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      Hilf der Umwelt! Imperative 'du', 'ihr', 'Sie'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can understand and use informal and formal imperatives for giving instructions, directions, and advice in the context of helping the environment.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. Imperative verbs are used to give instructions, directions, or advice.
      2. For the ‘du’ imperative of weak and strong verbs, remove the ‘-st’ and the 'du'. Omit umlauts added as a stem change.
      3. To use the 'ihr' form of the imperative of weak and strong verbs, just remove the pronoun 'ihr'.
      4. To use the formal 'Sie' form of the imperative, swap the position of the verb and subject pronoun 'Sie'.
      5. 'Sein' is irregular in the 'du' and 'Sie' forms of the imperative. Use 'sei', 'seid' and 'Seien Sie'.

      Keywords

      • Imperative - a mood used to give instructions, directions or advice

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

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

      • Sie - subject pronoun meaning ‘you’, formal

      Common misconception

      You always leave out the subject pronoun when using the imperative.

      The 'du' and 'ihr' forms of the imperative omit the subject pronoun, but the 'Sie' form retains it.

      Teacher tip

      The formation of the imperative is Higher-only grammar. Use Tasks B1 and B2 as comprehension and translation tasks for all students. Task B3 is more appropriate for Higher candidates.

      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 'anyway'?

      bald
      heute
      ebenfalls
      jedenfalls
      Correct answer: sowieso

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Gebiet (nt),region, area

      region, area

      Correct Answer:Komödie (f),comedy

      comedy

      Correct Answer:Öffentlichkeit (f),public

      public

      Correct Answer:Stelle (f),place, job

      place, job

      Correct Answer:Tatsache (f),fact

      fact

      Correct Answer:Zucker (m),sugar

      sugar

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:digital,digital

      digital

      Correct Answer:elektronisch,electronic

      electronic

      Correct Answer:kurz,short

      short

      Correct Answer:möglich,possible

      possible

      Correct Answer:sauber,clean

      clean

      Correct Answer:witzig,funny, witty, comical

      funny, witty, comical

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'My brother gets on my nerves.'

      1 - mein
      2 - Bruder
      3 - geht
      4 - mir
      5 - auf
      6 - die
      7 - Nerven

      Q5.
      Write in English: 'Ich habe Gemüse gekauft.'

      Correct Answer: I bought vegetables, I have bought vegetables

      Q6.
      Write in German: 'He is writing a list.'

      Correct Answer: er schreibt eine Liste

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      When giving instructions, we omit the subject pronouns '__________' and '__________', but use the subject pronoun '__________'.

      Sie, du, ihr
      ihr, Sie, du
      Correct answer: du, ihr, Sie

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:sein,to be, being

      to be, being

      Correct Answer:sei,be (singular informal)

      be (singular informal)

      Correct Answer:seid,be (plural informal)

      be (plural informal)

      Correct Answer:seien Sie,be (formal)

      be (formal)

      Correct Answer:sie sind,they are

      they are

      Q3.
      You are talking to your best friend. How would you say 'Take the paper.' (in the context of recycling)?

      Nehmt das Altpapier.
      Nehmst das Altpapier.
      Nimmt das Altpapier.
      Nimmst das Altpapier.
      Correct answer: Nimm das Altpapier.

      Q4.
      You are talking to your siblings. Write in German: 'Buy the bottles.'

      Correct Answer: kauft die Flaschen

      Q5.
      You are talking to your teacher. Write in German: 'Recycle the cans.'

      Correct Answer: recyceln Sie die Dosen, recyceln Sie bitte die Dosen

      To help you plan your 11 German lesson on: Hilf der Umwelt! Imperative 'du', 'ihr', 'Sie', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...