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Year 10 - German

Christine Thürmer: nominalisation of infinitive verbs, plural rules 7-9

People and lifestyle: sprichst du Deutsch?

Unit Summary

This unit revisits the present tense of strong verbs, negation with nicht and kein, compound and plural nouns in the context of learning a new language. Pupils learn to distinguish between wissen, kennen and können with opportunities to apply all these in listening, reading, speaking and writing.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to nominalise infinitive verbs and use plural nouns when reading and translating information about speakers of multiple languages.

Key Notes

  • To make single syllable feminine nouns plural, add '–e' and an umlaut where possible.
  • To make nouns ending in '–nis' plural, add –se.
  • To make some neuter nouns plural, add '-(e)n'.
  • Use any German infinitive as a noun by nominalising it as a neuter noun.
  • To turn noun-verb phrases to nouns, create compound nouns.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • nominalisation: turning a verb into a noun
  • plural rule 7: add 'e' and an umlaut where possible to single syllable feminine nouns; for example, 'die Städte'
  • plural rule 8: add '-se' to nouns ending in '-is'; for example, 'die Ereignisse'
  • plural rule 9: add '-(e)n' to some neuter nouns; for example, 'die Augen'

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Verb infinitives only ever mean 'to do' something.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

To make single syllable feminine nouns plural, add '–e' and an umlaut where possible. To make nouns ending in '–nis' plural, add –se.

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

turning a verb into a noun. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: Verb infinitives only ever mean 'to do' something. Correction: Verb infinitives can be 'nouned' or nominalised by capitalising the first letter. These words are 'neuter' and can be used with or without 'das'. They do not need an ending (like the '-ing' in English) and are useful for extending vocabulary.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 10 German guide library.