German A1: from first words to simple conversations

This guide organizes the main ideas in Menschen A1 into a review path. You will learn to introduce yourself, talk about people and things, ask for information, make plans, and describe everyday experiences. The examples below are written for explanation; they do not reproduce the textbook’s dialogues or exercises.

Work through the modules in order: pronouns and basic verbs make simple sentences possible; then you add articles, cases, tenses, and moods. Read the examples aloud, then answer the hidden questions at the end of each section.

The first lessons practise greetings and farewells, asking how someone is, and introducing yourself or another person. Learn complete expressions such as Guten Morgen, Wie geht es dir?, and Ich heiße …; then change the name or country to personalize your introduction.

Regular present-tense verbs keep the same stem and take personal endings: ich wohne, du wohnst, Sie wohnen. Some verbs change their stem vowel in the second- and third-person singular: du sprichst, er spricht. Haben is irregular in the singular: ich habe, du hast, er/sie hat; in the plural, wir/Sie haben. The polite pronoun Sie is capitalized and takes the plural verb form.

Woher kommst du? asks where someone is from; Wo wohnst du? asks where they live. Yes/no questions are usually answered with ja or nein. When an affirmative answer contradicts a negative question, use doch: Wohnst du nicht in Berlin? – Doch, in Berlin.

The lessons extend introductions to jobs, personal details, family, and languages. Many feminine job nouns are formed with -in: Lehrer – Lehrerin. Possessive articles mein and dein indicate ownership and agree with the following noun: mein Bruder, meine Schwester. Group vocabulary about jobs, marital status, countries, and numbers by topic and practise it in sentences about yourself.

Numbers extend from 1 to 100 and then up to one million. Between 21 and 99, the unit is spoken before the tens and linked with und: einundzwanzig (21). The impersonal pronoun man means “people / one” in general and takes a third-person singular verb: In Deutschland spricht man Deutsch.

The module moves from furniture, colours, materials, and shapes to everyday objects and products. You can ask for or offer help while shopping, ask a price, name a price, and say whether you like an item. For unknown words, ask someone to repeat or ask what an object is called; practise filling in a form for personal details.

The definite article identifies a known noun: der Tisch, das Buch, die Lampe. The indefinite article introduces a new one: ein Tisch, ein Buch, eine Lampe. Kein negates a noun with an indefinite article or no article: Das ist kein Tisch. Nicht negates other parts of a sentence: Der Tisch ist nicht teuer.

The article helps you recognize gender, and the plural should be learned with each noun: der Stuhl – die Stühle. German nouns start with a capital letter. The pronouns er, es, and sie refer back to masculine, neuter, and feminine nouns. Basic adjectives describe or evaluate: Der Tisch ist schön.

The verb haben and other verbs that take a direct object introduce the accusative: Ich habe einen Stuhl. The visible change in this example is masculine singular: ein → einen. The feminine and neuter forms eine and ein remain unchanged here.

Vocabulary shifts to office and technology, leisure activities, abilities, compliments, and making plans with friends. In a phone conversation, say who you are and what you want briefly; in an SMS, chat, or invitation, make a suggestion and respond politely. You can accept, decline, or suggest another day.

In a sentence with the modal können, the modal is conjugated in second position and the action stays as an infinitive at the end: Ich kann gut schwimmen. The same structure works for requests and suggestions: Kannst du mir helfen?

For weekdays and times of day, am is often used; for an exact time, use um: am Montag, am Abend, um 18 Uhr. The verb mögen expresses preference; möchte is its subjunctive form commonly used to express a wish: Ich möchte einen Tee.

At a meal, talking about preferences and habits supports natural requests: Was möchtest du essen? In compounds made from two nouns, the last noun usually determines the gender and basic meaning, for example der Computerbildschirm (computer screen).

Topics include transport, getting travel information, daily routines, schedules, seasons, and celebrations. You learn to understand announcements, ask about routes or timetables, end a phone call, and describe what you have done. A calendar, email, or travel account provides context for the past tense.

