CoPC - German Improvers Summer 2025
- Andrew Starr
- May 19
- 14 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
This post is for the German Improvers Class at the City of Portsmouth College (Highbury Campus) on Thursday evenings from April to June 2025. RG
A shortened link to this page is rebrand.ly/cgei25
The classes are due to run on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 pm on:
Outside the classroom
>> German Socials - Practice your language in a social setting. German Speakers in Portsmouth on Facebook or this blog post. tinyurl.com/0520ectc
We have a twin city in Duisburg. I am the Chair of the Twinning Association for France and Germany. To learn more about our twin cities, please visit our website.
In August, we will have a week's visit from our German Twin City of Duisburg
Use the internet to improve your listening skills and begin to tune your ear to spoken German outside of the classroom.
Tagesschau - click on "Sendung verpasst" at the top, and it will load the most recent programme you can watch via streaming - Pictures etc. will help you to follow what is being said.
Deutsche Welle - 24/7 news channel like BBC 24
Many of the leading online TV channels are blocked outside of Germany/EU. However, some programmes, such as news and documentaries, are often available. Again, it is valid more as something to put on in the background to 'tune your ear' to the sound of German.
ZDF Leichtnachrichten - Simpler German news from ZDF (Germany's BBC Two)
ARD (Germany's BBC One)
Arte (A Franco-British TV Channel)
German Music
This link is to the blog where I collect German singers and bands from across time. If you have no or few German favourites, why not have a look? They may pique your interest, and you can explore others by yourself, making your discoveries.
This padlet is where I collect many online German Language Learning Resources.
Very useful tools ...
linguee.de For context and more in-depth ideas.
The topic of non-binary terminology in German (I have never heard, read or seen them anywhere but here, though).
We have two coursebooks available at the college, and I also have a few other coursebooks at my disposal to choose the odd theme.
Das Leben A1 (Beginners)
Das Leben A2 (Beginners/Intermediate)
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This Improvers class runs from 7:30 to 9:00 pm on Thursdays in September. The classes are due to run (provided the minimum number of attendees is reached - click above for provisional dates).
Some grammar will likely be covered again; however, the themes and topics will differ.
You can register your interest in classes in September by emailing Jennifer Parr, the Adult Ed courses administrator. Alternatively, use the link above to register via the college website.
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Donnerstag, den 26. Juni
Tonight - Fragen
Was hast du in den letzten Tagen gemacht?
Was wirst du in den kommenden Tagen machen?
Hast du schon Pläne für den Sommerferien?
Wenn Geld kein Problem wäre, was wurdest du in den Ferien machen?
This song (remember, songs are an excellent way to get German intonation, pronunciation, etc, embedded in your mind) has a lot of tense use. (In particular - Perfect and Present).
Donnerstag, den 19. Juni
Tonight
Rock me, Amadeus? (40% English, but plenty of German, not all grammatically correct!)
Donnerstag, den 12. Juni
Tonight we will look at one more useful form of verb tense... You should now be able to manipulate verbs into the past, present, and future. It would also be helpful to be able to use the conditional tense.
This tense forms much like the future tense with the verb „werden“ in its subjunctive form; the other verb is in the infinitive form and, like all others, goes to the end...
ich würde – I would
du würdest – you would
er würde – he would
sie würde – she would
wir würden – we would
ihr würdet – you (pl.) would
Sie würden – you (form.) would
sie würden – they would
Ich würde Pralinen kaufen, aber ich bin Pleite!
Du würdest mindesten Käse essen, wenn es kein Schinken essen zu essen gibt.
etc...
If you were to say could and should instead of would, you would use the subjunctive forms of „können“ and „sollen“.
ich könnte – I could
ich sollte – I should
du könntest – you could
du solltest – you should
er/sie/es/man könnte – he/she/it could
er/sie/es/man sollte – he/she/it/one should
wir könnten – we could
wir sollten – they should
ihr könntet – you could
ihr solltet – you should
Sie könnten – you could
Sie sollten – you should
sie könnten – they could
sie sollten – they should
Ich könnte Cola trinken, wenn es kein Zucker darin hat.
Ich sollte kein Bier trinken, der Arzt hat mir „Nein“ gesagt.
König von Deutschland (1986) by Rio Reiser
Pluperfect?
Donnerstag, den 5. Juni
Tonight, you may wish to present in German about your regular daily routine and a past day which contrasts in some way. (Or you may not!)
A reminder about German grammar...
Tonight, we will look at the imperfect (preterite) tense, which could be where we in English may use the simple past - not often used in modern spoken German...
and 'I used to ...'
The regular formation mainly adds a 't' or 'e' after the stem, sometimes with one or two extra letters.
