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Year 7 - German

Christmas: definite article 'die', plurals with umlaut +e, no change -el/-en/-er

Christmas: singular and plural nouns

Unit Summary

This unit introduces pupils to 4 rules for forming plural nouns in German and provides opportunities for practice with the use of 'es gibt'. It will also teach pupils how to use plurals with 'sein' 3rd person plural, and 'sie' meaning 'they'. They practise sound-symbol correspondence [ü] and [ä].

Lesson Summary

You will learn to apply masculine and neuter plural rules 1 and 2 and understand some German Christmas traditions.

Key Notes

  • [ü] can be either short (followed by 2 or more consonants) or long (followed by a single consonant or 'h').
  • For all plural nouns, the German word for 'the' is 'die'.
  • For noun plural rule 1, most masculine and neuter nouns add -e to the end and an umlaut to the vowel.
  • For noun plural rule 2, words ending in -el, -en or -er are often the same in the plural.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • [ü]: pronounced short [ü] as in 'fünf' and long [ü] as in 'Tür'
  • es gibt: 'there is' or 'there are'
  • plural: more than one

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • All nouns change in their plural form, and they all change in the same way.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

[ü] can be either short (followed by 2 or more consonants) or long (followed by a single consonant or 'h'). For all plural nouns, the German word for 'the' is 'die'.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. '[ü]'

pronounced short [ü] as in 'fünf' and long [ü] as in 'Tür'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: All nouns change in their plural form, and they all change in the same way. Correction: Different nouns have different rules for forming plurals. It is important to learn these and acknowledge that there will always be exceptions to any rule.

More Lessons In This Unit

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