1. Relative Clauses – What are they?
Relative clauses give more information about a noun.
They usually start with der, die, das, die (plural).
The relative pronoun changes its case (Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ, Genitiv).
The verb goes to the end of the relative clause.
2. Relative Clause in Nominativ
Use Nominativ when the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause.
Relative pronouns (Nominativ):
der (masculine)
die (feminine)
das (neuter)
die (plural)
Examples:
Das ist der Mann, der hier arbeitet.
→ That is the man who works here.
Ich habe eine Freundin, die sehr nett ist.
→ I have a friend who is very nice.
Das ist das Kind, das laut spricht.
→ That is the child who speaks loudly.
3. Relative Clause in Akkusativ
Use Akkusativ when the relative pronoun is the object of the verb.
Relative pronouns (Akkusativ):
den (masculine)
die (feminine)
das (neuter)
die (plural)
Examples:
Das ist der Film, den ich mag.
→ That is the movie which I like.
Ich kenne die Frau, die du triffst.
→ I know the woman whom you are meeting.
Das ist das Auto, das er kauft.
→ That is the car that he is buying.
4. Relative Clause in Dativ
Use Dativ when the verb or preposition needs dative.
Relative pronouns (Dativ):
dem (masculine)
der (feminine)
dem (neuter)
denen (plural)
Examples:
Das ist der Mann, dem ich helfe.
→ That is the man whom I help.
Ich kenne die Frau, der ich danke.
→ I know the woman whom I thank.
Das sind die Kinder, denen wir helfen.
→ These are the children whom we help.
5. Relative Clause in Genitiv
Use Genitiv to show possession (whose).
Relative pronouns (Genitiv):
dessen (masculine / neuter)
deren (feminine / plural)
Examples:
Das ist der Mann, dessen Auto kaputt ist.
→ That is the man whose car is broken.
Ich kenne eine Frau, deren Sohn Arzt ist.
→ I know a woman whose son is a doctor.
Das sind die Kinder, deren Eltern arbeiten.
→ These are the children whose parents work.
What is an Indirect Question?
An indirect question is when you ask or report a question inside a sentence instead of asking it
directly.
The word order changes to a subordinate clause structure: the verb goes to the end.
Key Rules
1. If the direct question has a question word (wo, wann, wie, warum, was, wer …)
– keep that question word in the indirect question.
– move the conjugated verb to the end.
Example:
Direct: Wann kommt der Bus?
Indirect: Kannst du mir sagen, wann der Bus kommt?
2. If the direct question is a yes/no question
– use ob in the indirect question.
– verb goes to the end.
Example:
Direct: Kommt er heute?
Indirect: Weißt du, ob er heute kommt?
3. The main clause verb is often something like:
wissen, fragen, sagen, erklären, erzählen, keine Ahnung haben, verstehen …
Examples
With question words:
Direct: Wo wohnt deine Schwester?
Indirect: Ich möchte wissen, wo deine Schwester wohnt.
Direct: Warum lernst du Deutsch?
Indirect: Kannst du mir erklären, warum du Deutsch lernst?
Direct: Wie spät ist es?
Indirect: Kannst du mir sagen, wie spät es ist?
With yes/no questions (ob):
Direct: Ist das Restaurant offen?
Indirect: Weißt du, ob das Restaurant offen ist?
Direct: Hat sie gestern angerufen?
Indirect: Er fragt, ob sie gestern angerufen hat.
1️.OBWOHL (although / even though)
🔹 Meaning
obwohl = although / even though
It shows a contrast between two ideas.
🔹 Grammar (VERY IMPORTANT)
„obwohl“ is a subordinating conjunction
The verb goes to the END of the „obwohl“ sentence
Structure:
obwohl + subject + … + verb (at the end)
✅ Examples (A2)
Obwohl es regnet, gehe ich spazieren.
(Although it is raining, I go for a walk.)
Ich gehe spazieren, obwohl es regnet.
(I go for a walk, although it is raining.)
Obwohl ich müde bin, lerne ich Deutsch.
(Although I am tired, I study German.)
Er arbeitet, obwohl er krank ist.
(He works although he is sick.)
📌 Notice:
Verb at the end → regnet / bin / ist
2️.TROTZDEM (nevertheless / still)
🔹 Meaning
trotzdem = nevertheless / still
It shows that something happens even if there is a problem.
🔹 Grammar
„trotzdem“ is an adverb
The verb is in position 2
Structure:
Sentence 1. Trotzdem + verb + subject …
✅ Examples (A2)
Es regnet. Trotzdem gehe ich spazieren.
(It is raining. Nevertheless, I go for a walk.)
Ich bin müde. Trotzdem lerne ich Deutsch.
(I am tired. Still, I study German.)
Er ist krank. Trotzdem arbeitet er.
(He is sick. Nevertheless, he works.)
📌 Notice:
After trotzdem, the verb comes immediately
IMP in b/w
1. am (on)
Used with days and parts of the day (except night).
