Interview with a musician: present tense weak verbs, yes/no questions
Learning outcomes
I can ask and answer questions in the present tense in the context of an interview with a musician.
I can use the correct syllable stress with German cognates.
- Year 9
Interview with a musician: present tense weak verbs, yes/no questions
Learning outcomes
I can ask and answer questions in the present tense in the context of an interview with a musician.
I can use the correct syllable stress with German cognates.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Cognates are pronounced in German with different syllable stress from their English equivalents.
- For present tense weak (regular) verbs, add -e, -st, -t to the stem for singular persons.
- For present tense verbs, the 'wir' (we), 'Sie' (formal you) and 'sie' (they) forms are the same as the infinitive.
- German has one present tense, with two English translations, simple or continuous present - I do or I am doing.
- The German inversion question 'Spielst du?' can translate as either 'Do you play' or 'Are you playing?'.
Keywords
Syllable stress - pronouncing one syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word
Stem - part of the verb that appears in all forms, created by removing the ending of the infinitive
Inversion question - when the subject pronoun and the verb switch place to form a yes/no or closed question
Common misconception
German has two ways to formulate present tense questions - just like in English; e.g., 'Do you do play guitar?'; 'Are you playing guitar?'.
German just has one present tense; this means that the question 'Spielst du Gitarre?' means 'Do you play guitar?' and 'Are you playing guitar?'. The context and/or the temporal adverb (on Tuesdays, today) help us to use the correct translation.
Equipment
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the German words to their correct English meanings.
Q2.What is the stem of the verb 'spielen'?
Q3.Which sentence uses the correct form of 'machen' for 'we'?
Q4.Put the words below in the correct order to ask 'What do you write?'.
Q5.Complete the following sentence using the correct form of the verb 'kommen' (to come): 'Er nach Hause.'
Q6.Match each German adverb to its English meaning.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match each pronoun to the correct present tense form of the verb 'verdienen' (to earn).