Here is a regular example.
ich kaufte
du kauftest
er kaufte
es kaufte
sie kaufte
man kaufte
wir kauften
ihr kauftet
Sie kauften
sie kauften
The difference between the present tense and preterite is highlighted below in the 22nd May lesson write-up and on the Open University link.
So, what about setting the scene in German? ('I was ...ing' in English)
Here's how you would translate it:
I was reading: Ich war am Lesen
I was listening: Ich war am Zuhören
I was running: Ich war am Laufen
Explanation:
"sein" (to be) in the imperfect:
"war" is the imperfect form of "sein" and is used to indicate an ongoing action in the past.
"am" + infinitive:
The preposition "am" is used with the infinitive form of the verb to create the equivalent of the "-ing" form.
Key takeaway: The German equivalent uses a combination of the imperfect tense of "sein" and the infinitive of the main verb to express the same meaning as "I was...ing".
And finally, what about 'I used to...'
In German, "I used to" is most often translated as "Früher habe ich..." or "Ich hatte früher die Gewohnheit,...". The first option is more common and means "In the past, I have...". The second option translates to "I had the habit of...".
Here's a breakdown:
Früher: This means "formerly" or "in the past".
haben: This is the verb "to have".
Partizip Perfekt: This is a German past tense form similar to the English simple past or present perfect in some cases.
Examples:
I used to smoke: Früher habe ich geraucht. (I used to smoke)
I used to play the piano: Früher habe ich Klavier gespielt. (In the past, I played the piano.)
I used to work at that company: Früher habe ich bei dieser Firma gearbeitet. (In the past, I worked at that company.)
An alternative:
Vor [time period] habe ich ... + past participle: This translates to "[number] years ago, I have [verb]".
For example: Vor fünf Jahren habe ich Tennis gespielt (Five years ago, I played tennis).
Warum? (1997) by Tic Tac Toe
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Next, we will look at how the future tense is formed in German. This one is pretty easy, as are the others, you may need to know...
You use the verb „werden“ as the auxiliary verb, and the other verb is simply in its infinitive form.
The verb „werden“ means to become.
ich werde ... kaufen
du wirst ... kaufen
er wird ... kaufen
es wird ... kaufen
sie wird ... kaufen
wir werden ... kaufen
ihr werdet ... kaufen
Sie werden ... kaufen
sie werden ... kaufen
Alternative ways of expressing a future idea...
These verbs follow exactly the same pattern as werden + infinitive.
ich will... + Infinitiv – I want to... + infinitive
ich möchte... + Infinitiv – I would like to... + infinitive
ich würde gern... + Infinitiv – I would like to... + infinitive
The following verbs follow a similar pattern, but the word zu is needed before the infinitive at the end.
ich plane,... + zu Infinitiv – I plan to + infinitive...
ich hoffe,... + zu Infinitiv – I hope to + infinitive...
ich habe vor,... + zu Infinitiv – I intend to + infinitive...
ich habe Lust,... + zu Infinitiv – I want to + infinitive...
Could you now construct a future version of the daily routine text?
Donnerstag, den 22. Mai
Tonight, we'll do a little revision of the present and perfect tenses, with the addition of these taking 'sein' as an auxiliary instead of 'haben.'
Quizlet on Daily Routine - Mein normaler Tag - Fragen und antworten Leightons Tag
Die Uhrzeit - Wie spät ist es?
German Word Order:
What do we now know about German word order?
TMP rule - Time, Manner, Place.
What is the usual place for the verb in a sentence... What about other verbs you may have in a sentence?
What about when you put in words like „weil“, „daß“, „wenn“, and „obwohl“?
OR what about „oder“, „denn“, „und“, and „aber“?
You will have had a model daily routine in the Present and mainly in the Perfect tense (with a few in the Preterite).
Perhaps you may be working on producing your versions of these texts over half term.
Then you could aim to present what you do on an average day and what you did yesterday (contrast some ideas).
We should work more on the formation of the Perfect Tense in German...
In General Terms:
The German perfect tense describes completed actions in the past.
It is the most common past tense in spoken German, emails, and letters.
Here are some examples of the perfect tense in German:
„Ich habe gestern Deutsch gelernt“: - "I learned German yesterday".
„Sie ist gestern nach Berlin gefahren“: - "She went to Berlin yesterday".
„Ich habe mich gewaschen“: - "I washed myself".
„Ich habe einen Kuchen gebacken“: - "I baked a cake".
As a rule of thumb...
To form the perfect tense, use the auxiliary verb “haben” or “sein” in the present tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb. The rule for deciding whether to use “haben” or “sein” is that “sein” is used if there is movement from one place to another (or spiritually), and “haben” is used if there is not.
