
Learn structure four in German by using interchangeable slots within a core sentence structure to form fluent phrases. Practice in short three-minute chunks to boost enthusiasm, consistency, and recall.
Explore structure 4 in German, a past tense question form built from a question word, inverted auxiliary, and past participle. Practice forms like what have you eaten.
Learn how German past tense forms use a three-part structure: the question word, the inverted auxiliary verb, and the past participle, with examples showing ge- and -t endings.
Learn how to form German past participles from infinitives using the g prefix and -t ending, note irregulars, and memorize common participles like essen, trinken, gehen, sehen, kommen.
Learn how the German auxiliary verb haben forms past tense with the past participle, and memorize its nine forms, including du hast, ihr habt, and Sie haben.
Learn how attaching a past participle to an auxiliary verb forms a statement, and how inversion creates a question, with examples like has eaten and have you.
Learn German sentence structure and rule that the past participle goes at the end, with middle-of-sentence placement for extra information and forming questions like 'how much have we spent today'.
Learn to manipulate German sentence structure to form different types of questions, including cases where you don't place the question at the start, as shown with 'have you eaten'.
Master the German present perfect, formed by the pronoun, the auxiliary verb, and the past participle, and learn to invert for questions with examples like du hast gegessen.
Recap of German question words and inverted auxiliary verbs, with past participles, and practice forming questions such as where, what, when, why, and how much or how many.
Explore German past and perfect constructions with practical prompts, translating phrases like had, bought, spent, done, and paid the bill into accurate German forms.
Learn how to say common questions in German, including 'how much have you eaten?' and 'what have they eaten today?', with focus on structure and basic grammar.
Learn how German question forms use auxiliary verbs and why English uses have or did, noting that German lacks did you and translates questions accordingly.
Explore German grammar for structure 4 with lesson 7b, focusing on forming questions and tense usage through examples like what have they eaten today and when did he call.
Practice forming German questions and past-tense phrases, asking what they drank or ate, whether they understood, and reporting conversations and spoken interactions.
Practice forming German questions and statements using examples like 'has she called today' and 'how much wine has he drunk', plus related phrases about pizzas and times.
Explore German sentence structure with phrases like 'has to' and questions such as 'how do you say in German?', linking examples about reservation, environment, and habit to everyday usage.
Learn how to say common German phrases and questions, including 'when did he call' and 'what did you order,' and practice past actions, purchases, parking, and habits in German.
Practice translating common German questions and phrases, including 'How would you say in German' and 'Have I said something stupid,' using structure 4 for film, wine, and hotel contexts.
Master German phrase patterns for asking how long you spent in Germany, how much money you spend, and what you took with you.
Learn German question formation by identifying the object of the sentence and using correct endings, as in 'which film did you see.' See how masculine noun agreement changes the word.
Explore German grammar in lesson 7j by practicing question forms with prompts like what did they bring and when did the film start.
Master structure four in German, in question and non-question formats, with a three-part core (question word, inverted auxiliary, past participle) and optional middle information, noting two English translations.
Learn practical German through everyday phrases and basic sentence structure, including translations of lines like they bought the wine yesterday and I saw Maria.
Practice German grammar through everyday past-tense phrases such as 'he's bought everything for Paul' and 'I took some food to Stuttgart'.
Learn to express German phrases for changing a reservation, ordering pizza, and discussing meals and places in Germany, with notes on guilt and GoFundMe references.
Learn how to express common travel scenarios in German, including complaining about a hotel, changing a reservation, and discussing feelings about a job, through dialogues and vocabulary.
Explore German sentence structure and grammar with common phrases like 'we spoke' and 'we haven't spoken,' and practice translating 'I called Michael this morning' and 'I ordered for you'.
Explore the fourth German structure, built with an auxiliary verb and a past participle, illustrated by examples like we drank three bottles of wine and they have eaten here.
Review the question words, inverted auxiliary verbs, and extra information words from the lesson, and practice forming German questions using have or did constructions.
