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Das Leben mit Behinderung: stem changes in present tense weak verbs

Lesson details

Learning outcome

I can use a range of present tense verbs, including those with small changes to the stem, in extended writing about living with a disability.

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Weak verbs follow a regular pattern of changes in the present tense.
  2. For verbs stems ending in 'd', ‘t', 'm' or 'n', add 'e' before the ending in the 'du', 'er, sie, es' and 'ihr' forms.
  3. For verb stems ending in 's', 'ß', 'x' or 'z', add just 't' instead of 'st' in the 'du' form, e.g., 'du tanzt'.
  4. For verb stems ending in '-el', remove the 'e' in the first person singular of the present tense, e.g., 'ich lächle'.
  5. The BORDER acronym is a useful tool to respond fully and accurately to bullet point writing prompts.

Keywords

  • Weak verb - verb that follows a regular pattern of changes

  • Stem - part of the verb that appears in all forms, created by removing the '-en' or '-n' ending of the infinitive

  • BORDER - extended writing acronym

Common misconception

For verb stems ending in ‘-el’, remove the 'e' from the stem in all present tense forms.

For verb stems ending in ‘-el’, remove the 'e' from the stem in the first person singular of the present tense only.

Teacher tip

Learning Cycle 1 provides rich input for the Learning Cycle 2 writing activity. The BORDER scaffold provides a useful adaptive framework to build and practise writing composition and checking skills within the classroom.

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.
Which word means 'ago'?

ach
Correct answer: her
möglich
noch
wohl

Q2.
Match the German and English.

Correct Answer:Ausland (nt),foreign countries, aborad

foreign countries, aborad

Correct Answer:Haut (f),skin

skin

Correct Answer:Komödie (f),comedy

comedy

Correct Answer:Ladung (f),load

load

Correct Answer:Publikum (nt),audience, public

audience, public

Correct Answer:Stelle (f),place

place

Q3.
Match the German and English.

Correct Answer:beschreiben,to describe, describing

to describe, describing

Correct Answer:entwickeln,to develop, developing

to develop, developing

Correct Answer:erwarten,to expect, expecting

to expect, expecting

Correct Answer:stattfinden,to take place, taking place

to take place, taking place

Correct Answer:schenken,to give (as a present)

to give (as a present)

Correct Answer:wandern,to migrate, migrating

to migrate, migrating

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'Everyone has the right to be happy.'

1 - jeder
2 - hat
3 - das
4 - Recht
5 - glücklich
6 - zu
7 - sein

Q5.
Write in English: 'mein Bruder ist arbeitslos'.

Correct Answer: my brother is unemployed, my brother's unemployed

Q6.
Write in German: 'the hotel room was clean'.

Correct Answer: das Hotelzimmer war sauber

4 Questions

Q1.
is a useful acronym to use for writing tasks.

Correct Answer: BORDER

Q2.
Match the pronouns to the correct verb forms.

Correct Answer:ich,spiele

spiele

Correct Answer:du,spielst

spielst

Correct Answer:er, sie, es, ihr,spielt

spielt

Correct Answer:wir, Sie, sie,spielen

spielen

Q3.
Which verb forms are correct?

Correct answer: ihr zeichnet
du benutzst
Correct answer: du träumst
ihr erwart
Correct answer: du beweist

Q4.
Write in German: 'I collect and you (singular informal) collect.'

Correct Answer: ich sammle und du sammelst

To help you plan your 11 German lesson on: Das Leben mit Behinderung: stem changes in present tense weak verbs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...