Key learning points

1. Revisiting individual word meanings in listening, reading and speaking practice activities strengthens memory.
2. Contrasting the present and perfect tense in practice tasks deepens the knowledge of both structures.
3. ‘Uhr’ means 'o’clock'. ‘Um’ means ‘at’ with time, e.g., 'um drei Uhr' ('at three o’ clock'). ‘Die Stunde’ means ‘hour’.
4. Starting with time triggers word order 2 so the verb stays in 2nd place, e.g., 'um zwei Uhr habe ich Karten gespielt'.

Keywords

• Um - preposition meaning ‘at’ with time, e.g., 'um drei Uhr' ('at three o’clock')

• Word order 2 (WO2) - inverts the subject and verb in a sentence

• Perfect tense - verb tense that describes completed actions in the past, e.g., 'ich habe gesagt’ ('I said'), ‘sie hat gespielt’ ('she played')

Common misconception