New
New
Year 8

Thoughts and opinions: opinion verbs with 'dass', word order

Learning outcomes

I can use opinion verbs with the conjunction 'dass' and correct word order to say what I think on several everyday topics.

I can distinguish confidently between [ei] and [ie] when I listen and read aloud.

New
New
Year 8

Thoughts and opinions: opinion verbs with 'dass', word order

Learning outcomes

I can use opinion verbs with the conjunction 'dass' and correct word order to say what I think on several everyday topics.

I can distinguish confidently between [ei] and [ie] when I listen and read aloud.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Use the verbs 'denken' (to think), 'glauben' (to believe), and 'meinen' (to have the opinion) to say what you think.
  2. In German, there is always a comma after an opinion verb; e.g., 'Ich denke, Sport ist lustig.'.
  3. Generally, the conjunction 'dass' (that) is used after opinion verbs; e.g., 'Ich denke, dass ...'.
  4. The conjunction 'dass' is followed by word order 3 (WO3), where the verb goes to the end of the sentence or clause.

Keywords

  • Opinion verb - verb commonly used to express thoughts, beliefs, or feelings, e.g., 'denken', 'glauben', 'meinen'

  • Dass - conjunction 'that', often used after an opinion verb and followed by word order 3 (WO3)

  • Word order 3 (WO3) - after certain conjunctions, e.g., 'dass', the verb is sent to the end of the sentence or clause

Common misconception

After an opinion verb (e.g., 'denken') and the conjunction 'dass', we use normal subject-verb word order.

To say 'I think that ...' in German, we use the conjunction 'dass', which triggers word order 3 (WO3); e.g., 'Ich denke, dass Rapmusik toll ist.'.


To help you plan your year 8 german lesson on: Thoughts and opinions: opinion verbs with 'dass', word order, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

This lesson will substantially expand pupils' communicative range and progress can be consolidated using register routines to elicit pupils' thoughts and opinions on a wide range of topics.
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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).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the German words below to the correct English meanings.
Correct Answer:Gesicht,face

face

Correct Answer:Haare,hair

hair

Correct Answer:Mund,mouth

mouth

Q2.
Match the German words to their English meanings.
Correct Answer:Schloss,castle

castle

Correct Answer:breit,broad, wide

broad, wide

Correct Answer:langsam,slow

slow

Correct Answer:verbringen,to spend, spending (time)

to spend, spending (time)

Correct Answer:rund,round

round

Correct Answer:als,as

as

Q3.
Which of the following verbs is typically used with an indirect object (i.e., in the dative case)?
sehen
Correct answer: gefallen
verbringen
machen
Q4.
Match each article and adjective pair to the correct noun.
Correct Answer:ein anderer,Jugendclub

Jugendclub

Correct Answer:eine andere,Aktivität

Aktivität

Correct Answer:ein anderes,Hobby

Hobby

Q5.
Match the German verbs to the correct English meanings.
Correct Answer:fehlen,to lack, to be missing

to lack, to be missing

Correct Answer:gefallen,to please, be pleasing

to please, be pleasing

Correct Answer:gehören,to belong, belonging

to belong, belonging

Correct Answer:mögen,to like, liking

to like, liking

Correct Answer:denken,to think, thinking

to think, thinking

Correct Answer:glauben,to believe, believing

to believe, believing

Q6.
Order the words below to make a correct German sentence.
1 - ich
2 - verbringe
3 - gern
4 - Zeit
5 - mit
6 - dir

4 Questions

Q1.
Match each German word to its English meaning.
Correct Answer:Meinung,opinion

opinion

Correct Answer:Schloss,castle

castle

Correct Answer:fehlen,to be missing

to be missing

Correct Answer:Schüler,pupil

pupil

Correct Answer:Telefon,telephone

telephone

Q2.
Put the words below in the correct order to form a grammatically-correct sentence in German.
1 - ich
2 - denke,
3 - dass
4 - Rapmusik
5 - cool
6 - ist
Q3.
Match each opinion phrase in German to its English meaning.
Correct Answer:Ich denke, dass ...,I think that ...

I think that ...

Correct Answer:Ich glaube, dass ...,I believe that ...

I believe that ...

Correct Answer:Ich meine, dass ...,I am of the opinion that ...

I am of the opinion that ...

Q4.
Which sentence uses the wrong word order after 'dass'?
Ich glaube, dass der Schüler Zeit hat.
Ich meine, dass die Nase breit ist.
Correct answer: Ich denke, dass Rapmusik ist cool.
Ich denke, dass das Schloss alt ist.

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