Form: am + Dativ
Examples:
am Montag – on Monday
am Wochenende – at the weekend
am Morgen – in the morning
am Abend – in the evening
❌ am Nacht → ✅ in der Nacht
2. im (in)
Used with months, seasons, years, and parts of the day (except morning/evening).
Form: im + Dativ
Examples:
im Januar – in January
im Sommer – in summer
im Jahr 2024 – in the year 2024
im Winter – in winter
3. um (at)
Used with clock time.
Examples:
um 7 Uhr – at 7 o’clock
um 14:30 Uhr – at 2:30 p.m.
um Mitternacht – at midnight
4. von … bis (from … to)
Used for start and end time.
Examples:
von Montag bis Freitag – from Monday to Friday
von 9 Uhr bis 17 Uhr – from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
von Januar bis März – from January to March
5. seit (since / for)
Used for something that started in the past and continues now.
Examples:
seit 2020 – since 2020
seit einem Jahr – for one year
seit Montag – since Monday
6. für (for)
Used for duration (how long something lasts).
Examples:
für zwei Tage – for two days
für eine Woche – for one week
für kurze Zeit – for a short time
7. in (in – future time)
Used for something that will happen in the future.
Examples:
in einer Stunde – in one hour
in zwei Tagen – in two days
in einem Jahr – in one year
8. während (during)
Used for actions happening at the same time.
Examples:
während der Arbeit – during work
während des Essens – during the meal
Perfect Tense
Perfekt is the past tense in German. It is mainly used in spoken German to talk about actions that are
finished and happened in the past. In English, it is similar to the present perfect or simple past.
Example:
Ich habe gearbeitet.
(I worked / I have worked.)
Perfekt is formed with three parts: a subject, an auxiliary verb (haben or sein), and the past
participle (Partizip II).
Structure:
Subject + haben/sein + past participle
Example:
Ich habe gelernt.
(I learned.)
The auxiliary verb “haben” is used with most verbs. It is used especially with activities and verbs that
take an object.
Examples:
Ich habe ein Buch gelesen.
(I read a book.)
Sie hat Kaffee getrunken.
(She drank coffee.)
The auxiliary verb “sein” is used with verbs of movement or change of place or state.
Common sein-verbs at A1 level are: gehen, kommen, fahren, laufen, bleiben.
Examples:
Er ist nach Berlin gefahren.
(He traveled to Berlin.)
Wir sind zu Hause geblieben.
(We stayed at home.)
The past participle (Partizip II) is formed in different ways.
For regular verbs, the rule is: ge + verb stem + t.
Examples:
lernen → gelernt
(Iearned)
arbeiten → gearbeitet
(worked)
Verbs ending in “-ieren” do not take “ge-”.
Examples:
studieren → studiert
(studied)
telefonieren → telefoniert
(telephoned)
Irregular verbs do not follow a fixed rule, so they must be learned by heart.
Examples:
essen → gegessen
(eaten)
sehen → gesehen
(seen)
schreiben → geschrieben
(written)
In a Perfekt sentence, the auxiliary verb (haben or sein) is in position 2, and the past participle goes
to the end of the sentence.
Examples:
Ich habe heute Deutsch gelernt.
(I learned German today.)
Sie ist gestern angekommen.
(She arrived yesterday.)
Perfekt is often used with time words like heute (today), gestern (yesterday), letzte Woche (last
week), schon (already), and früher (earlier).
Example:
Ich habe gestern gearbeitet.
(I worked yesterday.)
To make a question in Perfekt, the auxiliary verb comes first.
Examples:
Hast du gegessen?
(Did you eat?)
Bist du nach Hause gegangen?
(Did you go home?)
To make a negative sentence, use “nicht”. It comes after the auxiliary verb and before the past
participle.
Examples:
Ich habe nicht gelernt.
(I did not learn.)
Er ist nicht gekommen.
(He did not come.)
Common mistakes at A1 level are using the wrong auxiliary verb.
Incorrect:
Ich bin gegessen.
Correct:
Ich habe gegessen.
Incorrect:
Ich habe gegangen.
Correct:
Ich bin gegangen.
WEIL, DA, DENN – What’s the difference?
(A2 Level)
1️WEIL = because (reason)
Weil introduces a reason.
It sends the verb to the end of the clause.
✔ Example:
Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin.
I’m staying at home because I am sick.
Sie kommt später, weil sie arbeiten muss.
She is coming later because she has to work.
2️DENN = because (reason) – but no verb change
Denn also means because, but it is easier.
It is a coordinating conjunction → word order stays the same.
✔ Example:
Ich bleibe zu Hause, denn ich bin krank.
I’m staying at home because I am sick.
Er geht früh ins Bett, denn er ist müde.
He goes to bed early because he is tired.
3️DA = because / since (more formal, often at the beginning)
Da also means because, similar to since.
Often used at the beginning of the sentence.
The verb goes to the end, like with “weil”.