New
New
Year 8

What I and others prefer to do: 'gern' and 'lieber' with present tense

Learning outcomes

I can use 'lieben' to say what activities I love and 'gern' and 'lieber' to say what I like and prefer doing.

I can recognise and pronounce [st], [sp] and [sch].

New
New
Year 8

What I and others prefer to do: 'gern' and 'lieber' with present tense

Learning outcomes

I can use 'lieben' to say what activities I love and 'gern' and 'lieber' to say what I like and prefer doing.

I can recognise and pronounce [st], [sp] and [sch].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. At the start of words, German [sp-] and [st-] are pronounced 'schp-' and 'scht-'.
  2. [st] and [sp] sound like in English in the middle or at the end of words, except in compound nouns or separable verbs.
  3. Practising vocabulary in different ways strengthens long-term recall.
  4. 'Lieber' is an adverb meaning 'rather' and goes after the verb to talk about preferring to do something.
  5. It is important not to confuse 'lieber' with 'lieben', which is a verb meaning 'to love, loving'.

Keywords

  • Adverb - word that describes a verb or an adjective

  • Lieber - adverb meaning 'rather', used to express preference between actions

Common misconception

German [st] and [sp] sound the same as in English, wherever they appear in the word.

At the start of words, German [sp-] and [st-] are pronounced 'schp-' and 'scht-'. If [sp] and [st] occur in the middle or end of a word, pronounce them as in English, except for compound nouns and separable verbs, which are also 'schp-' and 'scht-'.


To help you plan your year 8 German lesson on: What I and others prefer to do: 'gern' and 'lieber' with present tense, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

'Musik' is new vocabulary that will be formally introduce in the near future, but it appears passively in a listening task this lesson. Teachers may wish to mention before Task C1 that students should listen out for a new cognate during the task.
Teacher tip

Equipment

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

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.
Which word is not an adjective?
Correct answer: durch
frisch
gefährlich
häufig
lang
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:Boot (nt),boat

boat

Correct Answer:Berg (m),mountain

mountain

Correct Answer:Erfahrung (f),experience

experience

Correct Answer:Fahrt (f),drive, ride, trip

drive, ride, trip

Correct Answer:Luft (f),air

air

Correct Answer:Wald (m),forest

forest

Q3.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:hören,to listen, listening

to listen, listening

Correct Answer:lesen,to read, reading

to read, reading

Correct Answer:klettern,to climb, climbing

to climb, climbing

Correct Answer:küssen,to kiss, kissing

to kiss, kissing

Correct Answer:steigen,to climb, go up

to climb, go up

Correct Answer:wandern,to hike, walk

to hike, walk

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'the dog swam in the warm lake'.
1 - der
2 - Hund
3 - ist
4 - im
5 - warmen
6 - See
7 - geschwommen
Q5.
Write in English: 'ich laufe mit Freunden'.
Correct Answer: I run with friends, I am running with friends, I'm running with friends
Q6.
Write in German: 'I stayed here'.
Correct Answer: ich bin hier geblieben

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
In which words does 'st' not sound like 'sh'?
Correct answer: Obst
aufstehen
Hauptstadt
Stoff
Correct answer: Fenster
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:ich tanze gern,I like dancing

I like dancing

Correct Answer:ich tanze lieber,I prefer dancing

I prefer dancing

Correct Answer:ich liebe Tanzen,I love dancing

I love dancing

Q3.
Write in German: 'I love hiking'.
Correct Answer: ich liebe Wandern
Q4.
Write in German: 'I prefer singing'.
Correct Answer: ich singe lieber

Additional material

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