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New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

Wissen ist Macht! Wissen, kennen, können

Learning outcomes

I can use 'wissen', 'kennen' and 'können' to talk about knowledge.

I can recognise, write and pronounce [ss] and [ß] accurately.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

Wissen ist Macht! Wissen, kennen, können

Learning outcomes

I can use 'wissen', 'kennen' and 'können' to talk about knowledge.

I can recognise, write and pronounce [ss] and [ß] accurately.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The SSCs [-ss-] and [-ß-] sound the same.
  2. 'Wissen' means to know with facts.
  3. 'Kennen' means to know someone or be familiar with something.
  4. 'Können' means to be able to, to know how to do something.

Keywords

  • [-ss-] - pronounced as in 'lassen'

  • [-ß-] - pronounced as in 'Spaß'

  • Wissen - to know with facts

  • Können - to be able to, to know how to do something.

Common misconception

[ß] is a capital B and sounds like [b].

[ß] sounds the same as [ss]. [ß] is used after long vowels, [ss] after short vowels. In words with 's' as the final sound, the spelling [-s] or [ß] needs to be learnt; for example, 'Glas' or 'Spaß'.

To distinguish between the use of the different verbs of 'to know', encourage pupils to learn a stock example for each verb to refer to when recalling how to use each verb correctly.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
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except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the German vocabulary below to the correct English meanings.
Correct Answer:fantastisch,fantastic
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fantastic

Correct Answer:schrecklich,terrible
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terrible

Correct Answer:nützlich,useful
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useful

Correct Answer:österreichisch,Austrian
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Austrian

Correct Answer:arm,poor
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poor

Correct Answer:englisch,English
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English

Q2.
The verb 'kennen' (to know) is a weak (regular) verb. How would you say 'she knows'?
er kennt
sie kennen
Correct answer: sie kennt
ihr kennt
Q3.
Match the German words below to their English equivalents.
Correct Answer:eine Deutsche,a German (female)
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a German (female)

Correct Answer:ein Schweizer,a Swiss person (male)
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a Swiss person (male)

Correct Answer:Deutsch,German (the language)
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German (the language)

Correct Answer:die Deutschen,the Germans
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the Germans

Correct Answer:die Schweiz,Switzerland
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Switzerland

Q4.
Which sentences below need 'kein' to negate them?
Correct answer: Ich lerne eine neue Sprache.
Diese Sprache ist einfach.
Ich will Polen besuchen.
Correct answer: Es gibt eine Kundin in meinem Geschäft.
Q5.
Match the forms of the verb 'können' to the correct English meanings.
Correct Answer:ich kann,I can, am able to
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I can, am able to

Correct Answer:du kannst,you (singular) can, are able to
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you (singular) can, are able to

Correct Answer:er kann,he can, is able to
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he can, is able to

Correct Answer:wir können,we can, are able to
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we can, are able to

Correct Answer:ihr könnt,you (plural, informal) can, are able to
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you (plural, informal) can, are able to

Correct Answer:Sie/sie können,you/they can, are able to
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you/they can, are able to

Q6.
Put the forms of 'können' in the correct order to complete the following sentence: 'Ich __________ Deutsch sprechen, wir __________ Englisch sprechen aber aber ihr __________ auch Polnisch sprechen!'
1 - kann
2 - können
3 - könnt

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the verbs below to the correct explanation of their uses.
Correct Answer:wissen,to know facts
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to know facts

Correct Answer:kennen,to know a person, to be familiar with something
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to know a person, to be familiar with something

Correct Answer:können,to be able to, to know how to do something
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to be able to, to know how to do something

Q2.
[-ss-] and [-ß-] sound the __________. Use [-ss-] after __________vowels and [-ß-] after __________ vowels. An [-s] at the __________ of a word sounds like [-s].
1 - same
2 - short
3 - long
4 - end
Q3.
Which of these words require [-ß-]?
intere__ant (interesting)
Correct answer: Fu__ball (football)
Correct answer: Grü__e (greetings)
Kla__e (class)
Correct answer: beschlie__en (to decide)
Q4.
When does [-s] sound the same as -[-ss-] and [-ß-]?
Correct answer: at the end of words
in the middle of words
anywhere where the [s] is used
at the beginning of words
Q5.
Capital letters in German have several important functions. Match the examples to the correct explanations.
Correct Answer:Ich weiß, dass du Geschichte lernst. ,Use capital letters to start sentences.
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Use capital letters to start sentences.

Correct Answer:Wissen ist Macht.,Capital letters can turn verbs into nouns.
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Capital letters can turn verbs into nouns.

Correct Answer:Du lernst Deutsch, und ich Spanisch. ,Capital letters can turn adjectives into nouns to represent languages.
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Capital letters can turn adjectives into nouns to represent languages.

Correct Answer:Sie ist Deutsche, ich bin Schweizerin.,Capital letters can create adjectival nouns to describe nationality.
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Capital letters can create adjectival nouns to describe nationality.

Q6.
Put the words below in the correct order to complete this sentence: 'Er __________ London, aber er __________, dass die Stadt zu teuer ist! Er __________ Deutsch, also wohnt er lieber in Bremen.'
1 - kennt
2 - weiß
3 - kann

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