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      This summer: present vs past, perfect tense weak verbs 1st person singular

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use past and present tenses to understand about holiday experiences in German.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. [ei] and [ie] are tricky German sounds and need to be read, written and pronounced correctly.
      2. To understand what you did in the past, use the present tense of ‘haben’ and a past participle.
      3. The perfect tense in German can be translated in two ways in English: 'have done' and 'did'.
      4. The English meaning we use often depends on time adverbs.

      Keywords

      • [ei] - sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'frei'

      • [ie] - sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'Liebe'

      • Past participle - the form of a verb used in the perfect tense; for example gespielt (played)

      • Perfect tense - the German past tense which translates 2 English past tenses; for example, I did and I have done.

      Common misconception

      The perfect tense in German is often only translated as 'have done'.

      Give clear examples of both translations 'have done' and 'did' with appropriate time adverbials. Emphasise the role of time adverbials in helping to decide on the correct English translation.

      Teacher tip

      Pupils benefit from quick checks on mini whiteboards to identify the correct translation into English and then from pair work oral translation of English sentences into German to build familiarity with the 'ich' form of the German perfect tense.

      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.
      How do you say 'I have' in German?

      Ich haben.
      Ich hast.
      Correct answer: Ich habe.
      Ich hat.

      Q2.
      Match each of these verbs to their English translations.

      Correct Answer:machen,to do, to make

      to do, to make

      Correct Answer:legen,to lay, put

      to lay, put

      Correct Answer:wohnen,to live

      to live

      Correct Answer:hören,to hear

      to hear

      Correct Answer:beginnen,to begin

      to begin

      Correct Answer:gewinnen,to win

      to win

      Q3.
      To find the stem of a German verb, take the infinitive (e.g., 'machen') and remove the .

      Correct Answer: en, -en, - en

      Q4.
      Match each of these words or phrases to their English translations.

      Correct Answer:schon,already

      already

      Correct Answer:immer,always

      always

      Correct Answer:nie,never

      never

      Correct Answer:letzten Monat,last month

      last month

      Correct Answer:letztes Jahr,last year

      last year

      Correct Answer:letzte Woche,last week

      last week

      Q5.
      How do you say 'I learn' in German?

      Correct Answer: Ich lerne, Ich lerne., ich lerne

      Q6.
      Which of the following words include the letters which make the sound in the English word 'I'?

      Wien
      das Ziel
      Correct answer: Freiburg
      schließlich
      Correct answer: Kleidung

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match each of these German words to their English translations.

      Correct Answer:die Kleidung,clothing

      clothing

      Correct Answer:der Spaß,fun

      fun

      Correct Answer:deshalb,therefore, for that reason

      therefore, for that reason

      Correct Answer:erleben,to experience

      to experience

      Correct Answer:kaufen,to buy

      to buy

      Correct Answer:der Punkt,point, dot, full stop

      point, dot, full stop

      Q2.
      Put the verbs below in the correct order to complete the following sentence: 'Ich __________ eine Bootsfahrt __________ und dann __________ Kleidung __________.'

      1 - habe
      2 - gemacht
      3 - habe ich
      4 - gekauft

      Q3.
      Which of these verbs do not require 'ge' in front of the past participle?

      wohnen
      Correct answer: erleben
      spielen
      kochen
      Correct answer: besuchen

      Q4.
      Which of the following time adverbials express general or unspecified times?

      letzten Monat
      Correct answer: nie
      gestern
      Correct answer: schon
      diesen Sommer

      Q5.
      When translating the German perfect tense into English, which of these rules are correct?

      Use simple past tense for all events that are finished.
      Use present perfect for specified times that are finished.
      Correct answer: Use simple past for specified times that are finished.
      Correct answer: Use either simple past or present perfect for unspecified general times.

      Q6.
      Which tense would you use to translate the German sentence 'Ich habe letzten Sommer Wien besucht' into English?

      Correct Answer: simple past, the simple past

      To help you plan your 8 German lesson on: This summer: present vs past, perfect tense weak verbs 1st person singular, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...