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Year 7

Compare lifestyles: present tense strong verbs 1st and 3rd person singular

Learning outcomes

I can recognise stem changes in strong verbs between the 1st and 3rd person singular forms, and I can understand short texts which contain familiar weak, irregular and strong verbs.

I can pronounce key vowel sounds.

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New
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Year 7

Compare lifestyles: present tense strong verbs 1st and 3rd person singular

Learning outcomes

I can recognise stem changes in strong verbs between the 1st and 3rd person singular forms, and I can understand short texts which contain familiar weak, irregular and strong verbs.

I can pronounce key vowel sounds.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. A strong verb changes its vowel in the verb stem of the 'sie', 'er', 'es' forms of the verb.
  2. There is no vowel change in the ‘ich’ form of strong verbs.
  3. Only verbs with a 'a' or 'e' in their verb stem can be strong.
  4. Verb stems with 'a' change to 'ä' and those with 'e' become 'i' or 'ie'.
  5. Use reference materials to learn which verbs are strong.

Keywords

  • Strong verb - a verb which changes its vowel in the verb stem of some of its forms

  • Verb stem - part of the verb that appears in all forms, created by removing the ending of the infinitive

Common misconception

There are no rules to help you learn which verbs are strong and have a vowel change in their stem.

Only verbs with an 'a' or 'e' in their stem can be strong.

Task A2 could be completed as a paired, timed speaking activity using one worksheet and two coloured pencils.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
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Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:Nacht (f),night
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night

Correct Answer:Österreich (nt),Austria
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Austria

Correct Answer:Platz (m),place, room
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place, room

Correct Answer:Spiel (nt),game
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game

Correct Answer:Stück (nt),piece
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piece

Correct Answer:Zug (m),train
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train

Q2.
Which of the words below have a long vowel?
Correct answer: wohnen
Correct answer: reden
Correct answer: grün
Arzt (m)
wünschen
Q3.
Match the beginnings and endings of each word or phrase
Correct Answer:lieg,en
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en

Correct Answer:mit,Freunden
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Freunden

Correct Answer:im,Klassenzimmer
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Klassenzimmer

Correct Answer:es,gibt
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gibt

Correct Answer:mit deiner,Mutter
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Mutter

Correct Answer:sehr,oft
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oft

Q4.
Fill in the gap in the following sentence with the correct form of 'liegen': 'Er zu Hause.'
Correct Answer: liegt
Q5.
What is a weak verb?
Correct answer: A weak verb has a regular pattern of changes when we apply verb endings.
A weak verb has no regular pattern of changes when we apply verb endings.
A weak verb is irregular in the present tense.
Q6.
Translate the following sentence into German: 'How many are there?'
Correct Answer: Wie viele gibt es?

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these words have a short vowel?
Correct answer: denken
geben
Correct answer: finden
wir
Correct answer: Handy
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:fahren,to drive, ride
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to drive, ride

Correct Answer:helfen,to help, helping
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to help, helping

Correct Answer:schlafen,to sleep, sleeping
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to sleep, sleeping

Correct Answer:Zeitung (f),newspaper
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newspaper

Correct Answer:Urlaub (m),holiday
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holiday

Correct Answer:Geld (nt),money
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money

Q3.
Strong verbs change their vowel in the 3rd person singular. Which verbs can be strong?
Verbs with a 'u' in their verb stem.
Correct answer: Verbs with an 'a' in their verb stem.
Correct answer: Verbs with an 'e' in their verb stem.
Verbs with an 'i' in their verb stem.
Verbs that do not have an 'e' or 'a' in their verb stem.
Q4.
Verb stems with a letter ' ' change to 'i' or 'ie'.
Correct Answer: e
Q5.
Verb stems with an 'a' or 'au' ...
change to ü.
change to ö.
Correct answer: change to ä.
Correct answer: change to äu.
do not change.
Q6.
Complete the following sentence using the correct form of 'sprechen': 'Er am Handy.'
Correct Answer: spricht

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