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      Ausflüge: formal and informal questions

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can create formal and informal questions in response to texts and use my knowledge of questions to help form accurate answers when speaking.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. A closed question, also known as a yes/no question, is formed by swapping the position of the verb and subject.
      2. Use 'du' questions for informal singular ‘you’, 'ihr' questions for informal plural ‘you’, and 'Sie' for formal 'you'.
      3. When responding to questions about yourself, change the 2nd person language to 1st person language.
      4. When answering questions, you may need to change subject pronouns, verbs, possessive adjectives and reflexive pronouns.

      Keywords

      • Closed question - a question which can be answered with 'yes' or 'no'

      • Du - subject pronoun meaning ‘you’, informal and singular

      • Ihr - subject pronoun meaning ‘you’, informal and plural

      • Sie - subject pronoun meaning 'you', formal

      • 2nd person - language used to refer to ‘you’, singular or plural

      Common misconception

      When answering a question about yourself, just change the verb form in the question to a 1st person verb.

      It is important to change the verb form, but it might also be necessary to change other language, such as subject pronouns, possessive adjectives and reflexive pronouns in order to change the 2nd person question into a 1st person answer.

      Teacher tip

      This lesson could usefully be extended to include a more open-ended speaking task, with students forming their own questions on the topic, and answering with developed answers.

      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

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Which word means 'that' or 'those'?

      deswegen
      egal
      Correct answer: jene(r)
      trotzdem
      sonst

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Berg (m),mountain
      Correct Answer:Hintergrund (m),background
      Correct Answer:Menge (f),quantity, amount
      Correct Answer:Netz (nt),net
      Correct Answer:Schiff (m),ship
      Correct Answer:Zahl (f),number

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:erfahren,to experience, find out
      Correct Answer:eröffnen,to open, opening
      Correct Answer:handeln,to deal, trade
      Correct Answer:reisen,to travel, travelling
      Correct Answer:schauen,to look, looking
      Correct Answer:tun,to do, put

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'I asked him for help.'

      1 - ich
      2 - habe
      3 - ihn
      4 - um
      5 - Hilfe
      6 - gebeten

      Q5.
      Write in English: 'Es ist mir egal.'

      Correct Answer: I don't mind, I don't care, I do not mind, I do not care

      Q6.
      Write in German: 'I'm sorry.'

      Correct Answer: es tut mir Leid

      4 Questions

      Q1.
      Match up the sentence halves.

      Correct Answer:Tauchst ...,... du gern im Meer?
      Correct Answer:Taucht ...,... ihr gern im Meer?
      Correct Answer:Tauchen ...,... Sie gern im Meer?

      Q2.
      'Gehen Sie gern ins Kino?'. Which responses answer this question?

      Correct answer: Ich gehe gern ins Kino.
      Du gehst gern ins Kino.
      Ihr geht gern ins Kino.
      Correct answer: Wir gehen gern ins Kino.
      Sie gehen gern ins Kino.

      Q3.
      'Verstehst du dich gut mit deiner Schwester?'. Which response answers this question?

      Ich verstehst dich gut mit deiner Schwester.
      Ich verstehe dich gut mit deiner Schwester.
      Ich verstehe mich gut mit deiner Schwester.
      Correct answer: Ich verstehe mich gut mit meiner Schwester.

      Q4.
      Write in German: 'Are you (singular, informal) coming to the restaurant?'

      Correct Answer: Kommst du ins Restaurant

      To help you plan your 11 German lesson on: Ausflüge: formal and informal questions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...