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Year 7

Summer plans: contrasting uses of the present tense, 'nächst-'

Learning outcomes

I can use the present tense and time phrases to write a short text about what I usually do in the summer and what I am going to do this summer.

I can correctly distinguish between [s] and [ß].

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New
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Year 7

Summer plans: contrasting uses of the present tense, 'nächst-'

Learning outcomes

I can use the present tense and time phrases to write a short text about what I usually do in the summer and what I am going to do this summer.

I can correctly distinguish between [s] and [ß].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [s] sounds like the English 'z' before a vowel. Elsewhere [s], [ss] and [ß] sound like the English 's'.
  2. 'Nächst-' means 'next' and takes the same ending as the definite article of the noun it precedes.
  3. Use time phrases (e.g., 'nächstes Jahr') with the present tense to refer to future plans.
  4. When translating future meaning from German into English, use the present continuous (e.g., 'next week I am going').
  5. Use simple present tense in English translations of German statements about present routines (e.g., ‘normally I go’).

Keywords

  • [s] - pronounced as in 'sollen'

  • [ß], [ss] - pronounced as in 'groß'

  • Time phrase - a multi-word phrase that describes when something happens, e.g., 'am Montag'

  • Nächst- - 'next'

  • Tense - form of a verb that expresses time (past, present, future)

Common misconception

Use the simple present to translate future plans from German into English, e.g., 'Nächstes Jahr spiele ich Tennis.' - 'Next year I play tennis.'.

Use the present continuous in English when translating future plans (that are expressed in the present tense) from German, e.g., 'Nächstes Jahr spiele ich Tennis.' - 'Next year I am going to play tennis.'.


To help you plan your year 7 german lesson on: Summer plans: contrasting uses of the present tense, 'nächst-', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use Task B3 as a translation into English task for more practice of vocabulary and grammatical structures.
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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.
Which verb means 'to manage, achieve'?
dauern
schlafen
Correct answer: schaffen
suchen
vergessen
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:dort,there
tick

there

Correct Answer:fast,nearly, almost
tick

nearly, almost

Correct Answer:kaum,hardly
tick

hardly

Correct Answer:manchmal,sometimes
tick

sometimes

Correct Answer:normalerweise,normally
tick

normally

Correct Answer:nie,never
tick

never

Q3.
Sort the words below into the correct order to form the following sentence: 'I don't run very often in Vienna.'
1 - ich
2 - laufe
3 - nicht
4 - sehr
5 - oft
6 - in
7 - Wien
Q4.
Translate the following sentence into English: 'Ich habe viele Hausaufgaben.'
Correct Answer: I have a lot of homework., I have lots of homework.
Q5.
Translate the following sentence into German: 'I drive to Scotland.'
Correct Answer: Ich fahre nach Schottland.
Q6.
Translate the following sentence into German: 'He gives me an exercise book.'
Correct Answer: Er gibt mir ein Heft.

5 Questions

Q1.
The sound-symbol correspondence [s] is pronounced like English ‘z’ ...
Correct answer: before a vowel.
after a vowel.
at the end of a word.
Q2.
Which of these phrases are time phrases?
Correct answer: einmal die Woche
Correct answer: jeden Tag
mit deiner Mutter
mit Freunden
zu Hause
Q3.
'Nächsten Sommer schwimmen wir im Meer.'. Which structure does this sentence use?
present time phrase + present tense
future time phrase + future tense
present time phrase + future tense
Correct answer: future time phrase + present tense
Q4.
Match the adjectives and nouns.
Correct Answer:nächste,Woche
tick

Woche

Correct Answer:nächsten,Monat
tick

Monat

Correct Answer:nächstes,Jahr
tick

Jahr

Q5.
'Nächsten Montag fahren wir in den Urlaub.'. Complete the translation: 'Next Monday .'
Correct Answer: we are going on holiday, we're going on holiday

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