New
New
Year 8

A new home: dative adjective endings with definite and indefinite articles

Learning outcomes

I can understand and use prepositions with dative articles and adjectives to say where specific things are located.

I can distinguish between [v] and [f] in known words.

New
New
Year 8

A new home: dative adjective endings with definite and indefinite articles

Learning outcomes

I can understand and use prepositions with dative articles and adjectives to say where specific things are located.

I can distinguish between [v] and [f] in known words.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. After the verb 'sein', adjectives before nouns have nominative endings, because the noun is the subject of the sentence.
  2. After most other verbs, prenominal adjectives have accusative endings, because the noun is the object of the sentence.
  3. German [v] usually sounds like English and German [f]; to write words correctly their spelling needs to be known.
  4. Some prepositions always require dative endings; e.g., aus; others are only ever used with the accusative, e.g., durch.
  5. The dative adjective ending is -en for singular and plural, definite and indefinite articles.

Keywords

  • Preposition - word that is used before a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun, connecting it to another word

  • Dative adjective ending - -en ending added to all adjectives before the noun in the dative case

Common misconception

After all prepositions, the case used depends on whether the verb describes 'location in' or 'movement to'.

Some prepositions always require dative endings regardless of the verb meaning; e.g., 'aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu'; other prepositions are only ever used with the accusative, e.g., 'durch, für'.


To help you plan your year 8 German lesson on: A new home: dative adjective endings with definite and indefinite articles, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

To aid memory of the string of dative-only prepositions teachers might use a familiar song tune. At this point, pupils have learnt most of the main prepositions, with the exception of 'gegenüber' - always a favourite because of its sound. The chorus of Queen's 'We are the champions' works well here!
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

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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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the German and English.

Correct Answer:versuchen,to try, trying

to try, trying

Correct Answer:verstecken,to hide, hiding

to hide, hiding

Correct Answer:lachen,to laugh, laughing

to laugh, laughing

Correct Answer:kosten,to cost, costing

to cost, costing

Correct Answer:teilen,to share, sharing

to share, sharing

Q2.
Fill in the gap in the following sentence with the correct form of 'sollen': 'Du lachen.'

Correct Answer: sollst

Q3.
Select the feminine nouns.

Auto
Correct answer: Stofftasche
Kleid
Correct answer: Polizeiuniform
Correct answer: Tür

Q4.
Translate 'Where is the car?' into German.

Correct Answer: wo ist das Auto, wo ist der Wagen

Q5.
Translate into English: 'es gibt ein Gefühl'.

Correct Answer: There is a feeling

Q6.
Which of these nouns are masculine?

Correct answer: Fehler
Gefühl
Correct answer: Rock
Correct answer: Liebesbrief
Stunde

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What does the German [v] usually sound like?

like the English 'w'
Correct answer: like the English 'f'
like the English 'v'
like the English 'th'

Q2.
Choose the correct adjective ending for the following sentence: 'Das Glas kommt aus dem __________ Gebäude.'

alt
Correct answer: alten
alter
altes
alte

Q3.
Fill in the gap in the following sentence with the correct form of 'alt': 'Ich teile das Glas.'

Correct Answer: alte

Q4.
Which of these prepositions alway take the dative case?

durch
Correct answer: aus
Correct answer: bei
für
Correct answer: mit

Additional material

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