New
New
Year 8

Things I like: nominative adjective agreement, definite and indefinite articles

Learning outcomes

I understand adjective endings with definite and indefinite articles in the nominative case and can use them to talk about things I like.

I can pronounce [ai] and [ei] correctly and distinguish between two different [ai] sounds.

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New
New
Year 8

Things I like: nominative adjective agreement, definite and indefinite articles

Learning outcomes

I understand adjective endings with definite and indefinite articles in the nominative case and can use them to talk about things I like.

I can pronounce [ai] and [ei] correctly and distinguish between two different [ai] sounds.

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [ai] and [ei] can sound the same in German, but in words borrowed from English [ai] is pronounced as in English.
  2. In German, when adjectives come after the verb 'sein' (to be) they do not change.
  3. In German, adjectives in front of a noun add endings; this is called adjective agreement.
  4. Add '-e' for the singular nominative ending of all adjectives with definite articles.
  5. The singular nominative adjective endings for indefinite articles are -er (masculine), -e (feminine), and -es (neuter).

Keywords

  • [ai] - sound-symbol correspondence (SSC) pronounced as in 'der Hai'

  • Adjective agreement - when the ending of an adjective matches the noun it describes in gender and number

  • Nominative - form(s) used for the subject or 'doer' of the verb

Common misconception

When German adjectives come before the noun, they don't change their spelling, just like in English, e.g., 'The dog is black'; 'The black dog is over there.'.

In German, when adjectives come after the verb 'sein' (to be) they don't change. However, adjectives in front of a noun add endings do; this is called adjective agreement. There are different endings depending on gender (m, f, nt) and on the article.


To help you plan your year 8 german lesson on: Things I like: nominative adjective agreement, definite and indefinite articles, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Adjective endings can be perceived as a big leap in complexity for pupils. However, the foundational knowledge for adjective endings is: noun gender, definite and indefinitive articles, subject and object cases, all of this is incrementally taught and regularly practised in the Y7 SOW.
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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).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the definite and indefinite articles.
Correct Answer:der,ein (m)

ein (m)

Correct Answer:die,eine

eine

Correct Answer:das,ein (nt)

ein (nt)

Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:Ferien (pl),holidays

holidays

Correct Answer:Großstadt (f),city

city

Correct Answer:Kleidung (f),clothing

clothing

Correct Answer:Kultur (f),culture

culture

Correct Answer:Spaß (m),fun

fun

Correct Answer:Monat (m),month

month

Q3.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:besuchen,to visit, visiting

to visit, visiting

Correct Answer:erleben,to experience, experiencing

to experience, experiencing

Correct Answer:kaufen,to buy, buying

to buy, buying

Correct Answer:lesen,to read, reading

to read, reading

Correct Answer:haben,to have, having

to have, having

Correct Answer:sein,to be, being

to be, being

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'This lake is better than this swimming pool.'
1 - dieser
2 - See
3 - ist
4 - besser
5 - als
6 - dieses
7 - Schwimmbad
Q5.
Order the words to say: 'Last week was quieter than last year.'
1 - letzte
2 - Woche
3 - war
4 - ruhiger
5 - als
6 - letztes
7 - Jahr
Q6.
Write in English: 'Er ist schon in der Türkei.'
Correct Answer: He is already in Turkey, He's already in Turkey

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these words are missing [ai]?
all__in
fr__
Correct answer: H__
Kl__d
Correct answer: M__
Q2.
Which of these sentences is correct?
Der Hund ist klein. Ich sehe den klein Hund.
Der Hund ist kleinen. Ich sehe den kleinen Hund.
Correct answer: Der Hund ist klein. Ich sehe den kleinen Hund.
Der Hund ist kleinen. Ich sehe den klein Hund.
Q3.
Match each article to the correct noun and adjective pair.
Correct Answer:der,bequeme Schuh

bequeme Schuh

Correct Answer:die,letzte Woche

letzte Woche

Correct Answer:das,nächste Mal

nächste Mal

Q4.
'Ein __________ Urlaub ist toll.'. Choose the correct missing word.
lang
Correct answer: langer
lange
langes
Q5.
Write in German: 'the red plant'.
Correct Answer: die rote Pflanze
Q6.
Write in German: 'a small village'.
Correct Answer: ein kleines Dorf

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