LanguagesGCSE German: cases, word order and translation30 min★★★ difficulty

German: cases and word order made reliable

German accuracy marks live in two places: the case endings and the position of the verb. Fix those and everything else follows.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Apply German case and word-order rules accurately in speech and writing.

Key learning points

• The four cases
• Prepositions that fix the case
• Verb-second and the sending rule
• Time, manner, place

This lesson at a glance

30 minutes
21 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

germanword-orderaccuratelyspeechwriting

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 21 · Discover5%

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 21

German: cases and word order made reliable illustration

Visual introduction

Picture this

German: cases and word order made reliable

German accuracy marks live in two places: the case endings and the position of the verb. Fix those and everything else follows.

In a nutshell

Apply German case and word-order rules accurately in speech and writing.

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 21

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · The four cases

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 21

Learn

The four cases

Nominative for the subject, accusative for the direct object, dative for the indirect object, genitive for possession. Masculine is where the change shows: der Hund (nom) becomes den Hund (acc) and dem Hund (dat). Feminine, neuter and plural change less, which is why masculine errors cost most.

Reset break

Part 4 of 21

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 21

Learn

Prepositions that fix the case

Accusative: für, um, durch, gegen, ohne. Dative: mit, nach, aus, zu, von, bei, seit. Dual-case prepositions such as in, an and auf take the accusative for movement towards and the dative for position: ich gehe in die Stadt, ich bin in der Stadt.

Quick check

Part 6 of 21

Quick check

Which case follows 'mit'?

Give me a hint

Quick check

Part 7 of 21

Quick check

Complete: 'Ich gehe in ___ Stadt' (movement)

Give me a hint

Reset break

Part 8 of 21

Pause

That's sitting 2 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Learning cycle

Part 9 of 21

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Verb-second and the sending rule

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 10 of 21

Learn

Verb-second and the sending rule

The finite verb is the second idea in a main clause, so starting with a time phrase inverts subject and verb: Gestern bin ich ins Kino gegangen. Subordinating conjunctions such as weil, dass and obwohl send the verb to the end: … weil es sehr interessant war.

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 21

Learn

Time, manner, place

Adverbial information comes in the order time, manner, place: Ich fahre jeden Tag mit dem Bus in die Schule. Getting this order right is a quick, reliable accuracy mark in every piece of writing.

Reset break

Part 12 of 21

Pause

That's sitting 3 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Quick check

Part 13 of 21

Quick check

Where does the verb go after 'weil'?

Give me a hint

Quick check

Part 14 of 21

Quick check

Which order is correct?

Give me a hint

Explore the idea

Part 15 of 21

Worked example

Model paragraph with cases and inversion

In meiner Freizeit spiele ich gern Gitarre, weil Musik mir hilft, mich zu entspannen. Letztes Wochenende bin ich mit meinem Bruder in die Stadt gefahren, und wir haben neue Saiten für die Gitarre gekauft. Nächstes Jahr möchte ich in einer Band spielen, obwohl ich ein bisschen nervös bin. — Note the inversion after 'In meiner Freizeit' and 'Letztes Wochenende', the verb at the end after weil and obwohl, the dative after mit, and the accusative after in for movement.

Reset break

Part 16 of 21

Pause

That's sitting 4 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Challenge round

Part 17 of 21

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Challenge round

Part 18 of 21

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

Getting this order right is a quick, reliable accuracy mark in every piece of ____.

Challenge round

Part 19 of 21

Game · Recall cards

Which case follows 'mit'?

Card 1 of 4

Mastery quiz

Part 20 of 21

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: German: cases and word order made reliable

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. Which case follows 'mit'?
2. Complete: 'Ich gehe in ___ Stadt' (movement)
3. Where does the verb go after 'weil'?
4. Which order is correct?

Lesson round-up

Part 21 of 21

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Part 1 of 21 · Watch & discover

0 points