New
New
Year 9

Journeys past and present: time-manner-place word order in the present tense

Learning outcomes

I can use the correct German word order of time before manner before place when discussing journeys in the present tense.

I can transcribe and pronounce [sch], [sp] and [st] accurately.

New
New
Year 9

Journeys past and present: time-manner-place word order in the present tense

Learning outcomes

I can use the correct German word order of time before manner before place when discussing journeys in the present tense.

I can transcribe and pronounce [sch], [sp] and [st] accurately.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The sound symbol correspondence (SSC) [sch] sounds like the English 'sh'.
  2. The SSC [sp] starts with the English sound 'sh' before the 'p'.
  3. The SSC [st] starts with the English should 'sh' before the 't' at the start of a word.
  4. Add 's' to days/times of day to convert from noun to adverb: 'am Samstag' (on Saturday) becomes 'samstags' (Saturdays).
  5. German adverbs in a sentence follow the order time before manner before place, abbreviated to TMP.

Keywords

  • [sch] - pronounced as in 'schreiben'

  • [sp] - pronounced as in 'spielen'

  • [st] - pronounced as in 'stark'

  • Time-manner-place (TMP) - the order of adverbs in a German sentence - time before manner before place, abbreviated to TMP

Common misconception

The time-manner-place rule means that all sentences must have time before manner before place.

German sentences can start with any adverb to emphasise that element. The TMP order is then retained for any other adverbs in that sentence. For example, 'Mit dem Zug (M) fahren wir morgen (T) nach Liechtenstein (P).'.


To help you plan your year 9 German lesson on: Journeys past and present: time-manner-place word order in the present tense, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The speaking activity in Learning Cycle 3 can be adapted or scaffolded as appropriate for additional writing practice before speaking. With a copy of their own prompt sheet and answers sheet, partners A and B could take it in turns to ask and answer questions.
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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.
Which of these is the best definition of a modal verb?

a word used to describe the weather
Correct answer: a verb of necessity or possibility, with another in the infinitive at the end
a word that always comes at the end of a sentence
a word that describes a place

Q2.
Which sentence correctly uses 'um … zu'?

Correct answer: Ich fahre nach Berlin, um ein Foto zu machen.
Ich um ein Foto zu machen, fahre nach Berlin.
Ich fahre um ein Foto, zu machen nach Berlin.
Ich fahre nach Berlin, ich will ein Foto machen.

Q3.
Match each German word to its English meaning.

Correct Answer:dauern,to last, lasting

to last, lasting

Correct Answer:ziehen,to pull, pulling

to pull, pulling

Correct Answer:dürfen,to be allowed to, may

to be allowed to, may

Correct Answer:können,to be able to, can

to be able to, can

Correct Answer:schauen,to watch, look at

to watch, look at

Correct Answer:fahren,to drive, ride, go

to drive, ride, go

Q4.
Write the 1st person singular imperfect form of 'können' ('I was able to'). 'Ich .'

Correct Answer: konnte

Q5.
Put the words below in the correct order. Start with 'wir'.

1 - wir
2 - fahren
3 - im Sommer
4 - mit dem Auto
5 - ins Dorf

Q6.
Put the words below in the correct order. Start with 'ich darf'.

1 - ich darf
2 - eine Reise
3 - machen
4 - weil
5 - es
6 - billig
7 - ist

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Match each German sound to its pronunciation rule.

Correct Answer:[sch],sounds like the English 'sh'

sounds like the English 'sh'

Correct Answer:[sp],starts with 'sh' before the 'p' at the start of a word

starts with 'sh' before the 'p' at the start of a word

Correct Answer:[st],starts with 'sh' before the 't' at the start of a word

starts with 'sh' before the 't' at the start of a word

Q2.
Which is the correct way to say 'on Saturdays' in German?

am Samstag
Samstag
Correct answer: samstags
am Samstags
Samstage

Q3.
Which sentence starts with an adverb of manner, but keeps the correct TMP order for the rest of the sentence?

Correct answer: Schnell fahren wir am Dienstag zum Bahnhof.
Schnell fahren wir zum Bahnhof am Dienstag.
Wir schnell fahren am Dienstag zum Bahnhof.
Am Dienstag fahren wir schnell zum Bahnhof.

Q4.
Put the words below in the correct time–manner–place sentence order. Start with 'wir'.

1 - wir
2 - fahren
3 - am Dienstag
4 - schnell
5 - zum Bahnhof

Additional material

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