Study Hub

Study Guides

This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.

Back to Study HubBrowse Year 8 German Guides

Year 8 - German

This summer: present vs past, perfect tense weak verbs 1st person singular

Holidays: present and past, perfect tense with 'haben'

Unit Summary

This unit provides pupils with the knowledge to form the German perfect tense with 'haben' and past participles for weak and some strong verbs. Pupils learn how to form questions in the perfect tense and two options for translating the German perfect tense into English.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use past and present tenses to understand about holiday experiences in German.

Key Notes

  • [ei] and [ie] are tricky German sounds and need to be read, written and pronounced correctly.
  • To understand what you did in the past, use the present tense of 'haben' and a past participle.
  • The perfect tense in German can be translated in two ways in English: 'have done' and 'did'.
  • The English meaning we use often depends on time adverbs.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • [ei]: sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'frei'
  • [ie]: sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'Liebe'
  • past participle: the form of a verb used in the perfect tense; for example gespielt (played)
  • perfect tense: the German past tense which translates 2 English past tenses; for example, I did and I have done.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • The perfect tense in German is often only translated as 'have done'.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

[ei] and [ie] are tricky German sounds and need to be read, written and pronounced correctly. To understand what you did in the past, use the present tense of 'haben' and a past participle.

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

sound-symbol correspondence 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: The perfect tense in German is often only translated as 'have done'. Correction: Give clear examples of both translations 'have done' and 'did' with appropriate time adverbials. Emphasise the role of time adverbials in helping to decide on the correct English translation.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 8 German guide library.