Mein Alltag: telling the time, prepositions ‘um’, ‘seit’ and ‘vor’
I can use a range of prepositions and times to talk about past and present events and routines with precision.
Mein Alltag: telling the time, prepositions ‘um’, ‘seit’ and ‘vor’
I can use a range of prepositions and times to talk about past and present events and routines with precision.
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Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Use the 12 hour or the 24 hour clock to tell the time in German. Use 'um' to say ‘at’ with clock times.
- 'Um' can also mean ‘around’ or ‘approximately’ when used with numbers, and is normally followed by the definite article.
- When referring to a place, 'um' means ‘around’ and is always followed by the accusative case.
- 'Seit' is used with present tense to express an unfinished action started in the past. It can mean ‘since’ or ‘for’.
- 'Vor' + length of time is used with past tense to say how long ago something happened. Use the dative case.
Keywords
Um - preposition meaning ‘at’ with clock times and ‘around’ with places, used with the accusative case
Seit - preposition meaning ‘since’ or ‘for’, followed by the dative case
Vor - preposition meaning ‘ago’, followed by the dative case
Accusative - case used for the direct object in a sentence, after most verbs and some prepositions
Dative - case used for the indirect object in a sentence and after a dative verb or preposition
Common misconception
'Um' always means 'at' and is used with clock times.
Whilst 'um' is used commonly with clock times to mean 'at', it can also mean 'around' when referring to places, e.g., 'around the corner', or 'about, approximately' with numbers, e.g., 'about 10km'. It also follows some verbs, e.g., 'es geht um'.
To help you plan your year 10 german lesson on: Mein Alltag: telling the time, prepositions ‘um’, ‘seit’ and ‘vor’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 german lesson on: Mein Alltag: telling the time, prepositions ‘um’, ‘seit’ and ‘vor’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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Explore more key stage 4 german lessons from the Popular culture: der Alltag unit, dive into the full secondary german curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
quarter to
quarter past
half (to)
ten past
twenty-five to
five to
to work, go smoothly
to separate, separating
to hide, hiding
to consider, think about, think of
to move, moving
to treat, treating
individual, individually
as soon as
as long as
since then
personal
after
Exit quiz
6 Questions
to be about, being about
to exercise, exercising
Sorry! Excuse me!
courtyard, farm
appointment, date
to surprise, surprising