Master grammar with comprehensive explanations and examples
Full accusative declension with all article types and personal pronouns
Can apply accusative endings to all article types
Full dative declension with all article types, pronouns, and dative verbs
Can apply dative endings and use dative verbs correctly
The genitive case for possession and certain prepositions
Can express possession and use genitive prepositions
Introduction to the accusative case
Can use the accusative case for direct objects
Mir tut der Kopf weh — dative with body parts
Can describe pain and body issues using dative
Converting between noun-heavy academic style (bei der Durchführung der Messung) and verbal style; when each register wins
I can convert fluently between nominal and verbal style and pick the right register.
The left-branching monster: die im Keller gefundenen, seit Jahren vermissten Akten; building, reading and unwinding into relative clauses
I can read, build and unwind extended participial attributes including the gerundive.
Relative clauses with relative pronouns in nominative and accusative
Can define people and things using relative clauses
Question words: wie, wo, woher, was, wer
Can ask basic questions about personal information
Relative clauses with dative and prepositional relative pronouns
Can form relative clauses with dative and prepositions
Embedded questions with ob and W-words
Can embed questions politely in longer sentences
How spoken German really builds sentences: weil/obwohl + V2, left dislocation (Der Peter, der...), Operator-Skopus, Abbruch and repair
I understand and use spoken-syntax patterns like weil + V2 and dislocation appropriately.
Adverbial participle clauses: In Eile gepackt, fehlte die Zahnbürste; Partizip I for simultaneity; the subject rule and fixed formulas
I can use adverbial participle clauses and their fixed formulas without dangling them.
Inside the verbal bracket: pronouns before nouns, TeKaMoLo for adverbials, definite before indefinite, and how focus bends the rules
I can order pronouns, objects and adverbials in the Mittelfeld and bend the rules for focus.
Paired connectors: sowohl...als auch, weder...noch, entweder...oder, etc.
Can use paired connectors for balanced sentence structures
Headless relatives: Wer zu spät kommt, den bestraft das Leben; the wer...der case matching; was after alles/nichts/das
I can build wer/was free relatives with the right case bridge and sentence-was.
Complex temporal clauses with precise time relationships
Can express precise time relationships with temporal clauses
Advanced cause, concession, and condition clauses with varied connectors
Can argue using cause, concession, and condition clauses
Breaking the bracket legally: comparisons after the verb (besser als gedacht), heavy phrases, spoken Ausklammerung; what may leave the frame
I know what may legally leave the verbal bracket and what must stay inside.
The es inventory: weather-es, Platzhalter-es (Es wurde getanzt), Korrelat-es (Ich hasse es, zu...), which es vanishes under inversion
I can tell the four es-types apart and apply the inversion test.
The upper-register connector shelf: gleichwohl, indes(sen), mithin, folglich, demnach, überdies, freilich; position and tone
I can deploy upper-register connectors with correct inversion and register fit.
Subordinate clauses with dass, wenn, and ob
Can form complex sentences with dass, wenn, and ob
Time-related connectors for sequencing events
Can sequence events using temporal connectors
The temporal-modal-place word order rule
Can order time, manner, and place correctly in sentences
Negating sentences with nicht
Can negate statements using nicht
Advanced connectors for cause and concession
Can express cause and concession with advanced connectors
Negating nouns with kein/keine/keinen
Can negate nouns using kein/keine
Basic connectors that don't change word order
Can connect simple sentences with und, aber, oder
Word order when time expressions come first
Can place time expressions correctly in sentences
There is/there are with accusative
Can describe what exists in a place using es gibt
Modal verb at position 2, infinitive at the end
Can build sentences with modal verb and final infinitive
Using es gibt for places and directions
Can give directions and describe places using es gibt
Subordinate clauses with weil — verb goes to end
Can give reasons using weil with verb-final order
German alphabet and key pronunciation rules
Can spell words and recognize German pronunciation patterns
The archaic layer alive in idioms and irony: adverbial genitives (des Nachts, eines Tages), gen, ob + Gen, dereinst, -e dative (im Walde)
I can recognize archaic forms, their idiom shelters and their ironic potential.
Reading bureaucratic German: zwecks, betreffs, vorbehaltlich, ist Folge zu leisten; the grammar of forms and notices; writing a Widerspruch
I can decode official notices and file a formally correct Widerspruch.
The compounding machine: head-right rule, Fugenelemente (-s-, -n-, -e-), nonce compounds, when to hyphenate, decoding monsters
I can build and decode compounds with correct heads, joints and hyphens.
