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New
New
Year 10
AQA

Ich bin Ingenieurin: imperfect modals

Learning outcomes

I can use modal verbs in the imperfect tense to talk about work and studying.

I can recognise, write and pronounce [o] and [ö].

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New
New
Year 10
AQA

Ich bin Ingenieurin: imperfect modals

Learning outcomes

I can use modal verbs in the imperfect tense to talk about work and studying.

I can recognise, write and pronounce [o] and [ö].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [o] and [ö] are long when followed by no consonants or only one consonant.
  2. To form the imperfect of singular modal verbs, remove -en and add -te for ‘ich’, -test for ‘du’, -te for ‘sie/er/es’.
  3. To form the imperfect of plural modal verbs, remove -en and add -ten for ‘wir’, -tet for ‘ihr’, -ten for ‘sie’.
  4. In sentences with modal verbs, the second verb is in the infinitive at the end of the sentence.

Keywords

  • Imperfect tense - verb tense used most often for modal verbs when they describe past events

  • Modal verb - verb of necessity or possibility used with a 2nd verb in the infinitive, e.g., must, can, want

Common misconception

Modal verbs must add ge- in the imperfect tense.

Modal verbs are normally used in the imperfect to describe past events. The imperfect is a different tense from the perfect and is formed differently.


To help you plan your year 10 german lesson on: Ich bin Ingenieurin: imperfect modals, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Cycle 3 contains Higher grammar. Task C2 Option 2 is, however, for Foundation pupils. Foundation pupils could move straight to their version of this task after Cycle 2. Question 2 of the starter quiz, and questions 2 and 4 of the exit quiz are Higher-only.
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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 with the English.
Correct Answer:das Studium,study, studies
tick

study, studies

Correct Answer:der Vogel,bird
tick

bird

Correct Answer:persönlich,personal, personally
tick

personal, personally

Correct Answer:der Mitarbeiter,employee, co-worker
tick

employee, co-worker

Correct Answer:die Oma,grandma
tick

grandma

Correct Answer:studieren,to study, studying (at university)
tick

to study, studying (at university)

Q2.
Match the German with the English.
Correct Answer:wäre,(I, she, he, it) were, would be
tick

(I, she, he, it) were, would be

Correct Answer:das Abitur,school leaving exam, A levels
tick

school leaving exam, A levels

Correct Answer:die Hochschulbildung,higher education
tick

higher education

Correct Answer:die Rede,speech, talk
tick

speech, talk

Correct Answer:entstehen,to originate, develop
tick

to originate, develop

Correct Answer:sobald,as soon as
tick

as soon as

Q3.
How would you pronounce [o] in the words in the following sentence? 'Bertolt kocht oft tolle Gerichte.'
long [o] only
Correct answer: short [o] only
both long and short [o]
Q4.
How would you pronounce [ö] in the words in the following sentence? 'Der König hat viele schöne Vögel.'
Correct answer: long [ö] only
short [ö] only
both long and short [ö]
Q5.
Match the German with the English.
Correct Answer:dürfen,to be allowed, may
tick

to be allowed, may

Correct Answer:können,to be able to, can
tick

to be able to, can

Correct Answer:müssen,to have to, must
tick

to have to, must

Correct Answer:wollen,to want to
tick

to want to

Correct Answer:sollen,to ought to, be supposed to, should
tick

to ought to, be supposed to, should

Q6.
How would you say 'I wanted' in the imperfect tense in German?
Correct Answer: ich wollte

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the German with the English.
Correct Answer:öffnen,to open, opening
tick

to open, opening

Correct Answer:sich kümmern um,to take care of, be concerned about
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to take care of, be concerned about

Correct Answer:der Flughafen,airport
tick

airport

Correct Answer:die Technik,technology
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technology

Q2.
Match the German with the English.
Correct Answer:lösen,to solve, solving
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to solve, solving

Correct Answer:der Arbeitgeber,employer
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employer

Correct Answer:das Gehalt,salary, pay, earnings, wages
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salary, pay, earnings, wages

Correct Answer:technisch,technical
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technical

Correct Answer:ungewöhnlich ,unusual, unusually
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unusual, unusually

Q3.
Match the modal verb to its meaning.
Correct Answer:durftest,(you) were allowed to
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(you) were allowed to

Correct Answer:musste,(I) had to
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(I) had to

Correct Answer:durfte,(she) wanted to
tick

(she) wanted to

Correct Answer:solltest,(you) were supposed to
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(you) were supposed to

Correct Answer:musstest,(you) had to
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(you) had to

Correct Answer:sollte,(I) was supposed to
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(I) was supposed to

Q4.
Match the verb forms to the correct pronouns.
Correct Answer:wolltest,du
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du

Correct Answer:wollten,wir
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wir

Correct Answer:wollte,ich
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ich

Correct Answer:wolltet,ihr
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ihr

Q5.
Sort the words below into the correct order to translate the following sentence into German: 'My grandfather wanted to marry my grandmother.'
1 - mein
2 - Großvater
3 - wollte
4 - meine
5 - Großmutter
6 - heiraten
Q6.
How would you say 'you (singular, informal) were allowed to' in German?
Correct Answer: Du durftest

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