Year 7 - German
Ask about families: possessives 'mein', 'dein', 'sein', 'ihr' (nominative)
My family, my life: possessive adjectives
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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 the possessive adjectives 'mein', 'dein', 'sein' and 'ihr' in nominative and accusative forms. Pupils apply this knowledge to describe family members and, with word order 2, to narrate a day's activities. Pupils practise the sound-symbol correspondence [d] (final).
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use possessive adjectives in questions and answers to talk and write about your friends and family.
Key Notes
- [ei] is pronounced as in 'frei', like English 'eye'. [ie] is pronounced as in 'Liebe', like English 'ee'.
- Possessive adjectives show who possesses something: 'mein' (my), 'dein' (your), 'ihr' (her), 'sein' (his).
- Possessive adjectives agree with the noun they are describing, i.e., they need to be the same gender.
- Form closed questions by inverting the subject and verb in a statement. Add a question word before for an open question.
- Add the prefix 'Lieblings-' to a noun to mean 'favourite'; for example, 'mein Lieblingsobst'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- [ei]: pronounced as in 'frei'
- [ie]: pronounced as in 'Liebe'
- possessive adjective: a word used to show who something belongs to, e.g., 'my'
- open question: a question starting with a wh- word that seeks more information than just yes or no
- closed question: a question that can be answered with yes or no
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Don't change the possessive pronoun used in a question when you give your answer.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
[ei] is pronounced as in 'frei', like English 'eye'. [ie] is pronounced as in 'Liebe', like English 'ee'. Possessive adjectives show who possesses something: 'mein' (my), 'dein' (your), 'ihr' (her), 'sein' (his).
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. '[ei]'
pronounced as in 'frei'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: Don't change the possessive pronoun used in a question when you give your answer. Correction: If a question is addressed to you (i.e., uses a form of 'dein', as in 'Was ist dein Lieblingssport?'), respond with the correct form of 'mein' in the answer.
More Lessons In This Unit
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