Matthias Maurer: yes/no questions in the perfect and imperfect tenses
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can form yes/no questions in the perfect and imperfect tenses to ask questions about famous German speakers.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- [er] at the end of a word is unstressed and sounds like the English ‘uh’.
- The [r] in female people nouns is consonantal and is rolled at the back of the throat.
- Change verbs to male person nouns by adding –er to a verb stem.
- To form a yes/no question in the perfect tense, swap the subject and the verb and send the past participle to the end.
- To form a yes/no question in the imperfect tense, swap the subject and the verb.
Keywords
Male agent noun - a noun for someone who performs the action of a verb, usually ending in -er; for example, worker - ‘Arbeiter’
Imperfect tense - German single-word past tense used mainly to narrate past events in writing; for example, 'war', 'hatte', 'gab', 'fand'
Perfect tense - German two-word past tense using either 'haben' or 'sein' with a past participle
Common misconception
Asking yes/no questions in the past is much more complicated than the present tense, as the rules are different. You need to translate 'did'.
The English 'did' isn't needed. Swap subject and verb for a yes/no question. 'Er sprach' (imperfect) becomes 'Sprach er?'. In the perfect tense, the past participle stays at the end of the sentence: 'Er hat gesprochen' - 'Hat er gesprochen?'.
Teacher tip
Task B1 has two options. Option 1 (imperfect tense) is included in the video. Option 2 (perfect) slides and worksheets are available as required. For yes/no questions, give plentifuly opportunities to practise simple yes/no questions in different tenses.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the German words below to the correct English translations.
to start, starting
to sleep, sleeping
to improve, improving
to try, trying
to concentrate on, concentrating on
to give up, giving up
Q2.Match the German words below to the correct English translations.
die Universität
schreiben an
damals
das Ergebnis
die Kenntnis
das Verständnis
Q3.Past participles of -ieren verbs always end in .
Q4.Which of these statements correctly describe how to form a yes/no question in German?
Q5.Sort the words below into the correct order to translate the following sentence into German: 'Did you answer the question?'
Q6.Which verbs do not have 'ge-' at the beginning of their past participles?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the subjects to the correct imperfect verb forms.
hattest
hatten
hattet
hatte
Q2.Sort the words below into the correct order to complete the following sentence: 'Du __________ sehr müde, als wir im Kino __________. Der Film __________ spannend und ihr __________ glücklich.'
Q3.Sort the words below into the correct order to complete the following sentence: Male __________ nouns add __________ to the __________ stem. Then add __________ for the feminine form of the noun.
Q4.Match these German male agent nouns to their English meanings.
observer
thinker
discoverer
supporter
developer
helper
Q5.Which of the below are correctly formed yes/no questions about Matthias Maurer?
Q6.'Ich __________ (read) das Buch, als ich im Urlaub __________ (was). Ich _________ (lay) am Strand aber meine Mutter __________ (sat) im Schatten. Dann __________ (wrote) ich dir einen Brief.'
To help you plan your 10 German lesson on: Matthias Maurer: yes/no questions in the perfect and imperfect tenses, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 German lesson on: Matthias Maurer: yes/no questions in the perfect and imperfect tenses, 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.
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