LiramiLirami

German grammar, A1 to B2

43 German grammar topics explained in plain English, grouped by CEFR level, with worked examples and free practice drills.

A1 · Beginner

  1. sein & habenSay who you are, how old you are and how you feel (sein), and what you do and don't have (haben). The two verbs every German sentence leans on.
  2. Präsens & word order (V2)Talk about what you do, where you live and what you're doing right now — and learn the one rule that decides German word order: the verb is always the second element.
  3. Everyday phrases · zu Hause, am Montag, ins KinoThe small phrases every beginner sentence needs: at home, on Monday, at eight o'clock, to the cinema, How are you? Learn them whole now; the grammar inside them comes later.
  4. Articles & gender · der / die / das, ein / eineName things and say what they are. Every German noun carries a gender, and the article — der / die / das for "the", ein / eine for "a" — is what tells you which.
  5. Questions · W-Fragen & Ja/NeinAsk for information (W-Frage, "wh-question") or for a yes/no (Ja/Nein-Frage). German builds both by moving the verb — it never adds a helper the way English adds "do".
  6. Accusative caseSay what you see, buy, need and have. German marks the object by changing the article — and only the masculine actually changes.
  7. Possessives · mein / dein / sein / ihrTalk about your family and your things. mein ("my"), dein ("your"), sein ("his"), ihr ("her") decline exactly like ein — so you already know the endings.
  8. Negation · nicht vs keinGerman has two words for "not". Which one you need depends on what you are negating — a noun, or anything else.
  9. Modal verbs & the SatzklammerSay what you can, must, want and are allowed to do. The modal takes slot 2 and kicks the main verb to the very end — the split German calls the Satzklammer (sentence bracket: the second verb goes to the very end).
  10. Separable verbsTalk about your daily routine — getting up, calling someone, going shopping. These verbs are a prefix glued to a base verb, and in a normal sentence the prefix flies to the end.
  11. Imperative · Komm! Nimm! Seien Sie …!The imperative (the command form) has three versions — du, ihr and Sie: Komm! Kommt! Kommen Sie! The verb comes first.
  12. durch, für, gegen, ohne, umFive prepositions that always take the accusative (the object form): für meinen Vater, ohne dich, durch den Park.
  13. Clock times and dates (Viertel nach, am dritten Mai)Viertel nach, Viertel vor and halb for the clock; der erste, der dritte for the day of the month; am dritten Mai for "on 3 May".

A2 · Elementary

  1. Perfekt · the spoken pastTalk about the past the way Germans actually do in speech: haben or sein in slot 2, and the Partizip II (the participle, like English "eaten") at the end.
  2. Dative caseSay who you give, say or show something TO — and handle the fixed list of verbs and prepositions that simply demand this case.
  3. Possessives in the dative · meinem / meinerHelp your mother, talk to your brother, live with your parents: after a dative (the form for "to / for whom", and after mit, zu, bei …) verb or preposition, mein becomes meinem, meiner, meinen.
  4. Two-way prepositions · wohin vs woNine prepositions take either case. Movement INTO a place (wohin? "where to") takes the accusative; being IN it (wo? "where") takes the dative (the form for "to / for whom", and after mit, zu, bei …).
  5. Countries and cities (in / nach / aus)No article: in, nach, aus. With an article: in die / in der, never nach der.
  6. Noun plurals · Kinder, Bücher, FrauenGerman has several plural endings (-e, -er, -n, -s or none, often with an umlaut). Learn each noun with its plural; the article is die for every gender.
  7. Fixed expressions · feste WendungenEveryday phrases that break the rules you just learned — no article, an old dative (the form for "to / for whom", and after mit, zu, bei …) ending, or an article welded in that never changes. Learn them whole.
  8. dieser, jeder, welcherPoint at one thing (dieser: this), talk about every one (jeder: every) and ask which (welcher). All three take the endings of der / die / das.
  9. jemand, niemand, etwas, nichtsjemand (someone) and niemand (no one) usually add -en as an object and -em after mit or helfen; etwas (something) and nichts (nothing) never change.
  10. Reflexive verbs · sich freuenVerbs that take a "self" pronoun — mich, dich, sich, uns, euch: Ich freue mich, Wir treffen uns.
  11. Subordinate clauses · verb lastGive reasons and report what you know. After weil ("because"), dass ("that"), wenn ("if"), obwohl ("although") or ob ("whether"), the conjugated (changed to match the subject) verb drops to the very end of its clause.
  12. Adjective endingsDescribe things. After the verb ("the car is new") an adjective takes no ending at all. In front of a noun ("the new car") it always takes one, and the article decides which.
  13. Comparative & superlativeCompare two things and pick the best one. German always uses endings — -er and am -sten — never "more" or "most".
  14. Präteritum · the written pastGerman's second past tense. For sein, haben and the modals it's what everyone says out loud; for other verbs it belongs to writing and storytelling.
  15. Time prepositions · um, am, im, seit, vorum acht Uhr, am Montag, im Mai — and seit + the present tense for something still going on: Ich wohne seit zwei Jahren hier.
  16. Plusquamperfekt · hatte gemacht, war gegangenThe past before the past (English "had done"): hatte or war + the past participle (usually a ge- form: gemacht, gegangen). Same haben / sein choice as the Perfekt.
  17. Time clauses · als, wenn, bevor, nachdemals for one event in the past, wenn for every time (and for now or later). bevor = before, nachdem = after. The verb goes last.

