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Year 8 - German

What I prefer to do and why: 'weil', 'denn' and 'lieber'

What we like and prefer doing: separable verbs, 'gern' and 'lieber'

Unit Summary

This unit revisits adverbs, such as 'gut' 'schnell' and 'gern', and introduces the adverb 'lieber'. It extends knowledge of separable verbs for the plural forms 'wir' and 'sie'.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to understand about and write what you love and prefer doing, extending your sentences to give reasons for your preferences.

Key Notes

  • The 's' in [sp] and [st] sounds like [sch] at the start of a word, as part of a compound noun or after a prefix.
  • The adverb 'lieber' means 'rather', and is used to say 'prefer' with a verb. The verb 'lieben' means 'to love, loving'.
  • The conjunctions 'denn' and 'weil' both mean 'because'.
  • The verb follows the subject when using 'denn'. This is standard word order or word order 1 (WO1).
  • The verb moves to the end of the clause when using 'weil'. This is word order 3 (WO3).

Vocabulary To Learn

  • lieber: adverb meaning 'rather', used after a verb to mean 'prefer'
  • denn: conjunction meaning 'because' after which word order 1 (WO1) follows
  • weil: conjunction meaning 'because' followed by word order 3 (WO3)

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Word order in German remains the same as English after 'weil' ('because').

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

The 's' in [sp] and [st] sounds like [sch] at the start of a word, as part of a compound noun or after a prefix. The adverb 'lieber' means 'rather', and is used to say 'prefer' with a verb. The verb 'lieben' means 'to love, loving'.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'lieber'

adverb meaning 'rather', used after a verb to mean 'prefer'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: Word order in German remains the same as English after 'weil' ('because'). Correction: When using 'weil' to give a reason, the verb moves to the end of the clause, e.g., 'ich spiele gern Fußball, weil es Spaß macht'.

More Lessons In This Unit

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