Saying what something is like: subject pronouns 'er', 'sie', 'es' for 'it'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can say what something is like, identifying grammatical gender and using the correct word for ‘it’.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- [ö] can be either long like in 'schön' or short like in 'plötzlich'.
- In German, subject pronouns tell us the grammatical gender of the subject.
- German has three words for the subject pronoun 'it' - masculine 'er', feminine 'sie' and neuter 'es'.
Keywords
[ö] - pronounced long [ö] as in ‘schön’ and short [ö] as in 'plötzlich'
Subject pronoun - represents the person, people or thing(s) doing the verb, e.g., I, we, they
Er - subject pronoun ‘he’ and ‘it’ for masculine nouns
Sie - subject pronoun ‘she’ and ‘it’ for feminine nouns
Es - subject pronoun ‘it’ for neuter nouns
Common misconception
'Er' and 'sie' only mean 'he' and 'she'.
Whilst 'er' and 'sie' do mean 'he' and 'she', they are also the masculine and neuter words for 'it'.
Teacher tip
Reiterate to your learners that the subject pronoun is not related to biological gender, e.g., a male doesn't say 'er' for everything. It depends on the grammatical gender of the noun.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the German words below to the correct English translations.
mother
father
night
head
Q2.Match the German words below to the correct English translations.
dark
problem
example
school
Q3.Select the plural nouns.
Q4.Translate the following sentence into English: 'Die Spiele sind da.'
Q5.Match up the forms of 'sein' to the correct English translations.
I am
you are
he is
she is
they are
Q6.Match the grammatical genders to the correct forms of 'the'.
der
die
das
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the subject in the following sentence? 'Die Katze ist klein.'
Q2.Which subject pronoun would you use in German for 'it' when referring to a neuter noun?
Q3.In German, what determines which version of 'it' ('er', 'sie', or 'es') is used in a sentence?
Q4.Put the steps we must follow to decide which version of 'it' to use in German in the correct order.
Q5.In the sentence 'Der Hund ist schwarz. Er ist groß.', why is 'er' used for 'it'?
Q6.Change the sentence 'Die Flasche ist rot.' to say 'It is red.'. Replace the noun with a subject pronoun.
To help you plan your 7 German lesson on: Saying what something is like: subject pronouns 'er', 'sie', 'es' for 'it', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 German lesson on: Saying what something is like: subject pronouns 'er', 'sie', 'es' for 'it', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 German lessons from the Christmas: singular and plural nouns unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.