Liest du Romane? Questions and informal imperatives with strong verbs
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use present tense strong verbs to ask questions and use the informal imperative to give instructions or advice in the context of free-time activities.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Strong verbs in the present tense change the stem vowel in the 2nd and 3rd person singular: e - i, e - ie, or a - ä.
- Use 'du' questions for informal singular ‘you’, and 'ihr' questions for informal plural ‘you’.
- Strong verbs retain the present tense stem vowel change in the 'du' form of the imperative but they omit the umlaut.
- To use the 'ihr' form of the imperative of weak and strong verbs, just remove the pronoun 'ihr'.
- 'Sein' is irregular in the 'du' form of the imperative. Use 'sei' for the 'du' form and 'seid' for the 'ihr' form.
Keywords
Strong verb - a verb whose stem vowel changes in the ‘du’ and ‘er, sie, es’ forms in the present tense
Imperative - a mood used to tell somebody to do something or give instructions or commands
Du - subject pronoun meaning ‘you’, informal and singular
Ihr - subject pronoun meaning ‘you’, informal and plural
Common misconception
Strong verbs never keep their stem changes in the 'du' form of the imperative.
Strong verbs keep stem vowel changes, e.g. 'e' to 'i', 'e' to 'ie', but omit the umlaut ('ä') in the imperative.
Teacher tip
The formation of the imperative is Higher-only grammar, so teachers of Foundation-only classes might wish to continue to practise present tense strong verbs in a different way. One idea would be to turn Task B2 into a question and answer speaking activity.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the German and English.
boss
colleague (f)
journalist
artist
police officer
lawyer (f)
Q2.Match the German and English.
to come, coming
to read, reading
to take, taking
to change, changing
to meet, meeting
to give, giving
Q3.Which of these is the verb stem?
Q4.Which of these words mean 'you'?
Q5.Sort the words below into the correct order to form a closed question.
Q6.Sort the words below into the correct order to form an open question.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the German and English.
novel
television, TV
episode
programme (on TV)
competition
round, lap
Q2.Sort the words below into the correct order to form a question.
Q3.Which of these are the 'du' and 'ihr' imperative forms of the verb 'fahren'?
Q4.Which of these verbs does not have a stem change in the 'du' form of the imperative?
Q5.Translate the following sentence into German: 'Be careful!' (You are talking to one person.)
Q6.Translate the following sentence into German: 'Be friendly!' (You are talking to two people.)
To help you plan your 10 German lesson on: Liest du Romane? Questions and informal imperatives with strong verbs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 German lesson on: Liest du Romane? Questions and informal imperatives with strong verbs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
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