Explore core German vocabulary and grammar through common past forms and adjectives, including eaten, drunk, spent, bought, arrived, said, and went, with usage notes.
Practice forming German questions and past tense through practical phrases like yesterday, last week, two days ago, and what did you see, eat, or bring.
Learn practical German sentence construction and everyday phrases, from asking how to say things in German to discussing past events at a hotel and time expressions.
Practice turning English prompts into German questions and statements, such as who you saw in Berlin or whom you called in Deutschland, and discuss past tense forms.
Explore German verbs of movement and the past tense, focusing on auxiliary verbs and past participles, including irregular forms and the use of a second auxiliary to be.
Explore the German verb gehen and its irregular past participle gegangen. Learn how ich bin gegangen expresses I have gone or I went.
Learn about 19 German movement verbs that require sein as the past tense auxiliary, remembered with the freaks flaws bags and rags mnemonic, and understand why each verb conveys movement.
Explore German movement verbs that form the past tense with design as their auxiliary verb, listing the past participles and their meanings, and noting similarities to English.
Review how German movement verbs take sein as the auxiliary in the perfect, changing word order as in ich bin angekommen and ich bin gestorben.
Translate everyday English phrases into German using forms like ich bin; explore sentences such as I went to Berlin with Maria and I was born here.
Learn to form German questions by inverting auxiliary verbs and subject pronouns, using movement verbs and free-flow structures, with practice on phrases like when did you arrive.
Learn how to say who with in German using mit wem and wem, with examples like 'with whom did you go out last night' and 'in kino'.
Learn German sentence structure by translating everyday actions and forming time and place questions, using examples like I got up this morning and when did he wake up.
Explore German sentence construction in lesson 10j by practicing practical phrases and questions, contrasting informal singular and plural forms, and mastering the formal and informal ways to say with you.
Explore a short prefix meaning back that attaches to movement verbs and past participles to express return, with German examples such as come back, go back, and gave it back.
Explore how German negation works by turning six positive sentences into negatives using 'nicht' after the verb, transforming forms like 'have you eaten' or 'did you eat'.
Practice forming German questions and negations using phrases like 'how would you say in German?' and 'why didn't you drink the wine?' and review 'in Deutschland' and 'nicht' usage.
Learn to negate the past tense in German by placing nicht after the auxiliary verb, with examples like I have eaten, he has gone, and she spoke.
Learn how to translate German negatives into English using didn't or haven't, with examples like I haven't eaten and we didn't pay, to master past negative forms.
The whole of the German language can be broken down into several different structures. If you take any sentence from any German book or any utterance, you will see that it fits into one of these structures.
I remember one weekend, I was writing some lessons for the week ahead, when I suddenly realised this. I noticed that there are a certain number of structures in German, and that every sentence follows one of these structures. I spent the rest of the weekend working out all the structures, and I wrote them all down.
Every structure you learn gives you the ability to say a huge amount. Some structures are used more than others, but all the structures together make up the whole German language. Once you’ve learnt how a structure works, all you have to do is insert different words into the slots and you have a sentence.
This course introduces you to structure 4. I’ve limited each course to one structure so as not to overburden you. By looking at just one structure at a time, you can really get to grips with it and understand its usage. It will help to clarify the German language and make it more like a reflex rather than something you have to think about as is it were a maths equation.
Each structure can also help to propel you to fluency; if you can manipulate the structures at high speed, you can start to say anything you want without having to thing about how to say it.
This course contains plenty of practice opportunities for you to revise what you’ve learnt and it also contains some hints and tips on how best to learn and memorise the structures and the vocabulary that goes with them. You’ll learn how to make questions out of structure 4, how to make statements and how to turn positive statements negative.
The Building Structures in German series is set out using the same learning techniques as the 3 Minute German courses. You can work through the course in three minute chunks, enabling anybody to learn German, no matter how little time you have.