Year 11 - German
Die Brüder Grimm: plural nouns, weak masculine nouns
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 form the plurals of a range of German nouns and explore their use in the context of learning about 'die Brüder Grimm'.
Key Notes
- Not all nouns form their plural in the same way, but there are helpful patterns we can learn.
- Some nouns add an umlaut to the vowel in their plural form, e.g., 'Bäume'. Pay attention to the change in pronunciation.
- Some masculine nouns referring to people and weak masculine nouns form their plural by adding '-(e)n'.
- Plural nouns add '-n' in their dative plural forms, e.g., 'den Brüdern'.
- Die Brüder Grimm published a world-famous collection of fairy tales in 1812, which was called 'Kinder- und Hausmärchen'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- plural: more than one
- weak masculine noun: a small set of masculine nouns that add '-(e)n' in all forms apart from the nominative singular
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All nouns ending '-n' must be in the dative case.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
Not all nouns form their plural in the same way, but there are helpful patterns we can learn. Some nouns add an umlaut to the vowel in their plural form, e.g., 'Bäume'. Pay attention to the change in pronunciation.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'plural'
more than one. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: All nouns ending '-n' must be in the dative case. Correction: The definite article 'den' shows the dative plural form as well as the '-n' added to the end of the dative plural. However, a number of nouns form their plural by adding '-(e)n' and are not in the dative case.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Bertha von Suttner: perfect tense change of state verbs, superlative adjectives Study Guide
- Berühmte Deutsche: subject relative clauses, wh- pronouns in relative clauses 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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