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Year 9 - German

Places you like and prefer: verbs + indirect object, 'gefallen', 'mögen'

Ambitions and destinations: 'mögen', 'möcht-', past tenses

Unit Summary

This unit revisits a broad range of known grammar and vocabulary and present and past tenses, as pupils learn how to use their knowledge in new contexts of personal goals, travel destinations and volunteering.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to express likes and preferences using 'mögen' with a subject and 'gefallen' with an indirect object.

Key Notes

  • German [th] sounds like 't' in English.
  • If 't' and 'h' are in different syllables, you say both sounds separately, like in 'Rathaus'.
  • The verbs 'mögen' and 'gefallen' both express 'liking', but they work in different ways.
  • 'Mögen' works like a standard verb where the subject likes something, e.g., 'ich mag Fußball'.
  • 'Gefallen' is 'to please'; use it with an indirect object pronoun, e.g., 'Fußball gefällt mir' - 'football pleases me'.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • indirect object pronoun: replaces the person, people or thing(s) that the verb action is done to, when the action is to me, for you, to them
  • adverb: word that describes a verb or an adjective

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • 'Gefallen' means 'to like' and works like a normal verb where I am the subject that does the action of 'liking'.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

German [th] sounds like 't' in English. If 't' and 'h' are in different syllables, you say both sounds separately, like in 'Rathaus'.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'indirect object pronoun'

replaces the person, people or thing(s) that the verb action is done to, when the action is to me, for you, to them. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: 'Gefallen' means 'to like' and works like a normal verb where I am the subject that does the action of 'liking'. Correction: 'Gefallen' means 'to please', so works differently. You are not doing the 'liking', the thing you like is 'pleasing' you. E.g., 'das Kleid gefällt mir' - literally, 'the dress pleases me'. More naturally translated - 'I like the dress'.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 9 German guide library.