Magst du Musik? Nominalisation of infinitives with 'beim' and 'am'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
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.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Infinitive verbs can be turned into nouns and correspond to English '-ing' nouns, e.g., 'das Lesen' - 'reading'.
- To mean 'while' or 'in the process of' doing something, use 'beim' before a nominalised infinitive, e.g., 'beim Lesen'.
- Use 'am' as an alternative to 'beim' before a nominalised verb, but only when a single activity is being done.
- The use of 'beim' or 'am' plus the nominalised verb indicates the activity is, or was, ongoing or unfinished.
- ‘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.
Teacher tip
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.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these words means 'true'?
Q2.Match the German and English.
to lose weight, decrease
to win, winning
to fly, flying
to kill, killing
to rain, raining
to put on weight, increase
Q3.Match the German and English.
thirst
line, route
surroundings
rabbit
foreground
concert
Q4.Order the words to say: 'My breakfast consists of bread and cheese.'
Q5.Write in English: 'Sie kam aus Deutschland.'
Q6.Write in German: 'I will plan the party.'
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.'Deutschrap' is a German ...
Q2.Which of these sentences include nominalisation?
Q3.'Er liest Essen.'. Write the correct missing word for 'whilst'.
Q4.Write in English: 'Ich war am Singen.'
Q5.Write in German: 'I am dancing whilst listening to music.'
To help you plan your 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...
To help you plan your 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 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 4 German lessons from the Communication and the world around us: mein Leben online unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.