New
New
Year 9

Famous people and their languages: perfect tense with 'sein', calendar years

Learning outcomes

I can form the perfect tense with 'sein' and can say calendar years in German, in the context of important people and dates.

I can identify which syllable to stress in a German word.

New
New
Year 9

Famous people and their languages: perfect tense with 'sein', calendar years

Learning outcomes

I can form the perfect tense with 'sein' and can say calendar years in German, in the context of important people and dates.

I can identify which syllable to stress in a German word.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Stress the 2nd syllable of words that start with an inseparable prefix. Borrowed words stress the 2nd or final syllable.
  2. Verbs of movement or which imply a change of state form the perfect tense with 'sein', e.g., 'er ist gestorben'.
  3. Verbs which require an object are transitive verbs. Verbs that don't require an object are intransitive verbs.
  4. Calendar years in German are said as long numbers, e.g., 'neunzehnhundertfünf' = 1905.
  5. Calendar years 2000+ are said 'zweitausend-', e.g., 'zweitausendeins' = 2001.

Keywords

  • Stress - pronouncing one syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word

  • Sein - verb meaning 'to be, being', also used as an auxiliary verb with a past participle to form the perfect tense

  • Perfect tense - verb tense that describes completed actions in the past, e.g., 'I (have) said', 'she (has) played'

  • Transitive verb - a verb requiring an object to make sense, e.g., 'to say', 'to tell'

  • Intransitive verb - a verb which does not require an object to make sense, e.g., 'to speak', 'to live'

Common misconception

Stress is always placed on the first syllable in German words.

Most German words place stress on the first syllable, but the 2nd syllable is stressed in words beginning with inseparable prefixes. Borrowed words stress the 2nd or final syllable.


To help you plan your year 9 German lesson on: Famous people and their languages: perfect tense with 'sein', calendar years, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Task A1 could be completed as a whole-class choral activity, or in pairs.
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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.
'Wir haben __________ entscheiden, ins Kino zu gehen.' Choose the correct missing word.

dich
euch
mich
sich
Correct answer: uns

Q2.
Match the German and English.

Correct Answer:beschließen,to decide, deciding

to decide, deciding

Correct Answer:bezahlen,to pay, paying

to pay, paying

Correct Answer:einladen,to invite, inviting

to invite, inviting

Correct Answer:sich freuen,to be happy

to be happy

Correct Answer:sich melden,to get in touch

to get in touch

Correct Answer:sich unterhalten,to have a good time, chat

to have a good time, chat

Q3.
Match the German and English.

Correct Answer:Fahrzeug (nt),vehicle

vehicle

Correct Answer:Himmel (m),sky

sky

Correct Answer:Sonne (f),sun

sun

Correct Answer:Staat (f),state

state

Correct Answer:Sprache (f),language

language

Correct Answer:Wort (nt),word

word

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'The children spoke to the teacher.'

1 - die
2 - Kinder
3 - haben
4 - mit
5 - dem
6 - Lehrer
7 - gesprochen

Q5.
Write in English: 'Hast du schon bezahlt?'

Correct Answer: have you already paid, did you already pay

Q6.
Write in German: 'the dress is colourful'.

Correct Answer: das Kleid ist bunt

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Which words stress the second or final syllable?

aufwachsen
Correct answer: Besuch
Februar
Correct answer: Figur
Correct answer: vergessen

Q2.
Write out the year 1986 in German.

Correct Answer: neunzehnhundertsechsundachtzig

Q3.
Which of these sentences include intransitive verbs?

Correct answer: Er wurde in der Schweiz geboren.
Er hat ein Buch gelesen.
Correct answer: Sie ist in Deutschland gestorben.
Sie hat das Haus gefunden.
Ich habe ein Auto gekauft.

Q4.
Write in German: 'I became famous'. Use the perfect tense.

Correct Answer: ich bin berühmt geworden, ich bin beruehmt geworden

Additional material

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