Year 9 - German
A charity concert: past participles, verb stress, 'kein' vs 'nicht'
Places and projects: imperfect modal verbs
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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 consolidates grammar knowledge of word order - time before manner before place - and revisits imperfect modals. The present and perfect tense are revisited with verbs plus indirect objects.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use weak and strong past participles and negation correctly in the context of planning a charity event.
Key Notes
- Past participles of weak verbs sandwich the stem between ge- and -t; verbs with inseparable prefixes don't add ge-.
- Past participles of strong verbs sandwich the stem between ge- and -en; the stem vowel may change: 'singen', 'gesungen'.
- The prefix 'mit' adds the meaning of 'taking part', or 'doing with' to verbs, e.g., 'mitmachen' - 'to join in'.
- 1st syllable stress is common in German; words with inseparable prefixes stress the 2nd syllable, -ieren verbs the -ie.
- 'Kein' (no, not any) negates nouns with indefinite articles, with 'ein' endings; 'nicht' (not) negates everything else.
Vocabulary To Learn
- past participle: verb form that forms the perfect tense, together with the auxiliary verb
- mit: preposition 'with', also a verb prefix adding the meaning of participation or 'doing with'
- stress: pronouncing one syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word
- kein: article 'no, not any' that negates nouns preceded by an indefinite article
- nicht: adverb 'not' that negates everything except nouns with an indefinite article
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- German verbs always stress the same syllable.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
Past participles of weak verbs sandwich the stem between ge- and -t; verbs with inseparable prefixes don't add ge-. Past participles of strong verbs sandwich the stem between ge- and -en; the stem vowel may change: 'singen', 'gesungen'.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'past participle'
verb form that forms the perfect tense, together with the auxiliary verb. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: German verbs always stress the same syllable. Correction: Generally German infinitive verbs stress the first syllable; however, words starting with inseparable prefixes be-, er-, ge-, ver-, ent- stress the 2nd syllable, which includes most past participles; -ieren verbs stress the 'ie' in present and past.
More Lessons In This Unit
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