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      Ich bin Ingenieurin: imperfect modals

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use modal verbs in the imperfect tense to talk about work and studying.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. [o] and [ö] are long when followed by no consonants or only one consonant.
      2. To form the imperfect of singular modal verbs, remove -en and add -te for ‘ich’, -test for ‘du’, -te for ‘sie/er/es’.
      3. To form the imperfect of plural modal verbs, remove -en and add -ten for ‘wir’, -tet for ‘ihr’, -ten for ‘sie’.
      4. In sentences with modal verbs, the second verb is in the infinitive at the end of the sentence.

      Keywords

      • Imperfect tense - verb tense used most often for modal verbs when they describe past events

      • Modal verb - verb of necessity or possibility used with a 2nd verb in the infinitive, e.g., must, can, want

      Common misconception

      Modal verbs must add ge- in the imperfect tense.

      Modal verbs are normally used in the imperfect to describe past events. The imperfect is a different tense from the perfect and is formed differently.

      Teacher tip

      Cycle 3 contains Higher grammar. Task C2 Option 2 is, however, for Foundation pupils. Foundation pupils could move straight to their version of this task after Cycle 2. Question 2 of the starter quiz, and questions 2 and 4 of the exit quiz are Higher-only.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), 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.
      Match the German with the English.

      Correct Answer:das Studium,study, studies
      Correct Answer:der Vogel,bird
      Correct Answer:persönlich,personal, personally
      Correct Answer:der Mitarbeiter,employee, co-worker
      Correct Answer:die Oma,grandma
      Correct Answer:studieren,to study, studying (at university)

      Q2.
      Match the German with the English.

      Correct Answer:wäre,(I, she, he, it) were, would be
      Correct Answer:das Abitur,school leaving exam, A levels
      Correct Answer:die Hochschulbildung,higher education
      Correct Answer:die Rede,speech, talk
      Correct Answer:entstehen,to originate, develop
      Correct Answer:sobald,as soon as

      Q3.
      How would you pronounce [o] in the words in the following sentence? 'Bertolt kocht oft tolle Gerichte.'

      long [o] only
      Correct answer: short [o] only
      both long and short [o]

      Q4.
      How would you pronounce [ö] in the words in the following sentence? 'Der König hat viele schöne Vögel.'

      Correct answer: long [ö] only
      short [ö] only
      both long and short [ö]

      Q5.
      Match the German with the English.

      Correct Answer:dürfen,to be allowed, may
      Correct Answer:können,to be able to, can
      Correct Answer:müssen,to have to, must
      Correct Answer:wollen,to want to
      Correct Answer:sollen,to ought to, be supposed to, should

      Q6.
      How would you say 'I wanted' in the imperfect tense in German?

      Correct Answer: ich wollte

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the German with the English.

      Correct Answer:öffnen,to open, opening
      Correct Answer:sich kümmern um,to take care of, be concerned about
      Correct Answer:der Flughafen,airport
      Correct Answer:die Technik,technology

      Q2.
      Match the German with the English.

      Correct Answer:lösen,to solve, solving
      Correct Answer:der Arbeitgeber,employer
      Correct Answer:das Gehalt,salary, pay, earnings, wages
      Correct Answer:technisch,technical
      Correct Answer:ungewöhnlich ,unusual, unusually

      Q3.
      Match the modal verb to its meaning.

      Correct Answer:durftest,(you) were allowed to
      Correct Answer:musste,(I) had to
      Correct Answer:durfte,(she) wanted to
      Correct Answer:solltest,(you) were supposed to
      Correct Answer:musstest,(you) had to
      Correct Answer:sollte,(I) was supposed to

      Q4.
      Match the verb forms to the correct pronouns.

      Correct Answer:wolltest,du
      Correct Answer:wollten,wir
      Correct Answer:wollte,ich
      Correct Answer:wolltet,ihr

      Q5.
      Sort the words below into the correct order to translate the following sentence into German: 'My grandfather wanted to marry my grandmother.'

      1 - mein
      2 - Großvater
      3 - wollte
      4 - meine
      5 - Großmutter
      6 - heiraten

      Q6.
      How would you say 'you (singular, informal) were allowed to' in German?

      Correct Answer: Du durftest

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