Vocabulary Connectives Openings Punctuation

Vocabulary
German Key
Terms
Noun
Gender
aber = but
Connectives which
send the verb to
the end
dennoch = however
weil = because
deshalb = therefore
dass = that
dann = then
während = while
Connectives
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
und = and
Singular
unterdessen = meanwhile
Plural
Haben - to have
Verb
ich habe – I have
Modal verb
Conjugate
Verb ending
Tense
(familiar)
er/sie /es hat – he/she/it
has
wir haben – we have
ihr habt – you have
Present
(plural familiar)
Adjective
Adverb
Sein - to be
du bist – you are
(familiar)
er/sie /es ist –
he/she/it is
wir sind – we
areihr seid – you
are (plural
familiar)
Openings
Punctuation
Giving Opinions
Look for the
Full stop
Ich denke, dass = I
think that
following in your written
work:
These are used at the end of every sentence.
Ich glaube, dass =
I believe that
Meiner Meinung
nach = in my
opinion
Regular Verb
du hast – you have
Past
Future
obwohl = although
ich bin- I am
Infinitive
Time Frame
Connectives
DOTS
du spielst –you
play
er/sie/es spielt–
he/she/it lays
wir spielen – we
play
ihr spielt – you
play (plural)
Comma
,
Commas are used 1) to separate the items in a list 2) to mark the
boundaries between main and subordinate clauses.
Speech Marks/Quotation Marks ,, ”
These surround words actually spoken or exact quotations from
a text. In German the first quotation marks are placed on the
line in front of the word eg. ,,Hilfe’’
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DETAILS
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OPINIONS
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TENSES
Used to emphasise something. Don’t use more than one.
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SUBORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS
Question Mark
Spielen – to play
ich spiele – I play
.
Exclamation Mark
!
?
Used at the end of a sentence that is a question.
Apostrophe
’
Apostrophes are not used in German to indicate possession
Brackets
()
These are used to indicate extra information within a sentence.
Semi-colon
;
sie haben – they have
Sie sind – they are
sie spielen-they
play
Semi-colons are used to join two related sentences together or
to separate items in a longer, more wordy list.
Sie haben – you have
Sie sind – you are
(polite)
Sie spielen-you
play (polite)
Colon
(polite)
:
Used to introduce something, perhaps a list or quotation.
To improve your writing you must ensure:
Spelling Strategies
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Break it into syllables
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Check you work using D-O-T-S
Sentences always start with a capital letter, AS DO ALL NOUNS IN GERMAN
Sentences always end with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
Vocabulary is accurate
A variety of sentences are used – simple, compound and complex.
Simple – Ich habe einen Hund
Compound – Ich habe einen schwarzen Hund, der Katzen hasst.
Complex – Ich habe einen schwarzen Hund, der Katzen hasst, weil er Angst vor Katzen
hat
Writing is organised into paragraphs. You should start a new paragraph when there is a
shift of topic, viewpoint or time.
Spelling is accurate – use a dictionary and textbooks.
Punctuation has been used accurately.
Proof read your work aloud to ensure it makes sense.
A variety of tenses is used.
A good variety of opinions is used.
Modal verbs (können, wollen, sollen, dürfen and müssen) are used.
Subordinate clauses using weil (because) and dass (that) are used.
(eg Stra-ssen-bahn-halte-stelle, Brief-trä-ger)
Break it into affixes (un – interessant)
Say it as it sounds (remember the –e at the end of a word is
pronounced)
Remember the rule about ie and ei – whichever letter is
second is the letter you hear when you say the word.
Marking Codes
Common Spelling Mistakes
Sp – spelling
All nouns have capital letters
T – check verb tense
Ich heiße
fünf
siebzehn
weil
Ich wohne
sieben
Englisch
viel
// -- new paragraph
der Vater
zwanzig
Geschichte
das Wochenende
pp – poor presentation
zwei
dreißig
Geburtstag
ja
vier
sechzehn
auf Wiedersehen
Op – give an opinion
Cp – capital letter needed
u – underline
3 underlines – important error