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Year 7

Who does what and when? 'Wann?' and inversion

Learning outcomes

I can ask others what they do and when, and can recognise word order 2 in statements and questions.

I can correctly distinguish [s], [z], [o] and [ö].

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New
New
Year 7

Who does what and when? 'Wann?' and inversion

Learning outcomes

I can ask others what they do and when, and can recognise word order 2 in statements and questions.

I can correctly distinguish [s], [z], [o] and [ö].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. To ask an open question, we place a question word directly in front of the verb.
  2. The word order in open questions is similar to that of statements in word order 2, but a question word is at the start.
  3. To ask a closed question, swap the position of the subject and verb in a statement.
  4. Do not rely on word order to tell you if a sentence is a question or a statement. Intonation is important.
  5. Use 'wann?' to ask open questions about when things happen.

Keywords

  • Open question - question starting with a wh- word that has more information in the answer than yes/no

  • Statement - a sentence that gives information

  • Word order 2 - (WO2) inverts the subject and verb in a sentence

  • Wann? - question word meaning 'when?'

Common misconception

Word order tells you if a sentence is a question or a statement.

Use clues such as intonation and vocabulary meanings to help you decide if a sentence is a question or a statement, as the word order in questions is similar to word order 2.


To help you plan your year 7 german lesson on: Who does what and when? 'Wann?' and inversion, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

For Task C1, audio files are provided for the teacher's use on the media clips page. These could be used with students to check pronunciation and accuracy of their translations. Alternatively, use the audio as an opportunity for a dictation task.
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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

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:Obst (nt),fruit
tick

fruit

Correct Answer:Uniform (f),uniform
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uniform

Correct Answer:Zimmer (nt),room
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room

Correct Answer:Geschenk (nt),present
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present

Correct Answer:Zug (m),train
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train

Correct Answer:nichts,nothing
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nothing

Q2.
Which of these words are question words?
dann
Correct answer: warum
danach
Correct answer: wie
Correct answer: wann
Q3.
Which is the correct order of words in a word order 1 sentence?
verb - subject - noun - adverb
Correct answer: subject - verb - adverb - noun
subject - verb - noun - adverb
adverb - noun - verb - subject
adverb - verb - subject - noun
Q4.
Select the statements that are in word order 2.
Ich trinke abends Wasser.
Correct answer: Abends trinke ich Wasser.
Trinkst du abends Wasser?
Machst du nachmittags Hausaufgaben?
Correct answer: Nachmittags mache ich Hausaufgaben.
Q5.
Translate the following sentence into English: 'Wann liest du?'
Correct Answer: When are you reading?, When do you read?
Q6.
Translate the following sentence into German: 'She reads often.' Use word order 2.
Correct Answer: Oft liest sie.

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these words contain a long [o] or [ö]?
Correct answer: schön
plötzlich
Sonnenbrille (f)
Correct answer: rot
Correct answer: doof
Q2.
The word order in open questions is ...
similar to statements in word order 1.
Correct answer: similar to statements in word order 2.
Correct answer: an example of inversion.
the standard order of words in a German sentence.
Q3.
Which of the sentences below are questions?
Du redest oft
Correct answer: Redest du oft
Correct answer: Wann redest du
Abends redest du
Du redest am Abend
Q4.
What is the term for the change in pitch when asking a question?
inversion
Correct answer: intonation
stress
statement
adverb
Q5.
Translate the following sentence into English: 'Wann singst du?'
Correct Answer: When do you sing?, When are you singing?
Q6.
Translate the following sentence into German: 'When do you ride a bike?'
Correct Answer: Wann fährst du Rad?, Wann faehrst du Rad?

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