New
New
Year 8

Exchange gifts: 'von' and 'für', possessive adjectives (accusative and dative)

I can use the prepositions 'für' and 'von' and dative verbs to write about exchanging gifts with friends and family.

New
New
Year 8

Exchange gifts: 'von' and 'für', possessive adjectives (accusative and dative)

I can use the prepositions 'für' and 'von' and dative verbs to write about exchanging gifts with friends and family.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Circumlocution is an effective way to deepen word knowledge, making use of synonyms, antonyms or short descriptions.
  2. Possessive adjectives follow the same pattern as indefinite articles 'ein', 'eine', 'ein', changing for gender and case.
  3. The preposition 'für' ('for') is always followed by the accusative case; 'von' ('from') by the dative.
  4. Dative verbs are always used with indirect object pronouns: 'mir', 'dir', 'ihm', 'ihr' - (to, for) me, you, him, her.

Keywords

  • Circumlocution - descriptive phrase to define something without saying its exact name

  • Für - preposition 'for', which is always followed by the accusative case

  • Von - preposition 'from', which is always followed by the dative case

  • Possessive adjective - word that goes before a noun to show ownership or belonging, e.g., my, your

  • Dative verb - verb that is used with an indirect object pronoun

Common misconception

If we want to say 'her' in German, the word is always 'ihr'.

After many verbs, the word for 'her' is 'sie'; same as the word for 'she', e.g., 'ich frage sie'. The word 'ihr' means 'her' after a dative verb, e.g., 'ich antworte ihr'. 'Ihr' is also the possessive adjective 'her', e.g., 'ihr Lieblingsgeschenk'.


To help you plan your year 8 german lesson on: Exchange gifts: 'von' and 'für', possessive adjectives (accusative and dative), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Once learners have a number of synonyms in their vocabulary, simple circumlocution becomes a great way to deepen vocabulary knowledge, e.g., 'es ist ein anderes Wort für ...'. Also, if teachers teach this lesson close to a festive period, pupils could talk about gifts they have given and received.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these words is not an adjective?
bequem
freundlich
frisch
Correct answer: gestiegen
gesund
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:begreifen,to understand, understanding

to understand, understanding

Correct Answer:geben,to give, giving

to give, giving

Correct Answer:klettern,to climb, climbing

to climb, climbing

Correct Answer:küssen,to kiss, kissing

to kiss, kissing

Correct Answer:steigen,to increase, climb

to increase, climb

Correct Answer:wandern,to (go on a) walk or hike

to (go on a) walk or hike

Q3.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:Blick (m),view, look

view, look

Correct Answer:Geschenk (nt),present, gift

present, gift

Correct Answer:Luft (f),air

air

Correct Answer:Pflanze (f),plant

plant

Correct Answer:Schuh (m),shoe

shoe

Correct Answer:Wechsel (m),change

change

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'I am running through the forest again.'
1 - ich
2 - laufe
3 - wieder
4 - durch
5 - den
6 - Wald
Q5.
Write in English: 'Er ist geschwommen.'
Correct Answer: he swam, he has swum, he did swim
Q6.
Write in German: 'I stayed.'
Correct Answer: ich bin geblieben

6 Questions

Q1.
When you describe a word without saying the word itself, it is called .
Correct Answer: circumlocution
Q2.
'Das ist __________ Schwester.'. Choose the correct word for 'her'.
Correct answer: ihre
ihr
sie
Q3.
Which of these are dative verbs?
bekommen
Correct answer: danken
kriegen
Correct answer: schenken
verstehen
Q4.
Match up the correct sentence halves.
Correct Answer:Das ist ...,mein Onkel.

mein Onkel.

Correct Answer:Das ist für ...,meinen Onkel.

meinen Onkel.

Correct Answer:Das ist von ...,meinem Onkel.

meinem Onkel.

Q5.
Write in German: 'for my brother'.
Correct Answer: für meinen Bruder, fuer meinen Bruder
Q6.
Write in German: 'It is from him.'
Correct Answer: es ist von ihm, er ist von ihm, sie ist von ihm

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