f),library
tick

library

Correct Answer:Chor (m),choir
tick

choir

Correct Answer:Orchester (nt),orchestra
tick

orchestra

Correct Answer:Verein (m),club, association
tick

club, association

Correct Answer:Donnerstag (m),Thursday
tick

Thursday

Correct Answer:Dienstag (m),Tuesday
tick

Tuesday

Q3.
'Du isst oft ein Stück Obst.' Which word order is this?
Correct answer: word order 1
word order 2
we can't tell
Q4.
'Danach benutze ich den Gutschein.' Which word order is this?
word order 1
Correct answer: word order 2
we can't tell
Q5.
Sort the words below into WO1 (word order 1).
1 - ich
2 - benutze
3 - jeden Tag
4 - mein
5 - Handy
Q6.
Sort the words below into WO2 (word order 2).
1 - Dienstags
2 - spiele
3 - ich
4 - am Computer

Additional material

Download additional material