There is also another tense known as the Imperfect Tense/Simple Past or Preterite...
Over time, this tense has been used less and less in spoken and informal German, and the Perfect is used in more modern texts... (We will look at the preterite after half term).
A rule of thumb...
In German, the imperfect tense is used to describe past events that are ongoing or repeated, while the perfect tense is used to describe completed past actions:
Imperfect tense (Preterite/Simple Past)
Used to describe past events that are ongoing or repeated, such as habits or states that are firmly in the past. For example, „Als ich Kind war, gab es noch viele Wölfe“. - "When I was a child, there were (used to be) still many wolves."
The imperfect tense is mainly used in formal or written German.
Perfect tense
Used to describe completed past actions, especially when the action continues to resonate in the present. For example, „Wir sind gestern nach Berlin gefahren“ - . The perfect tense is mainly used in spoken or informal German.
The imperfect tense is similar to the simple past in English. It's formed by using only one verb and placing it in second place in the sentence—notes from the Open University.
The Perfect Tense with „sein“. (See previous weeks for the more common formation with „haben“)
Example of a regular verb that conjugates with „sein“...
The key takeaway is this:
Using the English verb "to slip." (to slide is irregular!) slip is slightly irregular in English by adding an extra 'p' in the past participle...
Present Tense English Perfect Tense in English
I slip have slipped
you (inf.) slip have slipped
he/it slips has slipped
it slips has slipped
she/it slips has slipped
one slips has slipped
we slip have slipped
you (pl. inf.) slip have slipped
you (form.) slip have slipped
they slip have slipped
In German, we remove "en" from the end of the verb infinitive to get the verb stem.
In German, the regular pattern is to add "ge" to the front verb stem and „t“ to the end of the verb stem.
Most verbs use „haben“ as the auxiliary; however, verbs of motion are usually conjugated with „sein.”
Using the German verb „rutschen“ as our example. (virtually all have irregular past participles)
Present Tense in German Perfect Tense in German
ich rutsche bin gerutscht
du rutschst bist gerutscht
er rutscht ist gerutscht
es rutscht ist gerutscht
sie rutscht ist gerutscht
man rutscht ist gerutscht
wir rutschen sind gerutscht
ihr rutscht seid gerutscht
Sie rutschen sind gerutscht
sie rutschen sind gerutscht
This PDF is a list of German Irregular verbs and their conjugation. It is a useful tool for checking the formation. So many of the verbs that conjugate with sein have irregular past participles...
In German, some verbs conjugate the perfect tense with "sein" instead of "haben" when they indicate movement, a change of state, or a result of an action. These verbs are often intransitive verbs, meaning they don't take a direct object...
Here's a breakdown of why:
Verbs of Motion:
Verbs like "gehen" (to go), "fahren" (to drive/go via transport), and "fliegen" (to fly) all involve movement from one place to another and therefore take "sein".
Change of State:
Verbs that describe a change in someone's condition or situation also use "sein," such as "werden" (to become) or "sterben" (to die).
Result of an Action:
Some verbs, even if they don't directly involve motion or change, can take "sein" if the focus is on the result or outcome of the action. For example, "bleiben" (to stay) can be used with "sein" if the result is that someone is in a specific location.
Key Verbs that typically take "sein":
Verbs of Motion: gehen, fahren, fliegen, kommen, laufen, springen, steigen, fallen, rutschen, schwimmen, klettern
Verbs indicating Change of State: werden, bleiben, sterben, wiederfinden, umziehen
Other Verbs: aufstehen, eintreten, schleichen, schwinden, verschwinden, sinken, rutschen, gleiten, fallen
Example:
"Ich bin nach Hause gegangen." (I went home.) - "Gehen" (to go) is a verb of motion, so it uses "sein".
"Sie ist krank geworden." (She became sick.) - "Werden" (to become) indicates a change of state, so it uses "sein".
From Das Leben A1 - There are a few exercises to reinforce the theme of daily routine. Seite 73 is the beginning of the chapter. Kapitel 5
Ein Terminproblem Seite 72.
For those of you who have the books, self-study could include pages 76-80, plus, of course, working on producing your daily routine and a typical day in the recent past.
Lots of Perfect Tense in this terrible rap... Songtext
Donnerstag, den 15. Mai
Tonight, a little reinforcement on the daily routine and a model of this in the perfect tense.
If we have the time, we will see about filling in the missing words in the song we heard the beginning of last week, which uses a lot of the perfect and present tenses.
Terminprobleme Kapitel 5
This song (remember, songs are an excellent way to get German intonation, pronunciation, etc, embedded in your mind) has a lot of tense use. (In particular - Perfect and Present).
deutscher Humor
Donnerstag, den 8. Mai
Ein normaler Tag - Fragen
Wann wachen Sie/wachst du normalerweise auf?
