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Year 10 - German

Meine Lieblingssänger: 'wenn' and 'als', superlatives

Media and technology: Mein Leben online

Unit Summary

This unit revisits verbs and prepositions and teaches new da-/wo-compounds dabei, darin, davon and dazu. Relative pronouns in subject relative clauses are also used in 2-verb structures. Pupils consolidate the perfect tense and am/beim with the nominationson of the infinitive is introduced.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use 'wenn' and 'als', along with superlatives, to discuss past, present and future musical preferences, artists and experiences.

Key Notes

  • 'Wenn' means 'when', 'whenever' or 'if', used for repeated actions or conditions in the present or future.
  • 'Als' means 'when' to refer to a specific past event or point in time. 'Als' and 'wenn' both trigger word order 3.
  • Use the superlative to express the highest degree of something, e.g., 'the most beautiful', 'the best'.
  • To form superlatives, add '-st' to the adjective before a noun. Use 'am' and add '-sten' to the adjective after a noun.
  • Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • wenn: conjunction meaning 'if' or 'when' which triggers word order 3
  • als: conjunction meaning 'when', referring to specific past events, which triggers word order 3
  • word order 3 (WO3): after certain conjunctions, the verb is sent to the end of the sentence or clause
  • superlative: a form of adjective or adverb used to express the highest degree of a quality, e.g., 'the tallest', 'the most interesting'

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Always use the comparative form of an adjective as the starting point for forming the superlative.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.

'Wenn' means 'when', 'whenever' or 'if', used for repeated actions or conditions in the present or future. 'Als' means 'when' to refer to a specific past event or point in time. 'Als' and 'wenn' both trigger word order 3.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'wenn'

conjunction meaning 'if' or 'when' which triggers word order 3. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: Always use the comparative form of an adjective as the starting point for forming the superlative. Correction: Superlatives can change in the same way as comparatives, such as adding an umlaut, (alt, älter, der/die/das älteste). Where the comparative removes 'e', use the original adjective to form the superlative (teuer, teurer, der/die/das teuerste).

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 10 German guide library.