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      Gesund bleiben: abstract adjectival neuter nouns, adding '-los'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can form neuter adjectival nouns with ‘wenig’ and ‘viel’ and create adjectives from nouns in the context of health.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. Adjectival nouns, like adjectives, change according to gender, case and the article used with them.
      2. Following 'wenig' or 'viel' , capitalise an adjective and add '-es' to turn it to a neuter adjectival noun.
      3. Add the suffix '-los' to nouns to create adjectives meaning '-less' or 'without -'.
      4. [v] in 'viel' is pronounced like English 'f' as in 'Vater', [w] in 'wenig' is pronounced like English 'v' as in 'Welt'.
      5. [ig] at the end of a word is pronounced as in 'richtig' and a final [s] sounds like the English 's'.

      Keywords

      • Adjectival noun - a type of noun that takes the same endings as adjectives

      • Viel - word meaning 'a lot', 'much', sometimes followed by a neuter adjectival noun

      • Wenig - word meaning 'little', often followed by a neuter adjectival noun

      • Suffix - a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or how it is used, e.g., '-los'

      Common misconception

      Adjectival nouns behave like adjectives in every way.

      Adjectival nouns, like adjectives, change endings according to gender, case and the article used with them. However, like nouns, they have a grammatical gender and a capital letter. Abstract adjectival nouns are neuter.

      Teacher tip

      As an extension to Task C2, students could translate the sentences containing examples of '-los' adjectives and 'viel' and 'wenig' adjectival nouns in the transcript, or translate a whole section of the text. Abstract adjectival nouns and adding '-los' to form adjectives are Higher-only grammar.

      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 of these words is not an item of food?

      Apfel (m)
      Fleisch (nt)
      Kuchen (m)
      Correct answer: Arzt (m)
      Obst (m)

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:abhängen,to depend, depending
      Correct Answer:abholen,to get, fetch, pick up
      Correct Answer:auskommen,to get on, getting on
      Correct Answer:ausmachen,to put out, switch off
      Correct Answer:kennenlernen,to meet, get to know
      Correct Answer:rufen,to call, calling

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Anlage (f),facility, complex
      Correct Answer:Ausrüstung (f),equipment
      Correct Answer:Folge (f),result, consequence, series (TV)
      Correct Answer:Körper (m),body
      Correct Answer:Sieg (m),victory
      Correct Answer:Wettbewerb (m),competition

      Q4.
      Rewrite the following sentence in the perfect tense: 'Ich sehe fern.'

      Correct Answer: Ich habe ferngesehen.

      Q5.
      Write in German: 'The team is sporty.'

      Correct Answer: Die Mannschaft ist sportlich., Das Team ist sportlich.

      Q6.
      Write in German: 'He has a delicious sandwich'.

      Correct Answer: Er hat ein leckeres Butterbrot

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      In German, a [v] sounds like an English __________ and a [w] sounds like an English __________.

      Correct answer: f, v
      f, w
      v, f
      v, w
      w, f

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:traurig,sad
      Correct Answer:das Traurige,the sad thing
      Correct Answer:viel Trauriges,a lot of sad things
      Correct Answer:wenig Trauriges,not many sad things
      Correct Answer:nichts Trauriges,nothing sad
      Correct Answer:alles Traurige,all the sad things, everything sad

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:arbeitslos,unemployed
      Correct Answer:kostenlos,free of charge
      Correct Answer:schmerzlos,pain-free
      Correct Answer:fleischlos,meat-free
      Correct Answer:luftlos,airless
      Correct Answer:ziellos,aimless

      Q4.
      Write 'little of importance' in German. Use an adjectival noun.

      Correct Answer: wenig Wichtiges

      Q5.
      Write 'lots of interesting things' in German. Use an adjectival noun.

      Correct Answer: viel Interessantes

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