Numbers from zero to ten
Can understand and use numbers in everyday situations
Where codified norm and live usage split: wegen dem, brauchen ohne zu, größer wie, gewinkt/gewunken, Konjunktiv decline, am + Superlativ + von
I know the live norm battles and read each variant's social signal.
Errors only natives make: das/dass, seid/seit, Standart, einzigste, Deppenapostroph (Anna's Imbiss), wie/als - system logic and social signal
I can spot native-speaker errors, explain their system logic and read their social signal.
Numbers from eleven to one hundred
Can understand and say numbers up to one hundred
Particle stacking and order: doch mal, ja auch, halt eben; regional halt/eben; irony via particles; the fixed combination order
I can stack modal particles in their fixed order and tune tone with them.
Turning verbs and adjectives into nouns
Can transform verbs and adjectives into nouns in formal style
Meaning through stress: ICH habe das nicht gesagt (six readings), particle scope (nur/auch/sogar), contrastive accent vs word order
I can move sentence stress to recolor German sentences and anchor particle scope.
The optional commas that change meaning: Infinitivgruppen rules, scharf nachdenken vs appositions, comma before und in complex rows, Gedankenstrich
I can place the meaning-bearing commas of Infinitivgruppen and appositions.
One message, five registers: Amtsdeutsch, academic, journalistic, colloquial, intimate; the signals (Konjunktiv, particles, Nominalstil) and seam control
I can recast one message across five German registers and switch without seams.
Pluricentric German grammar: ich bin gestanden (south), das E-Mail, Jänner, ß-loss in Switzerland, der/das Butter - variants, not errors
I can recognize Austrian and Swiss standard variants and adjust my expectations per country.
German word formation: compounds, prefixes, and suffixes
Can understand and create compound words and derivations
Review and consolidation for Goethe-Zertifikat B2
Can apply all B2 grammar in Goethe exam task formats
Review of all A2 grammar for Goethe-Zertifikat A2
Can apply all A2 grammar in Goethe exam task formats
Telling time officially and colloquially
Can ask for and tell the time in German
Large numbers and talking about prices
Can understand and use large numbers and prices
Months, seasons, and expressing dates
Can express months, seasons, and dates in German
German sentence intonation patterns and word stress rules
Can recognize and produce basic German intonation patterns for statements and questions
Simple past tense formation for regular (weak) verbs
Can narrate past events using regular simple past forms
Passive voice combined with modal verbs
Can combine passive voice with modal verbs in formal texts
Alternative constructions that express passive meaning without werden
Can use alternative passive constructions like lassen + sich
Simple past of irregular (strong) verbs with stem vowel changes
Can use irregular simple past forms in written narratives
Past perfect tense for events before another past event
Can express events that happened before other past events
Modals as evidence markers: er muss/dürfte/könnte/mag krank sein (degrees of certainty); er soll (hearsay) vs er will (his own claim)
I can grade certainty with modal verbs and mark hearsay and self-claims with soll/will.
Complete Konjunktiv II system including past and complex conditions
Can express complex unreal conditions in past and present
Conjugating regular verbs like heißen, kommen
Can introduce themselves using simple present tense verbs
Light-verb constructions of formal German: zur Verfügung stellen, in Betracht ziehen, Anwendung finden; passive-like and aspect effects
I can use core Funktionsverbgefüge with their fixed shapes and causative/inchoative pairs.
Konjunktiv I for reported speech in formal German
Can report speech formally using Konjunktiv I
Partizip I and II used as adjectives before nouns
Can understand and use extended participial attributes
Future tenses: werden + Infinitiv (I) and werden + Partizip II + haben/sein (II)
Can express future plans and completed future actions
Verbs with reflexive pronouns referring back to the subject
Can use reflexive verbs for daily routines and feelings
Present tense passive voice: werden + Partizip II
Can form and understand passive voice in present tense
Conjugation and usage of sein (to be)
Can describe people and things using the verb sein
Perfect tense with sein as auxiliary for movement and state-change verbs
Can choose sein or haben correctly in perfect tense
Past passive: wurde + Partizip II and ist + Partizip II + worden
Can describe past events using passive voice
Simple past tense of sein, haben, and modal verbs
Can narrate using simple past of sein, haben, and modals
Regular verb pattern with wohnen, spielen, lernen
Can talk about daily activities using regular verbs
Conjugation and usage of haben (to have)
Can express possession using the verb haben
Subjunctive II for polite requests, wishes, and unreal conditions
Can make polite requests and express wishes with Konj. II
The würde-construction for Konjunktiv II of most verbs
Can express hypothetical situations using würde + infinitive
Inseparable prefix verbs: be-, er-, ver-, ent-, emp-, ge-, miss-, zer-
Can use inseparable prefix verbs with correct meanings
Journalistic Konjunktiv I in full: backshift-free reporting, würde/Konjunktiv II as replacement when forms collide, tense layers (sei gewesen)
I can report in journalistic Konjunktiv I with the full replacement cascade.
