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Year 7

Talking with friends: questions, simple present and present continuous

Learning outcomes

I can use the present tense and adverbs to ask and answer questions about what I do generally and what I am doing now.

I can correctly pronounce [j] in German words and in English loan words beginning with 'j'.

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New
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Year 7

Talking with friends: questions, simple present and present continuous

Learning outcomes

I can use the present tense and adverbs to ask and answer questions about what I do generally and what I am doing now.

I can correctly pronounce [j] in German words and in English loan words beginning with 'j'.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [j] is pronounced as in 'ja'. Loan words from English which begin with 'j' in English are pronounced with English 'j'.
  2. The simple present is the only present tense in German.
  3. Adverbs indicate if the present continuous is needed in an English translation.
  4. Form closed questions by swapping the position of the subject and verb. Add a question word to form an open question.

Keywords

  • [j] - pronounced as in 'ja'

  • Simple present - present tense used to describe habitual, routine actions; the only present tense in German

  • Present continuous - present tense used in English to describe ongoing, current actions; not used in German

  • Question - seeks information

Common misconception

'I am doing' is translated as 'Ich bin machen'.

There is no present continuous ('-ing' form) tense in German, and therefore no use of the verb 'sein'. Use a time adverb to express what you are doing right now in German, e.g., 'Ich mache jetzt ...'.


To help you plan your year 7 german lesson on: Talking with friends: questions, simple present and present continuous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

If pupils have exchange partners, they could prepare a list of questions to send to their partners.
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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:mögen,to like, liking
tick

to like, liking

Correct Answer:kaum,hardly
tick

hardly

Correct Answer:Handy (nt),mobile phone
tick

mobile phone

Correct Answer:zeigen,to show, showing
tick

to show, showing

Correct Answer:manchmal,sometimes
tick

sometimes

Correct Answer:Frage (f),question
tick

question

Q2.
Fill in the gap in the following sentence: '__________ redest du mit Freunden?' Choose the correct word.
Correct answer: Warum
Dort
Magst
Wer
Normalerweise
Q3.
Sort the words below into the correct order to form a sentence in word order 1.
1 - ich
2 - singe
3 - jeden Tag
4 - ein
5 - Lied
Q4.
Which of these statements are in word order 2 (adverb - verb - subject - noun)?
Ich mag Berlin sehr.
Kannst du mit dem Bus fahren?
Correct answer: Im Park läuft er samstags.
Correct answer: Sonntags ist es langweilig.
Alastair wohnt in Schottland.
Q5.
Match each German word to the correct category.
Correct Answer:Hund (m),Tiere
tick

Tiere

Correct Answer:Fußball (m),Sport
tick

Sport

Correct Answer:Apfel (m),Obst
tick

Obst

Correct Answer:Arzt (m),Jobs
tick

Jobs

Correct Answer:Spanisch (nt),Sprachen
tick

Sprachen

Correct Answer:Geschwister (pl),Familie
tick

Familie

Q6.
Translate the following sentence into English: 'Ich lese Bücher.'
Correct Answer: I read books., I am reading books.

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these words is pronounced with an English 'j' sound, not a German [j]?
jedoch
jetzt
Correct answer: Jeans (f)
ja
Joghurt (m)
Q2.
Match the question words.
Correct Answer:Wohin?,Where to?
tick

Where to?

Correct Answer:Wann?,When?
tick

When?

Correct Answer:Wo?,Where?
tick

Where?

Correct Answer:Woher?,Where from?
tick

Where from?

Correct Answer:Wie?,How?
tick

How?

Correct Answer:Wieviele?,How many?
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How many?

Q3.
Sort the words below into the correct order to form a closed question.
1 - arbeiten
2 - sie
3 - am
4 - Mittwoch
5 - ?
Q4.
Choose the correct translation for the following sentence: 'When do you play tennis?'
Wie oft spielst du Tennis?
Wo spielst du Tennis?
Spielst du heute Tennis?
Correct answer: Wann spielst du Tennis?
Mit wem spielst du Tennis?
Q5.
'Sie fährt jetzt Rad.'. Which tense is needed to complete the translation of this sentence? 'She __________ a bike.'
rides (present simple)
Correct answer: is riding (present continuous)
Q6.
Translate the following sentence into German: 'I'm listening to music now.'
Correct Answer: Ich höre jetzt Musik., Jetzt höre ich Musik.

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