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      Party plans: separable verbs, placement and position verbs, 'während'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use separable and placement verbs to understand and talk about party plans.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. Separable verbs are made up of a prefix and a main verb, e.g., 'stattfinden' - 'to take place'.
      2. We must remember the separable prefix, especially when English equivalents are single verbs, e.g. 'anfangen' - to start.
      3. Three placement verbs - 'stellen', 'setzen', 'legen' - describe putting something somewhere, and take the accusative.
      4. When items are already in position, we use equivalent position verbs 'stehen', 'sitzen' and 'liegen'.
      5. The word order 3 conjunction ‘während’ (while) is useful for referring to two things happening at the same time.

      Keywords

      • Separable verb - two-part verb with a prefix and a main verb, e.g., ‘stattfinden'

      • Placement verb - verb that describes putting something somewhere, and takes the accusative case

      • Während - conjunction 'while' that triggers word order 3 (WO3), sending the verb to the end of the clause or sentence

      Common misconception

      German has one general verb meaning 'to put, putting'.

      German has three placement verbs that translate into English as 'to put, putting'. 'Stellen' - to make something stand (vertically), 'setzen' - to make something sit, 'legen' - to make something lay down (horizontally).

      Teacher tip

      Demonstrating placement verbs with physical objects helps to clarify and fix this new knowledge. Teachers might like to use toys or any classroom items to act out placing, lying, or standing actions as they introduce the verbs and/or revisit them subsequently.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), 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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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      'Ich brauche ein weiteres Buch.'. What does the adjective mean?

      Correct answer: additional
      bright
      large
      white
      wide

      Q2.
      'Hast du __________?'. Which nouns are correct?

      Bad
      Bahn
      Correct answer: Hunger
      Correct answer: Lust
      Correct answer: Schmerzen

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Flugzeug (nt),plane

      plane

      Correct Answer:Geschichte (f),story

      story

      Correct Answer:Küche (f),kitchen

      kitchen

      Correct Answer:Tante (f),aunt

      aunt

      Correct Answer:Teller (m),plate

      plate

      Correct Answer:Wohnung (f),flat, apartment

      flat, apartment

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'My uncle is tired and he brings a coffee with him.'

      1 - mein Onkel
      2 - ist
      3 - müde
      4 - und
      5 - er bringt
      6 - einen Kaffee
      7 - mit

      Q5.
      Write in English: 'Wann kommt das Schiff an?'

      Correct Answer: When does the ship arrive, When is the ship arriving

      Q6.
      Write in German: 'I am writing a letter.'

      Correct Answer: Ich schreibe einen Brief

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      Which of these verbs mean 'to put'?

      stehen
      Correct answer: stellen
      Correct answer: setzen
      Correct answer: legen
      liegen

      Q2.
      'Ich __________ den Hund auf das Sofa.'. Choose the correct missing verb.

      Correct answer: setze
      sitze
      stehe

      Q3.
      'Die Katze __________ auf dem Bett.'. Choose the correct missing word.

      Correct answer: liegt
      legt
      stellt

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'I prepare the food while Wolfgang dances.'

      1 - ich
      2 - bereite
      3 - das Essen
      4 - vor
      5 - während
      6 - Wolfgang
      7 - tanzt

      Q5.
      Write in German: 'When is she arriving?'

      Correct Answer: Wann kommt sie an

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