B1 · Intermediate

  1. Future · werden + verbwerden + the dictionary form at the end (Ich werde dir helfen) for promises, predictions and guesses. For plans German usually just uses the present.
  2. zu + verb, um … zu, damit, ohne … zu, lassenzu + the dictionary form at the end of the clause (Es ist schwer, Deutsch zu lernen); um … zu means "in order to" (damit when the purpose has its own subject), ohne … zu "without", statt … zu "instead of"; lassen takes no zu.
  3. Konjunktiv II · würde / hätte / wäreThe "would" form: würde + verb, or one word for the common verbs (hätte, wäre, könnte). For wishes, unreal "if" sentences and polite requests.
  4. Modals in the Perfekt · hat kommen könnenWith another verb, a modal's Perfekt is haben + two infinitives (dictionary forms) at the end: Er hat nicht kommen können. Alone it is gekonnt, gewollt.
  5. Passive · wird gebautwerden + the past participle (the ge- form: gebaut, geschrieben) when what happens matters more than who does it: Das Haus wird gebaut.
  6. Relative clauses · der Mann, der …der / die / das + a clause that describes a noun, with its verb at the very end: der Mann, der hier wohnt.
  7. Genitive · des VatersThe "of" form (genitive): des Vaters (the father's), der Frau (the woman's); and after wegen, trotz, während.
  8. Adjective endings with no article · kaltes WasserWith no der or ein in front, the adjective takes the article's ending itself: kalter Kaffee, kaltes Wasser, mit kaltem Wasser.
  9. When, why, how, where · TeKaMoLoWhen a sentence has several of them, the usual order is time, reason, manner, place: Ich fahre morgen mit dem Zug nach Berlin.
  10. Linking words · deshalb, trotzdemdeshalb (so), trotzdem (anyway), sonst (otherwise) take the first place, so the verb comes straight after: Es regnet, deshalb bleibe ich zu Hause. After denn and aber nothing moves.
  11. Verbs with prepositions · warten aufMany verbs, adjectives and nouns come with a fixed preposition, often not the English one, and a fixed case: warten auf den Bus (wait for), Angst vor dem Hund (afraid of).
  12. da- and wo- words · darauf, woraufFor a thing, da + the preposition stands for it (Ich warte darauf — I'm waiting for it) and wo + the preposition asks about it (Worauf wartest du?). For people: auf ihn, auf wen.
  13. Weak nouns · den Jungen, HerrnA small group of masculine nouns adds -n or -en in every form but the dictionary one: der Junge → den Jungen, dem Jungen; der Herr → Herrn Schmidt. The subject, and the noun after sein, keep the dictionary form.