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      Meine Familie: possessive adjectives, extended reading

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use possessive adjectives to talk about family.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. Possessive adjectives describe who a noun belongs to.
      2. Possessive adjectives change endings depending on gender and case.
      3. An unstressed ‘er’ sounds like the English ‘uh’.
      4. A vocalic ‘r’ sounds like the English ‘a’ or ‘ah’.
      5. The consonantal ‘r’ is rolled at the back of the throat.

      Keywords

      • Unstressed -er - pronounced as in 'wieder'

      • Vocalic 'r' - pronounced as in 'Uhr'

      • Consonantal 'r' - pronounced as in 'rot'

      • Possessive adjective - shows who something belongs to

      Common misconception

      Possessive adjectives don't need endings.

      Possessive adjectives take the same endings as 'ein'.

      Teacher tip

      Pupils may like to discuss or write about their families or important people in their lives - teachers will know whether this is appropriate for their class.

      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 words below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:der Bruder,brother
      Correct Answer:die Familie,family
      Correct Answer:der Onkel,uncle
      Correct Answer:die Schwester,sister
      Correct Answer:der Sohn,son
      Correct Answer:die Tante,aunt

      Q2.
      Match the German words below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:das Geschenk,gift, present
      Correct Answer:die Gruppe,group
      Correct Answer:hart,hard
      Correct Answer:natürlich,natural, of course, naturally
      Correct Answer:oft,often
      Correct Answer:weg,gone, vanished

      Q3.
      Are the 'r's in 'natürlich' and 'hart' vocalic, consonantal, or both?

      Correct answer: vocalic
      consonantal
      both

      Q4.
      Are the 'er's in 'Bruder' and 'Vater' stressed, unstressed, or both?

      stressed
      Correct answer: unstressed
      both

      Q5.
      Which of these words are possessive adjectives?

      Correct answer: mein
      ein
      hier
      Correct answer: unser
      echt

      Q6.
      Match the German possessive adjectives below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:dein,your
      Correct Answer:sein,his, its
      Correct Answer:ihr,her, their

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the German words below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:heiraten,to marry, marrying
      Correct Answer:die Großeltern,grandparents
      Correct Answer:Stief-,step-
      Correct Answer:jährig,year-old
      Correct Answer:herzlich,cordial, warm, cordially, warmly
      Correct Answer:der Opa,grandpa

      Q2.
      Which of these possessive adjectives mean 'your'?

      Correct answer: Ihr
      Correct answer: euer
      mein
      unser
      Correct answer: dein

      Q3.
      Possessive adjectives take the same ending as ...

      Correct answer: 'ein'.
      'der'.
      unprecedented adjectives.

      Q4.
      Which ending should we add to the 'Ihr' in the following sentence? 'Ist das Ihr__________ Frau?'

      nothing
      Correct answer: e
      en
      em
      er

      Q5.
      Fill in the gap in the following sentence using the possessive adjective for 'your' informal plural: 'Spielt ihr oft mit Onkel?'

      Correct Answer: eurem

      Q6.
      Fill in the gap in the following sentence using the possessive adjective for 'her': 'Sie besucht Geschwister.'

      Correct Answer: ihre

      To help you plan your 10 German lesson on: Meine Familie: possessive adjectives, extended reading, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...