Year 10 - German
Liest du Romane? Questions and informal imperatives with strong verbs
Popular culture: Sport und Freizeit
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit consolidates the present tense and imperative forms (du/ihr) of weak and strong verbs, and revises the present tense with time adverbs to express future meaning. It revisits stem changes for verbs like finden (findest) and 't' not 'st' for verbs in examples like 'du tanzt'.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to 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.
Key Notes
- 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.
Vocabulary To Learn
- 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 Mistakes To Avoid
- Strong verbs never keep their stem changes in the 'du' form of the imperative.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
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'.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'strong verb'
a verb whose stem vowel changes in the 'du' and 'er, sie, es' forms in the present tense. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: Strong verbs never keep their stem changes in the 'du' form of the imperative. Correction: Strong verbs keep stem vowel changes, e.g. 'e' to 'i', 'e' to 'ie', but omit the umlaut ('ä') in the imperative.
More Lessons In This Unit
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