German grammar
Clear, exam-focused explanations of German grammar, level by level — each with examples and the mistakes to avoid.
- German accusative case (direct object): der → den, ein → einen
- German Imperative: Commands with du, ihr, and Sie
- German Word Order: Verb Second After a Time or Place
- German Yes/No Questions: Verb-First Word Order (and Answering with doch)
- und, oder, aber, denn, sondern — German Coordinating Conjunctions (Word Order Stays)
- German modal verbs: können, müssen, wollen, dürfen, sollen, mögen/möchten + word order
- German negation: nicht vs kein — when to use each (A1)
- der, die, das: gender and the definite article (Nominativ)
- German Subject Pronouns: ich, du, er/sie/es — and du vs Sie
- German possessive articles: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer (ein-word endings)
- Accusative prepositions: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um
- German present tense: regular verb conjugation
- German separable verbs: aufstehen, einkaufen, fernsehen — where the prefix goes
- German indefinite article: ein / eine / ein (and accusative einen) vs. der / die / das
- sein and haben: the two essential irregular verbs
- German Word Order: The Verb Goes Second (V2 Rule)
- German W-Questions: wer, was, wo, wann, wie, warum + Word Order
- German definite article declension: der/die/das in all four cases
- German Dative Case: dem, der, dem, den (+n) for the Indirect Object
- German Comparative & Superlative: -er, am -sten, and Irregulars
- German wenn-Clauses: "If" and "When" with Verb-Final Word Order (A2)
- German Subordinate Clauses with weil and dass: The Verb Goes to the End
- Guessing a noun's gender from its ending
- German Perfect Tense (Perfekt): haben or sein + Past Participle
- Personal pronouns in the accusative and dative
- Dative prepositions: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu
- German Reflexive Verbs: sich freuen & sich waschen (Accusative vs Dative)
- Reflexive pronouns: accusative vs. dative (mich vs. mir)
- German Time Prepositions: am, um, im, seit, vor, nach (+ Dative)
- Two-way prepositions: accusative for motion, dative for rest
- Infinitive clauses with um…zu, ohne…zu and (an)statt…zu
- Passive with Modal Verbs in German (muss gemacht werden)
- Word order in subordinate clauses: the verb goes last
- The present passive: werden + past participle
- German Genitive Relative Clauses: dessen vs. deren (B1)
- Two-Part Connectors in German: sowohl…als auch, entweder…oder, je…desto