Year 7 - German
Christmas traditions: singular and plural nouns
Christmas: singular and plural nouns
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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 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 recognise and use three different plural rules, understand some German Christmas traditions and write a Christmas letter in German.
Key Notes
- [ä] can be either short (followed by 2 or more consonants) or long (followed by a single consonant or 'h').
- For noun plural rule 1, most masculine and neuter nouns add -e to the end and an umlaut on the vowel (ä, ö, ü).
- For noun plural rule 2, words ending in -el, -en or -er are often the same in the plural.
- For noun plural rule 3, most feminine nouns add '-n' or '-en'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- [ä]: pronounced long [ä] as in 'spät' and short [ä] as in 'lächeln'
- plural rule 1: most masculine and neuter nouns add -e to the end and an umlaut on the vowel (ä, ö, ü)
- plural rule 2: masculine and neuter nouns ending in -el, -er or -en often stay the same in their plural form
- plural rule 3: most feminine nouns either add -n or -en to the end of the noun
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All nouns change when they are in their plural form.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
[ä] can be either short (followed by 2 or more consonants) or long (followed by a single consonant or 'h'). For noun plural rule 1, most masculine and neuter nouns add -e to the end and an umlaut on the vowel (ä, ö, ü).
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. '[ä]'
pronounced long [ä] as in 'spät' and short [ä] as in 'lächeln'. 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 when they are in their plural form. Correction: There are three different plural rules. 1. Most masculine and neuter nouns add -e to the end and an umlaut to the vowel; 2. M. and nt. nouns ending in -el, -er or -en often stay the same when plural; 3. Most feminine nouns add -n or -en to the end.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Christmas traditions: 'sein' 3rd person singular and plural, plurals - +(e)n Study Guide
- Christmas: 'Es gibt' with plurals, the song 'O Tannenbaum' Study Guide
- Christmas: definite article 'die', plurals with umlaut +e, no change -el/-en/-er Study Guide
- How many? Ask questions and give statements with plural nouns Study Guide
- Numbers 1-12: plurals adding umlaut + -er Study Guide
- Saying what something is like: subject pronouns 'er', 'sie', 'es' for 'it' Study Guide
- What you and others have and what it is like: subject pronoun 'sie' for 'they' Study Guide
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