Interview with a musician: present tense weak verbs, yes/no questions
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can ask and answer questions in the present tense in the context of an interview with a musician.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Cognates are pronounced in German with different syllable stress from their English equivalents.
- For present tense weak (regular) verbs, add -e, -st, -t to the stem for singular persons.
- For present tense verbs, the 'wir' (we), 'Sie' (formal you) and 'sie' (they) forms are the same as the infinitive.
- German has one present tense, with two English translations, simple or continuous present - I do or I am doing.
- The German inversion question 'Spielst du?' can translate as either 'Do you play' or 'Are you playing?'.
Keywords
Syllable stress - pronouncing one syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word
Stem - part of the verb that appears in all forms, created by removing the ending of the infinitive
Inversion question - when the subject pronoun and the verb switch place to form a yes/no or closed question
Common misconception
German has two ways to formulate present tense questions - just like in English; e.g., 'Do you do play guitar?'; 'Are you playing guitar?'.
German just has one present tense; this means that the question 'Spielst du Gitarre?' means 'Do you play guitar?' and 'Are you playing guitar?'. The context and/or the temporal adverb (on Tuesdays, today) help us to use the correct translation.
Teacher tip
The German youth music scene is an appealing theme. Teachers may want to direct students to find out more about one of the competitions features in this lesson (Deutschland sucht den Superstart, SchoolJam).
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the German words to their correct English meanings.
Q2.What is the stem of the verb 'spielen'?
Q3.Which sentence uses the correct form of 'machen' for 'we'?
Q4.Put the words below in the correct order to ask 'What do you write?'.
Q5.Complete the following sentence using the correct form of the verb 'kommen' (to come): 'Er nach Hause.'
Q6.Match each German adverb to its English meaning.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match each pronoun to the correct present tense form of the verb 'verdienen' (to earn).
Q2.What does 'Spielst du Gitarre?' mean in English?
Q3.What is the stem of the verb 'erzählen' (to tell)?
Q4.Put the words below in the correct order to ask 'Are you using the phone?'.
Q5.Which of these is true about present tense questions in German?
To help you plan your 9 German lesson on: Interview with a musician: present tense weak verbs, yes/no questions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 German lesson on: Interview with a musician: present tense weak verbs, yes/no questions, 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 Modern lives and tall tales: present tense unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.