Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 8
Who is supposed to do what? Modal verbs, two-verb structures, question words
Learning outcomes
I can emphasise different parts of sentences by using inversion (word order two), and understand how to form sentences that use two verbs.
I can correctly pronounce [kn].
- Year 8
Who is supposed to do what? Modal verbs, two-verb structures, question words
Learning outcomes
I can emphasise different parts of sentences by using inversion (word order two), and understand how to form sentences that use two verbs.
I can correctly pronounce [kn].
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Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Both sounds are pronounced in the sound-symbol correspondence [kn]. This is different from English.
- The modal verb 'sollen' expresses obligation or probability and requires a 2nd verb in the infinitive at the end.
- Use inversion (word order two) to emphasise a particular element. The verb is always the 2nd idea in the sentence.
- Open (wh) questions use inversion (word order two). For example: 'Wann soll ich die Tickets kaufen?'.
- Use a comma before 'zu' in two-verb structures that don't involve a modal verb, e.g., 'Er hofft, das Buch zu lesen.'
Keywords
[kn] - pronounced as in 'Knie'; both sounds are pronounced, unlike the silent 'k' in English
Sollen - modal verb meaning 'should, be supposed to, ought', used to express obligation, expectation or probability
Word order two - inverts the subject and verb in a sentence
Zu - word meaning 'to', used with a preceding comma to form two-verb sentences in German that do not involve a modal verb
Common misconception
The 'k' in [kn] is silent.
Both sounds in [kn] must be pronounced. This is different from English. Compare English 'knee' and German 'Knie'. Remember to pronounce the 'k' in German words containing [kn].
To help you plan your year 8 German lesson on: Who is supposed to do what? Modal verbs, two-verb structures, question words, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 German lesson on: Who is supposed to do what? Modal verbs, two-verb structures, question words, 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.
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Explore more key stage 3 German lessons from the Making plans: present and future tenses unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each German word to its correct English meaning.
fit
difficult, heavy
alone
without
Q2.Put the words in the correct order to say: 'I must explain the truth.'
Q3.Complete the following sentence by filling in the correct form of the modal verb 'sollen': 'Ich die Geschichte erzählen.'
Q4.Match the German and the English.
later
today
tomorrow
yesterday
Tuesday evening
Tuesday afternoon
Q5.Which sentence correctly uses a modal verb with an infinitive at the end?
Q6.Match each modal verb with its correct English meaning.
should
may
must