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      Mein Schultag: nouns and plurals, present tense, picture task (Edexcel)

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use the correct grammatical gender of nouns in singular and plural with the present tense of weak and strong verbs to describe a teenager's normal day.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. All nouns in German start with a capital letter and have a grammatical gender, either masculine, feminine or neuter.
      2. Many German nouns have plural forms, but many are used either only in the singular or the plural.
      3. There are nine rules for forming plurals in German. Plural rules should be learnt alongside the noun gender.
      4. Weak and strong verbs have the same present tense endings; strong verbs change stem vowel for 'du' and 'er, sie, es'.
      5. German has one present tense which conveys both the English simple present and present continuous.

      Keywords

      • Grammatical gender - way to categorise all nouns as either masculine, feminine or neuter

      • Plural rules - rules applied to noun categories to support accurate use of plurals in German - rules 1 - 5 of 9 are covered here

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

      • Strong verb - a verb which changes its vowel in the verb stem of the ‘du’ and ‘er, sie, es’ forms

      Common misconception

      There is only one way to form the plural in German.

      German has several rules for forming plurals. The best way to correctly form plurals is to learn the rules, use an example for each rule as a guide, and frequently practise them. As in English, some nouns are used without plurals.

      Teacher tip

      The picture task in the exam will be followed by conversation on the broader theme. Practice for this part of the exam, following on from the photos used in this lesson, is available in lesson 3 of this unit, in the cycle called 'Charting confident conversations'.

      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.
      What is the correct article for the word 'Umfrage'?

      dem
      Correct answer: die
      das
      den

      Q2.
      Match the subject to the correct form of the verb 'sprechen' (to speak).

      Correct Answer:ich,spreche

      spreche

      Correct Answer:du,sprichst

      sprichst

      Correct Answer:er, sie, es, man,spricht

      spricht

      Q3.
      What does the following sentence mean? 'Ich musste Hausaufgaben machen.'

      I must do homework.
      I wanted to do homework.
      Correct answer: I had to do homework.
      I did my homework.

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'I will play basketball.'

      1 - ich
      2 - werde
      3 - Basketball
      4 - spielen

      Q5.
      Write the correct form of the verb 'fahren': 'Er in die Schule.'

      Correct Answer: fährt, faehrt

      Q6.
      Translate into English: 'Ich bin nach Hause gefahren.'

      Correct Answer: I drove home, I have driven home, I went home, I have gone home

      4 Questions

      Q1.
      Which sentence is written correctly in German?

      ich brauche die frau.
      Ich brauche die frau.
      Correct answer: Ich brauche die Frau.
      ich brauche die Frau.

      Q2.
      Which of the following statements are true?

      All German nouns add -en to make their plural.
      There is only one rule for plurals in German.
      Correct answer: Some nouns can be used only in the singular or only in the plural.
      All nouns form their plural with -s like in English.
      Correct answer: There are a range of different rules for making plurals in German.

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Größe (f),size, height

      size, height

      Correct Answer:Dorf (nt),village

      village

      Correct Answer:Erfolg (m),success

      success

      Correct Answer:Ärztin (f),doctor (female)

      doctor (female)

      Correct Answer:Meinung (f),opinion

      opinion

      Correct Answer:Fest (nt),festival, celebration

      festival, celebration

      Q4.
      Write the correct form of the verb 'sprechen': 'Du sehr gut Deutsch.'

      Correct Answer: sprichst

      To help you plan your 11 German lesson on: Mein Schultag: nouns and plurals, present tense, picture task (Edexcel), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...