New
New
Year 10
AQA

Magst du Musik? Nominalisation of infinitives with 'beim' and 'am'

I can use infinitive verbs as nouns with 'beim' and 'am' alongside a wide range of vocabulary to discuss musical preferences and understand texts about German music.

New
New
Year 10
AQA

Magst du Musik? Nominalisation of infinitives with 'beim' and 'am'

I can use infinitive verbs as nouns with 'beim' and 'am' alongside a wide range of vocabulary to discuss musical preferences and understand texts about German music.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Infinitive verbs can be turned into nouns and correspond to English '-ing' nouns, e.g., 'das Lesen' - 'reading'.
  2. To mean 'while' or 'in the process of' doing something, use 'beim' before a nominalised infinitive, e.g., 'beim Lesen'.
  3. Use 'am' as an alternative to 'beim' before a nominalised verb, but only when a single activity is being done.
  4. The use of 'beim' or 'am' plus the nominalised verb indicates the activity is, or was, ongoing or unfinished.
  5. ‘Deutschrap’ is a form of hip-hop which originates from the 1980s. ‘Rock am Ring’ is a famous music festival in Germany.

Keywords

  • Nominalisation - turning a verb into a noun

  • Infinitive - form of the verb giving its general meaning, with no subject or tense

  • Beim - preposition meaning 'whilst' or 'in the process of' before a nominalised infinitive

  • Am - alternative preposition meaning 'in the process of' before a nominalised infinitive when a single activity is being done

Common misconception

Infinitives and nominalised infinitives look exactly the same.

Infinitives can be turned into nouns by capitalising the first letter, so although they sound the same, they look different. They are always neuter. Use surrounding words, such as 'beim' and 'am' to identify nominalised infinitives when listening.


To help you plan your year 10 german lesson on: Magst du Musik? Nominalisation of infinitives with 'beim' and 'am', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The use of 'beim' and 'am' plus nominalised infinitives to mean 'whilst' or 'in the process of' doing something is Higher-only grammar, but nominalisation of infinitive verbs is relevant to both Foundation and Higher students.
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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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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these words means 'true'?
entfernt
klar
los
nein
Correct answer: wahr
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:abnehmen,to lose weight, decrease

to lose weight, decrease

Correct Answer:gewinnen,to win, winning

to win, winning

Correct Answer:fliegen,to fly, flying

to fly, flying

Correct Answer:töten,to kill, killing

to kill, killing

Correct Answer:regnen,to rain, raining

to rain, raining

Correct Answer:zunehmen,to put on weight, increase

to put on weight, increase

Q3.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:Durst (m),thirst

thirst

Correct Answer:Linie (f),line, route

line, route

Correct Answer:Umgebung (f),surroundings

surroundings

Correct Answer:Kaninchen (nt),rabbit

rabbit

Correct Answer:Vordergrund (m),foreground

foreground

Correct Answer:Konzert (nt),concert

concert

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'My breakfast consists of bread and cheese.'
1 - mein
2 - Frühstück
3 - besteht
4 - aus
5 - Brot
6 - und
7 - Käse
Q5.
Write in English: 'Sie kam aus Deutschland.'
Correct Answer: She came from Germany.
Q6.
Write in German: 'I will plan the party.'
Correct Answer: Ich werde die Party planen

5 Questions

Q1.
'Deutschrap' is a German ...
band
singer
rapper
Correct answer: music genre
music festival
Q2.
Which of these sentences include nominalisation?
Ich lese gern.
Correct answer: Lesen macht Spaß.
Correct answer: Ich finde das Lesen toll.
Ich möchte lesen.
Ich habe ein Buch gelesen.
Q3.
'Er liest Essen.'. Write the correct missing word for 'whilst'.
Correct Answer: beim
Q4.
Write in English: 'Ich war am Singen.'
Correct Answer: I was singing
Q5.
Write in German: 'I am dancing whilst listening to music.'
Correct Answer: Ich tanze beim Musikhören

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