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      What others do and when: main clause word order and inversion

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can describe what I and others do and when, using both word order 1 and word order 2.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. The sounds ‘t’ and [th] sound the same in German, as in ‘Hotel’ and ‘Theater’.
      2. Word order 1 (WO1) means that the words in a sentence follow this pattern: subject - verb - adverb - noun.
      3. Word order 2 (WO2) means that the sentence begins with something other than the subject.
      4. The verb doesn’t change position in WO2.
      5. Practising writing from memory is important to practise your application of vocabulary and grammar.

      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 (subject - verb - adverb - noun)

      • 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

      The sounds ‘t’ and [th] make the same sound in English as they do in German.

      The sounds ‘t’ and [th] sound the same in German. Even though many words with these spellings come from English, German pronounces 't' and [th] in the same way.

      Teacher tip

      Rehearse Task B4 with the whole class using mini whiteboards to check that students have fully understood what is expected of them.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Put the days of the week in order.

      1 - Montag
      2 - Dienstag
      3 - Mittwoch
      4 - Donnerstag
      5 - Freitag
      6 - Samstag
      7 - Sonntag

      Q2.
      Which SSC (sound-symbol correspondence) is missing from the following words? '__eater', '__eorie', 'Ma__ematik'

      Correct Answer: [th], th, 'th'

      Q3.
      What is word order 1 (WO1)?

      Correct answer: the standard order of words in a German sentence (subject, verb, adverb, noun)
      the standard order of words in a German question (verb, subject)
      when the verb and subject swap position in a statement
      when the adverb and subject swap position in a statement

      Q4.
      Which of these statements is in word order 2 (WO2)?

      Correct answer: Heute kaufe ich Videos und Filme.
      Ich kaufe Videos.
      Kaufst du Videos heute?

      Q5.
      Translate the following sentence into German: 'I read a book often.' Use word order 1.

      Correct Answer: Ich lese oft ein Buch.

      Q6.
      Translate the following sentence into German: 'I often eat ice cream.' Use word order 2.

      Correct Answer: Oft esse ich Eis.

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      How do you spell 'method' in German?

      Metode
      Correct answer: Methode
      Mettode
      Method

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Bibliothek (f),library

      library

      Correct Answer:Chor (nt),choir

      choir

      Correct Answer:Verein (m),club, association

      club, association

      Correct Answer:Morgen (m),morning

      morning

      Correct Answer:Theater (nt),theatre

      theatre

      Correct Answer:Orchester (nt),orchestra

      orchestra

      Q3.
      Fill the gap in the following sentence with an appropriate word: 'Am __________ gehen wir ins Theater.'

      Correct answer: Morgen
      Correct answer: Mittwoch
      jetzt
      oft
      Correct answer: Donnerstag

      Q4.
      Which word order is the following statement in? '... mache ich Filme.' (A word is missing on purpose.)

      word order 1
      Correct answer: word order 2
      we can't tell

      Q5.
      Sort the words below into a sentence in word order 2.

      1 - dann
      2 - trage
      3 - ich
      4 - meine
      5 - Jacke

      Q6.
      Translate the following sentence into German: 'On Tuesday I swim.' Use word order 2.

      Correct Answer: Am Dienstag schwimme ich.

      To help you plan your 7 German lesson on: What others do and when: main clause word order and inversion, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...