What was it like then? Imperfect tense: 'war, hatte, gab, damals, früher'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can confidently describe how things used to be, using a range of adjectives in the nominative and accusative cases.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Knowing sound-symbol correspondences well helps develop reading and transcription skills.
- The nominative is used for articles and adjectives following ‘sein’, e.g., ‘das ist ein großes Schloss’.
- The accusative is used for articles and adjectives following most other verbs, e.g., 'Ich habe einen kleinen Hund'.
- The imperfect tense is used to describe the way things were in in the past.
Keywords
Nominative - form(s) used for the subject of a verb in a sentence, and before and after 'sein'
Accusative - form(s) used for the direct object in a sentence, after most verbs and some prepositions
Imperfect tense - German single-word past tense used mainly to narrate past events in writing; for example, 'war', 'hatte', 'es gab'
Common misconception
Adjectives work the same way in German as in English and do not change their spelling.
German adjectives change their ending when placed before the noun, depending on the case needed, and the gender of the noun they describe.
Teacher tip
Switzerland and the German town of Bad Hersfeld are the two contexts of this lesson. Teachers may wish to exploit this further by sharing further material such as videos of these places with students. These are readily accessible online.
Equipment
A mini whiteboard and pen, together with pen and paper for making notes, would be useful, if available.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the German and English.
there was, there were
had
was
near(by), close
deep
Q2.Match the German and English.
full
right / on the right
impossible
additional
Q3.Which of the following is an example of the imperfect tense in German?
Q4.Translate the following sentence into English: 'Es gab einen Geburtstag.'
Q5.Complete the following sentence with the correct past tense form of the verb 'haben': 'Letzten Samstag ich Geburtstag und ich bekam ein wunderbares Geschenk.'
Q6.Which of the following sentences correctly uses the imperfect tense to describe a past event?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Which sentence correctly uses the nominative after 'sein'?
Q2.Match the German conjunction to its correct English meaning.
because
during
why
back then
in former times, in the past
Q3.Fill in the gap in the following sentence using the correct past tense verb to say what there was: 'Früher es viele Kirchen.'
Q4.Translate the following sentence into German: 'I had a dog.'
Q5.Which sentence correctly uses the imperfect tense and case?
To help you plan your 8 German lesson on: What was it like then? Imperfect tense: 'war, hatte, gab, damals, früher', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 German lesson on: What was it like then? Imperfect tense: 'war, hatte, gab, damals, früher', 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 Then and now: imperfect tense and comparatives unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.