New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Bertha von Suttner: perfect tense change of state verbs, superlative adjectives

I can use change of state verbs with 'sein' in the perfect tense and form superlatives before nouns, in the context of learning about the pacifist Bertha von Suttner.

New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Bertha von Suttner: perfect tense change of state verbs, superlative adjectives

I can use change of state verbs with 'sein' in the perfect tense and form superlatives before nouns, in the context of learning about the pacifist Bertha von Suttner.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Form the perfect tense using 'sein' with verbs referring to a change of state, e.g., 'ist eingeschlafen'.
  2. Form the superlative by adding '-ste' to the end of the adjective if it comes before a noun, e.g., 'billigste'.
  3. Some superlative forms are irregular, e.g., 'beste', 'höchste', 'meiste'. Others have umlauts as in the comparative.
  4. In 1905, Bertha von Suttner was the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Keywords

  • Perfect tense - past tense formed with the present tense of 'sein' or 'haben' and a past participle

  • Sein - auxiliary verb used to form the perfect tense with some verbs, e.g., change of state verbs

  • Superlative - a form of adjective or adverb used to express the highest degree of a quality, e.g., 'the tallest', 'the most interesting'

Common misconception

Only verbs expressing a change of state take 'sein' in the perfect tense.

Verbs referring to motion, which don't require a direct object (e.g., 'gehen'), take 'sein' in the perfect tense. Most verbs meaning 'happen' (e.g., 'geschehen', 'passieren') and the verbs 'bleiben' and 'sein' also use 'sein'.


To help you plan your year 11 German lesson on: Bertha von Suttner: perfect tense change of state verbs, superlative adjectives, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Task B1 could be used as a running dictation task prior to completing the gap fill exercise.
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Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word means 'whole' or 'entire'?
geschehen
Correct answer: gesamt
gesellschaftlich
gewiss
gewesen
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:Hintergrund (m),background

background

Correct Answer:Preis (m),prize

prize

Correct Answer:Qualität (f),quality

quality

Correct Answer:Traum (m),dream

dream

Correct Answer:Unfall (m),accident

accident

Correct Answer:Wunsch (m),wish

wish

Q3.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:aufwachsen,to grow up

to grow up

Correct Answer:einschlafen,to fall asleep

to fall asleep

Correct Answer:erhalten,to receive, receiving

to receive, receiving

Correct Answer:gewinnen,to win, winning

to win, winning

Correct Answer:wachsen,to grow, growing

to grow, growing

Correct Answer:verbieten,to forbid, ban

to forbid, ban

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'The house is located in the town centre.'
1 - das
2 - Haus
3 - liegt
4 - in
5 - der
6 - Stadtmitte
Q5.
Write in English: 'die Grenzen waren geschlossen'.
Correct Answer: the borders were closed
Q6.
Write in German: 'my friend (m) is a refugee'.
Correct Answer: mein Freund ist ein Flüchtling, mein Freund ist Flüchtling, mein Freund ist Fluechtling

Assessment exit quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
Bertha von Suttner won the .
Correct Answer: Nobel Peace Prize
Q2.
Which verb does not use 'sein' in the perfect tense?
bleiben
gehen
passieren
Correct answer: spielen
sein
Q3.
Match the pronouns to the correct verb forms.
Correct Answer:ich,bin

bin

Correct Answer:du,bist

bist

Correct Answer:er, sie, es,ist

ist

Correct Answer:wir, sie,sind

sind

Q4.
Write in German: 'the cheapest apartment'.
Correct Answer: die billigste Wohnung
Q5.
Write in German: 'the highest window'.
Correct Answer: das höchste Fenster, das hoechste Fenster

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