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      Würdest du Veganer werden? Conditional with 'würde', 'hätte', 'wäre', 'sollte'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use the conditional with 'würde' alongside 'hätte', 'wäre' and 'sollte' to discuss choices related to health.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. To say what you would do, use 'würde' to mean ‘would’ and an infinitive verb at the end of the clause.
      2. Use 'würde' plus 'gern' to talk about what you would like to do and 'würde' plus 'lieber' to say what you would prefer.
      3. Use 'hätte' to mean ‘would have’, and 'wäre' to mean ‘would be’. No infinitive verb is needed, unlike with 'würde'.
      4. 'Sollte' is the conditional form of the modal verb ‘sollen’. It is used to convey what we ‘ought to’ or ‘should’ do.

      Keywords

      • Conditional - grammar structure expressing what you would do or what might happen

      • Würde - form of 'werden' meaning 'would', used with a 2nd verb in the infinitive to express a conditional idea

      • Hätte - form of 'haben' meaning ‘would have’

      • Wäre - form of 'sein' meaning ‘would be’

      • Sollte - conditional form of modal verb 'sollen', used to express advice or recommendations

      Common misconception

      Use 'würde' whenever you want to say 'would'.

      'Würde' works in most cases, but for the conditional with 'haben' and 'sein', we usually use 'hätte' ('I would have') and 'wäre' ('I would be').

      Teacher tip

      It might be helpful for students to have the questions from Task B2 in front of them when carrying out the speaking task for Task C2. More able students, though, might enjoy creating their own conditional questions.

      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 of these words means 'enough'?

      fleißig
      Correct answer: genug
      vielleicht
      gern
      lieber

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Gemüse (nt),vegetables
      Correct Answer:Körper (m),body
      Correct Answer:Mannschaft (f),team
      Correct Answer:Obst (nt),fruit
      Correct Answer:Tier (nt),animal
      Correct Answer:Wahl (f),choice, election

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:ausbilden,to train, educate
      Correct Answer:drehen,to turn, turning
      Correct Answer:erhöhen,to raise, increase
      Correct Answer:feststellen,to establish, detect, determine
      Correct Answer:vorschlagen,to suggest, suggesting
      Correct Answer:wechseln,to change, changing

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'In summer, you can do lots of sport.'

      1 - im
      2 - Sommer
      3 - kann
      4 - man
      5 - viel
      6 - Sport
      7 - machen

      Q5.
      Write in English: 'Wir schwimmen im Meer.'

      Correct Answer: We swim in the sea., We are swimming in the sea.

      Q6.
      Write in German: 'He is cooking the food.'

      Correct Answer: Er kocht das Essen.

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:würde,would
      Correct Answer:würde gern,would like
      Correct Answer:würde lieber,would prefer
      Correct Answer:hätte,would have
      Correct Answer:wäre,would be
      Correct Answer:sollte,should, ought to

      Q2.
      'Ich __________ Pommes essen.'. Which word or phrase does not fit in the gap?

      sollte
      Correct answer: wäre
      würde
      würde gern
      würde lieber

      Q3.
      Order the words to form a conditional sentence starting with 'wenn'.

      1 - wenn ich
      2 - Zeit
      3 - hätte
      4 - ,
      5 - würde
      6 - ich
      7 - kochen

      Q4.
      Write in German: 'She would drink water.'

      Correct Answer: Sie würde Wasser trinken., Sie wuerde Wasser trinken.

      Q5.
      Write in German: 'You should play tennis.'

      Correct Answer: Du solltest Tennis spielen.

      To help you plan your 10 German lesson on: Würdest du Veganer werden? Conditional with 'würde', 'hätte', 'wäre', 'sollte', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...