Year 11 - German
Bertha von Suttner: perfect tense change of state verbs, superlative adjectives
Travel and tourism: Kulturszene
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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 revisits previously taught grammar with practice of the perfect tense (haben and sein) and simple past with früher, gern and lieber. Comparative adverb structures are consolidated along with plural nouns and irregular nationality nouns. 'wo' and 'was' in relative clauses are revisited.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use change of state verbs with 'sein' in the perfect tense and form superlatives before nouns, in the context of learning about the pacifist Bertha von Suttner.
Key Notes
- Form the perfect tense using 'sein' with verbs referring to a change of state, e.g., 'ist eingeschlafen'.
- Form the superlative by adding '-ste' to the end of the adjective if it comes before a noun, e.g., 'billigste'.
- Some superlative forms are irregular, e.g., 'beste', 'höchste', 'meiste'. Others have umlauts as in the comparative.
- In 1905, Bertha von Suttner was the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Vocabulary To Learn
- perfect tense: past tense formed with the present tense of 'sein' or 'haben' and a past participle
- sein: auxiliary verb used to form the perfect tense with some verbs, e.g., change of state verbs
- 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
- Only verbs expressing a change of state take 'sein' in the perfect tense.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
Form the perfect tense using 'sein' with verbs referring to a change of state, e.g., 'ist eingeschlafen'. Form the superlative by adding '-ste' to the end of the adjective if it comes before a noun, e.g., 'billigste'.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'perfect tense'
past tense formed with the present tense of 'sein' or 'haben' and a past participle. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: Only verbs expressing a change of state take 'sein' in the perfect tense. Correction: Verbs referring to motion, which don't require a direct object (e.g., 'gehen'), take 'sein' in the perfect tense. Most verbs meaning 'happen' (e.g., 'geschehen', 'passieren') and the verbs 'bleiben' and 'sein' also use 'sein'.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Berühmte Deutsche: subject relative clauses, wh- pronouns in relative clauses Study Guide
- Die Brüder Grimm: plural nouns, weak masculine nouns Study Guide
- Die Vennbahn: perfect tense, imperfect tense, weak past participles Study Guide
- Traditionen in der Schweiz: abstract adjectival neuter nouns Study Guide
- Traditionen in Österreich: comparative adverbs, postnominal superlatives Study Guide
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