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      Where you went and where you were: 'in', 'an', 'auf', time with 'vor' and 'nach'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use 'in', 'an', and 'auf' with the accusative and dative to say where I went or was on a past holiday, and I can understand the time past and to the hour.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. ‘Nach’ means 'past' and ‘vor’ means 'to' the hour when saying the time.
      2. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, greetings vary by region and time of day.
      3. The accusative is used with 'in', 'an', 'auf' when there is movement to a place, e.g., ‘ich gehe in den Zoo’.
      4. The dative is used with 'in', 'an', 'auf' when the person is at or in a place, e.g., ‘ich bin im Zoo’.

      Keywords

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

      • Accusative - case used for the direct object in a sentence, after most verbs and some prepositions

      • Dative - case used for the indirect object in a sentence and after a dative verb or preposition

      Common misconception

      To greet German speakers, use either ‘hallo’ or ‘guten Tag’.

      Greetings in German-speaking countries vary depending on time of day, country/region and level of formality, e.g., ‘hallo’ in Germany but ‘servus’ in Austria and ‘hoi’ in Switzerland.

      Teacher tip

      The island of Sylt is a cultural focus for this lesson. Teachers may wish to take the opportunity to share short videos of the island to widen students' understanding of the importance of Sylt to German people. Videos are readily available online.

      Equipment

      A mini whiteboard and pen, together with pen and paper for making notes, would be useful, if available.

      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.
      Order the numbers from smallest to largest.

      1 - fünfundzwanzig
      2 - dreißig
      3 - fünfunddreißig
      4 - vierzig
      5 - fünfundvierzig
      6 - fünfzig
      7 - fünfundfünfzig

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Ausflug (m),outing, trip, excursion
      Correct Answer:Essen (nt),meal, food
      Correct Answer:Fahrt (f),drive, trip
      Correct Answer:Karte (f),ticket, menu
      Correct Answer:Preis (m),price, prize
      Correct Answer:Insel (f),island

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:annehmen,to accept, accepting
      Correct Answer:aufhören,to stop, stopping
      Correct Answer:aufstehen,to get up
      Correct Answer:aussehen,to look at, watch
      Correct Answer:fangen,to catch, catching
      Correct Answer:werden,to become, will

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'She will stay in a hotel.'

      1 - sie
      2 - wird
      3 - in
      4 - einem
      5 - Hotel
      6 - wohnen

      Q5.
      Write in English: 'Wo ist die Bibliothek?'

      Correct Answer: Where is the library

      Q6.
      Write in English: 'Das Museum gefällt uns sehr.'

      Correct Answer: we like the musem a lot, we really like the museum, we like the museum very much

      4 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the greetings and descriptions.

      Correct Answer:grüß Gott,hello - South Germany, Austria
      Correct Answer:servus,hello, hi - south Germany, Austria
      Correct Answer:moin (moin),hello, hi - north Germany
      Correct Answer:grüezi,hello - Switzerland
      Correct Answer:hoi, sali,hi - Switzerland
      Correct Answer:salü,hi, bye - Switzerland

      Q2.
      Match the times.

      Correct Answer:11:10,es ist zehn nach elf
      Correct Answer:10:50,es ist zehn vor elf
      Correct Answer:23:10,es ist dreiundzwanzig Uhr zehn
      Correct Answer:22:50,es ist zweiundzwanzig Uhr fünfzig
      Correct Answer:03:30,es ist halb vier
      Correct Answer:15:30,es ist fünfzehn Uhr dreißig

      Q3.
      'Wir gehen morgen an __________ Strand.' Choose the correct missing word.

      der
      die
      das
      Correct answer: den
      dem

      Q4.
      'Die Kinder spielen gern in __________ Park.' Choose the correct missing word.

      der
      die
      das
      den
      Correct answer: dem

      To help you plan your 8 German lesson on: Where you went and where you were: 'in', 'an', 'auf', time with 'vor' and 'nach', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...