Wann stehen Sie/stehst du normalerweise auf?
Was machen Sie/machst du normalerweise vor dem Frühstück?
Was essen Sie/isst du zum Frühstück?*
Was trinken Sie/trinkst du zum Frühstück?
Wann und wie fahren Sie/fährst du zur Arbeit? *
Wann fängt die Arbeit an? *
Gibt es eine Kaffeepause und eine Mittagspause?*
Was essen Sie/isst du während der Mittagspause? *
Wann ist die Arbeit zu Ende?*
Was machen Sie abends in Ihrer/deiner Freizeit?
Wann gehen Sie/gehst du normalerweise ins Bett? *
Today, we will look at phrases from daily routine in the present tense and examine a day that has happened in the past.
We looked at the formation of the present tense last week and in the daily routine it is verbs, verbs, verbs!
List of regular German Verbs and a reminder of the Present Tense Formation
We will begin today by looking at regular verbs in German using „haben“ as the auxiliary (the equivalent of (I have ......ed in English). Depending on how we fare with the first stage, we may look into those which use „sein“ instead.
In English, we use the simple past more often, whereas in German, we use the Perfect Tense. This is usually the same for regular verbs as the Perfect Tense without the need for 'have'.
As both "to play" and „spielen“ are regular verbs, let's use those as our examples.
In English, to get the verb stem, we drop the use of the word "to".
In English, the regular pattern is to add "-ed" to the verb stem.
e.g "play" >>>> "played"
The key takeaway is this:
Using the English verb "to play."
Present Tense English Perfect Tense in English
I play have played
you (inf.) play have played
he/it plays has played
it plays has played
she/it plays has played
one plays has played
we play have played
you (pl. inf.) play have played
you (form.) play have played
they play have played
In German, we remove "en" from the end of the verb infinitive to get the verb stem.
In German, the regular pattern is to add "ge" to the front verb stem and „t“ to the end of the verb stem. Most verbs use „haben“ as the auxiliary.
Using the German verb „spielen“ as our example.
Present Tense in German Perfect Tense in German
ich spiele habe gespielt
du spielst hast gespielt
er spielt hat gespielt
es spielt hat gespielt
sie spielt hat gespielt
man spielt hat gespielt
wir spielen haben gespielt
ihr spielt habt gespielt
Sie spielen haben gespielt
sie spielen haben gespielt
Using „spielen“ as your model, can you do the same with „wohnen“, „flüstern,“ and „kochen“?
If you really want to drill the verbs into your brain, you could get this book!
Donnerstag, den 1. Mai
In the first lesson, we will explore what motivates you to improve your German, why you have signed up, and what you are looking to achieve from the class (so I can best prepare for the next seven weeks!) It is also how we can get to know each other.
It would be helpful to consider a few general themes and topics you would like to study.
In particular, please provide any grammatical features you feel you need to improve on. I will otherwise choose various topics and items from the German-speaking internet and news and possibly from one or two course books I have at my disposal.
Auf den ersten Blick
Einfach mal ausprobieren, etwas zur Sprache bringen, aus vollem Herz lachen, sich Zeit nehmen, sich grün und blau ärgern*, sich gemeinsam errinern, eine Lösung finden, Wünsche erfüllen...
Wie ist dein/Ihr Name?
Wie lange lernst du/lernen Sie schon Deutsch?
Woher kommst du/kommen Sie?
Warum machst du/machen Sie den Kurs?
Wofür nimmst du Dir/nehmen Sie sich regelmäßig Zeit?
Können Sie/Könntest du etwas über Ihre Stadt sagen?
Was machen Sie/machst du von Beruf?
Wass essen SIe/isst du am liebsten?
* to get very annoyed (to be hopping mad)
Die Uhrzeit - Wie spät ist es?
Terminprobleme Kapitel 5
We have two coursebooks available at the college, and I also have a few other coursebooks at my disposal to choose from.
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The above is the original and not so much watched as a much more recent rap below by some German Comedians.
Subordinating conjunctions in German send the verb to the end of a clause:
Als: When (with past tenses)
Bevor: Before
Daß: That
Nachdem: After, afterwards
Ob: Whether, if
Obwohl: Although
Weil: Because
Wenn: When (with present tense), if
Nachher: After, afterwards
Seitdem: Since
So dass: So that
Während: While
Warum: Why
So lange: As long as
Subordinating conjunctions are joining words that link two clauses into one. They can make German sentences more complex.
In contrast, coordinating conjunctions, such as "und", "aber", "denn", or "oder", do not change the word order.
Ein Quatschlied - Schlagerstyl
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