Year 9 - German
What you used to do: perfect tense with 'ihr' (you, familiar pl.) and 'früher'
Past lives: perfect and imperfect tenses
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit revisits past tenses. The perfect tense is consolidated as variations on past participle formation are practised. The imperfect tense (war, hatte, es gab) is revisited, with question formation and word order 3 conjunctions. Pupils learn how to say calendar years in German.
Lesson Summary
You know how to form and use the perfect tense in German, including the 'ihr' form, to discuss past events with other people.
Key Notes
- Form the perfect tense with the present tense of 'haben' or 'sein', plus a past participle at the end of the statement.
- Form most past participles by adding 'ge-' and '-t' around the verb stem. '-ieren' verbs do not add 'ge-'.
- Verbs with prefixes 'be-', 'ver-', 'er-' don't add 'ge-' to form past participles. Their prefixes are never stressed.
- The subject pronoun 'ihr' means 'you (familiar, plural)'.
- Use the adverb 'früher' to translate 'used to' from English, e.g., 'Ich habe früher getanzt, aber jetzt nicht mehr.'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- perfect tense: verb tense that describes completed actions in the past, e.g.,'I (have) said', 'she (has) played'
- past participle: verb form that forms the perfect tense, together with the auxiliary verbs 'haben' or 'sein'
- ihr: subject pronoun meaning 'you (familiar, plural)'
- früher: adverb meaning 'previously, in former times, in the past'
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All past participles are formed the same way.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
Form the perfect tense with the present tense of 'haben' or 'sein', plus a past participle at the end of the statement. Form most past participles by adding 'ge-' and '-t' around the verb stem. '-ieren' verbs do not add 'ge-'.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'perfect tense'
verb tense that describes completed actions in the past, e.g.,'I (have) said', 'she (has) played'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: All past participles are formed the same way. Correction: Weak verbs form their past participles by sandwiching 'ge-' and '-t' around the verb stem. Strong verbs sandwich 'ge-' and '-en' around the verb stem, but verbs with prefixes 'be-', 'ver-', 'er-', or ending '-ieren', do not add 'ge-'.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 9 German guide library.