Infinitive clauses with zu, um...zu, ohne...zu, statt...zu
Can form infinitive clauses with zu for purposes and conditions
The noble remnant: gedenken, bedürfen, sich erfreuen, beschuldigen, sich enthalten; legal and solemn registers
I can use the genitive verbs in their legal and ceremonial homes.
Verbs that require a specific preposition
Can use verbs with their required prepositions correctly
Verbs with stems ending in -t or -d need extra -e-
Can correctly conjugate verbs with -t/-d stems
Complete imperative forms for du, ihr, and Sie
Can give commands in all registers: du, ihr, and Sie
Verbs that take both a dative and accusative object
Can use verbs with both dative and accusative objects
Stem-changing verbs: fahren→fährt, lesen→liest
Can use common stem-changing verbs in conversation
Separable verbs: aufstehen, anfangen, einkaufen
Can use separable verbs to describe daily routines
Irregular conjugation of essen (to eat)
Can talk about eating using the irregular verb essen
Using möchten to express wishes politely
Can express polite wishes and requests with möchten
Separable verbs in shopping and daily contexts
Can use separable verbs in shopping and daily life
können for ability and possibility
Can express ability and ask for permission with können
müssen for obligation and necessity
Can express obligation and necessity with müssen
Formal commands: Gehen Sie! Nehmen Sie!
Can give formal instructions and commands
dürfen for permission and prohibition
Can express permission and prohibition with dürfen
Informal commands: Geh! Nimm! Lies!
Can give informal commands to friends and family
wollen for wishes and intentions
Can express wishes and intentions with wollen
Introduction to past tense with haben + Partizip II
Can talk about past events using the perfect tense
Perfect tense with regular verbs: ge- + stem + -t
Can form past participles of regular verbs correctly
Perfect tense with irregular verbs: ge- + stem + -en
Can use irregular past participles in conversation
Prepositions that always require the accusative case
Can use accusative prepositions für, durch, gegen, ohne
The formal preposition shelf: infolge, angesichts, anlässlich, zugunsten, mangels, seitens, anhand; Dativ encroachment (wegen, trotz)
I can deploy the formal genitive prepositions with correct case and meaning.
All prepositions that always require the dative case
Can use all dative prepositions in routine contexts
Two-way prepositions with full accusative/dative contrast
Can use all two-way prepositions with correct case
Prepositions with dative: in, an, auf, bei, mit
Can describe locations using basic dative prepositions
Two-way prepositions: accusative vs. dative
Can distinguish location and direction with two-way prepositions
Time prepositions: am, um, von...bis, im
Can talk about times and dates using am, um, im
Personal pronouns in nominative case
Can use personal pronouns to refer to people
Personal pronouns as direct objects in the accusative case
Can replace direct objects with accusative pronouns
Da(r)- and wo(r)- compounds for things with prepositional verbs
Can replace prepositional phrases with da(r)- and wo(r)-
This/that: dieser, diese, dieses
Can point out specific items using dieser/diese/dieses
Comparing things using comparative and superlative forms
Can compare things using comparative and superlative forms
Adjective endings after definite articles (der, die, das)
Can add correct adjective endings after definite articles
Adjective endings after indefinite articles (Type 2) and without articles (Type 3)
Can use adjective endings after indefinite and zero articles
Describing people: groß, klein, alt, jung
Can describe people using basic adjectives
Using color words as adjectives
Can describe objects using color adjectives
Small words (doch, ja, mal, eben, halt, eigentlich, denn) that add nuance
Can use modal particles to sound more natural in German
Days of the week and frequency adverbs
Can talk about weekly schedules and frequency
Expressing preferences with gern, lieber, am liebsten
Can express likes and preferences using gern/lieber
immer, oft, manchmal, selten, nie
Can describe how often things happen using adverbs
Masculine nouns that add -(e)n in all cases except nominative singular
Can decline weak masculine nouns in all cases
Basic plural formation patterns in German
Can form and recognize plural nouns in German
Professions used without articles after sein
Can state professions without articles after sein