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      Christmas: definite article 'die', plurals with umlaut +e, no change -el/-en/-er

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can apply masculine and neuter plural rules 1 and 2 and understand some German Christmas traditions.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. [ü] can be either short (followed by 2 or more consonants) or long (followed by a single consonant or 'h').
      2. For all plural nouns, the German word for 'the' is 'die'.
      3. For noun plural rule 1, most masculine and neuter nouns add -e to the end and an umlaut to the vowel.
      4. For noun plural rule 2, words ending in -el, -en or -er are often the same in the plural.

      Keywords

      • [ü] - pronounced short [ü] as in 'fünf' and long [ü] as in 'Tür'

      • Es gibt - 'there is' or 'there are'

      • Plural - more than one

      Common misconception

      All nouns change in their plural form, and they all change in the same way.

      Different nouns have different rules for forming plurals. It is important to learn these and acknowledge that there will always be exceptions to any rule.

      Teacher tip

      'Reigen' is a traditional folk circle dance which originates from Greece. It is found in many western cultures, including in Germany and England.

      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.
      Match the German words below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:manchmal,sometimes

      sometimes

      Correct Answer:nie,never

      never

      Correct Answer:oft,often

      often

      Correct Answer:jeden Tag,every day

      every day

      Correct Answer:einmal die Woche,once a week

      once a week

      Correct Answer:kaum,hardly

      hardly

      Q2.
      Match the German verbs below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:gehen,to go, going

      to go, going

      Correct Answer:hören,to listen, listening

      to listen, listening

      Correct Answer:tanzen,to dance, dancing

      to dance, dancing

      Correct Answer:wissen,to know, knowing

      to know, knowing

      Q3.
      Sort the below into the correct order to form a sentence.

      1 - bist
      2 - du
      3 - eine
      4 - Nummer
      5 - ?

      Q4.
      Match each German noun to its correct grammatical gender.

      Correct Answer:Vater,masculine

      masculine

      Correct Answer:Farbe,feminine

      feminine

      Correct Answer:Tier,neuter

      neuter

      Q5.
      Choose the correct word to fill in the missing gap to say 'I don't know' in German: 'Ich weiß __________.'

      Correct answer: nicht
      kein
      aber

      Q6.
      Match these verb forms to the correct pronouns.

      Correct Answer:geht,er, sie, es

      er, sie, es

      Correct Answer:tanze,ich

      ich

      Correct Answer:hörst,du

      du

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the German nouns below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:der Arzt,doctor

      doctor

      Correct Answer:der Platz,place, room

      place, room

      Correct Answer:der Zug,train

      train

      Correct Answer:das Spiel,game

      game

      Correct Answer:das Stück,piece

      piece

      Q2.
      Select the correct plural forms.

      Correct answer: die Engel
      Correct answer: die Köpfe
      die Tischen
      die Problemen
      Correct answer: die Tage

      Q3.
      Select the singular nouns.

      Correct answer: der Tisch
      die Spiele
      Correct answer: das Zimmer
      die Zimmer

      Q4.
      Which of these words do not change in their plural form?

      Correct answer: der Lehrer
      Correct answer: die Tafel
      das Paar
      der Ort
      der Zug

      Q5.
      Which option best describes 'Stollen'?

      Christmas biscuits
      Correct answer: Christmas fruit bread
      gingerbread

      Q6.
      Translate the following sentence into English: 'Es gibt viele Spiele.'

      Correct Answer: There are lots of games., There are many games., There are a lot of games.

      To help you plan your 7 German lesson on: Christmas: definite article 'die', plurals with umlaut +e, no change -el/-en/-er, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...