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      Traditionen in der Schweiz: abstract adjectival neuter nouns

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can apply my linguistic skills to cope with longer texts, and I am confident in the use of abstract adjectival nouns, in the context of Swiss traditions.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. Use your linguistic knowledge to break down language in longer texts and aid your understanding.
      2. Abstract adjectival nouns refer to abstract ideas, such as 'important', 'interesting'.
      3. After 'etwas', capitalise the adjective and add '-es' to make a neuter abstract adjectival noun.
      4. After 'alles', capitalise the adjective and add '-e' to make a neuter abstract adjectival noun.
      5. Use dictation tasks to reinforce your understanding of sound-symbol correspondences.

      Keywords

      • Abstract adjectival noun - noun that takes the same endings as an adjective, and refers to an abstract idea, e.g., 'etwas Interessantes'

      • Etwas - indefinite pronoun meaning ‘something’, often followed by an abstract adjectival noun

      • Alles - indefinite pronoun meaning ‘everything’, often followed by an abstract adjectival noun

      Common misconception

      Adjectival nouns do not require a capital letter because they come from adjectives.

      Adjectival nouns require a capital letter, just like all nouns in German.

      Teacher tip

      Encourage students to research other well-known Swiss traditions and crafts, such as chocolate-making and watchmaking.

      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 word means 'indeed' or 'certainly'?

      Correct answer: allerdings
      kontrollieren
      einerseits
      andererseits
      alles klar

      Q2.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:anhaben,to wear, have on

      to wear, have on

      Correct Answer:bezahlen,to pay, paying

      to pay, paying

      Correct Answer:probieren,to try, trying

      to try, trying

      Correct Answer:tragen,to wear, wearing

      to wear, wearing

      Correct Answer:kontrollieren,to check, control

      to check, control

      Correct Answer:arbeiten,to work, working

      to work, working

      Q3.
      Match the German and English.

      Correct Answer:Eintritt (m),entry, admission

      entry, admission

      Correct Answer:Höhe (f),height

      height

      Correct Answer:Gutschein (m),voucher

      voucher

      Correct Answer:Möbel (nt),furniture

      furniture

      Correct Answer:Tier (nt),animal

      animal

      Correct Answer:Zeitpunkt (m),moment, point in time

      moment, point in time

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'the strange book and the strange films'.

      1 - das
      2 - komische
      3 - Buch
      4 - und
      5 - die
      6 - komischen
      7 - Filme

      Q5.
      Write in English: 'das wäre unglaublich'.

      Correct Answer: that would be unbelievable, it would be unbelievable

      Q6.
      Write in German: 'the street was narrow'.

      Correct Answer: die Straße war eng, die Straße war schmal, die Strasse war eng, die Strasse war schmal

      4 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the words and missing sounds.

      Correct Answer:bl__d,[ö]

      [ö]

      Correct Answer:fr__her,[ü]

      [ü]

      Correct Answer:vollst__ndig,[ä]

      [ä]

      Correct Answer:Ger__sch,[äu]

      [äu]

      Correct Answer:gen__,[au]

      [au]

      Correct Answer:r__chen,[ie]

      [ie]

      Q2.
      Which word is an adjectival noun?

      das schöne
      Correct answer: das Schöne
      schön
      schöne
      schönes

      Q3.
      Write in German: 'something typical'.

      Correct Answer: etwas Typisches

      Q4.
      Write in German: 'everything creative'.

      Correct Answer: alles Kreative

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