Separable verbs send their prefix to the end of a present-tense sentence: Ich steige am Bahnhof ein. In the Perfekt, the prefix stays attached to the participle: Ich bin am Bahnhof eingestiegen.

Many regular participles are formed with ge- and the ending -t: machen → gemacht. Irregular verbs have forms to learn: fahren → gefahren. Separable verbs usually put ge between the prefix and stem (einsteigen → eingestiegen); verbs with inseparable prefixes such as be- do not take ge- (besuchen → besucht).

Choose the auxiliary from the verb and its meaning: Ich habe gearbeitet. But Ich bin nach Wien gefahren. Von … bis indicates a time span, ab a starting point, and im can indicate a month or season: von neun bis fünf, ab Montag, im Winter.

The lessons begin by asking where a place is and how to get there. You practise asking for help, giving directions, and naming institutions and places in town. Then you describe homes, read housing advertisements, and write an email about a home or neighbourhood.

To locate something with in, the dative article is dem for masculine/neuter and der for feminine: im Park, im Hotel, in der Wohnung. When talking about movement toward a place, the form can be accusative: ins Hotel. Wo? asks for location; Wohin? asks for direction.

The verbs helfen and gefallen use the dative: Kannst du mir helfen?, Die Wohnung gefällt ihr. Dative pronouns are mir, dir, ihm, ihr, uns, euch, ihnen/Ihnen. For possession, sein and ihr take endings that agree with the noun: sein Zimmer, ihre Küche. With proper names, possession is usually marked by adding -s, without an apostrophe: Ottos Haus.

When arranging appointments, you can offer help, ask to reschedule, apologize, and respond to an apology. Time expressions with vor, nach, in, and für describe a relationship to an event: vor dem Termin, nach der Arbeit, in einer Stunde, für zwei Tage.

Vocabulary moves through institutions and places, plans and wishes, body parts, health and illness, then appearance and character. You learn to say what hurts, talk about a health problem, give or receive advice, and respond with interest or surprise in a conversation.

Wollen expresses someone’s intention: Ich will Ärztin werden. For advice, sollen is useful: Du sollst mehr Wasser trinken. In polite address, the imperative uses the Sie form: Nehmen Sie diese Tablette.

For the past, war and hatte are the common forms of sein and haben: Früher war er sehr sportlich., Er hatte lange Haare. They often appear in descriptions and accounts. The Perfekt of inseparable verbs has no ge-: besuchen → besucht. The prefix un- can form an antonym: glücklich – unglücklich. The preposition mit takes the dative (mit Freunden), while ohne takes the accusative (ohne meinen Bruder).

In Module-Plus, the reading magazine about complaints, video clips 16–18, the “Wunschbäume” project, and the song about Doktor Eisenbarth extend vocabulary about health and wishes; they supplement the topics without changing the basic rules.

In Module-Plus, texts about a complaint, the tree of wishes, and the figure Doktor Eisenbarth extend reading vocabulary and German-speaking culture; they supplement the themes rather than changing the basic rules.

You talk about household activities, ask someone to do something, and formulate rules in public places or in traffic. You can describe what is permitted, necessary, or forbidden and state an opinion. In conversation, a clear request and a polite response help keep the tone friendly.

The informal singular imperative addresses du: Komm bitte! For several people you know, use the ihr form: Kommt bitte! In polite address, the verb comes before the pronoun: Kommen Sie bitte!

Müssen shows that something is required: Bei Rot musst du stehen. Dürfen shows permission; in the negative, nicht dürfen means something is forbidden: Hier darf man nicht parken. In the sentence, the modal is conjugated and the infinitive stays at the end.

Accusative pronouns refer back to a direct object: Kannst du den Müll rausbringen? – Ja, ich bringe ihn raus. The forms are mich, dich, ihn, sie, es, uns, euch, sie/Sie. Den Müll is masculine, so the matching pronoun is ihn. Keep separable-verb order: the conjugated verb in second position and the prefix at the end.

The final module brings together clothes, evaluating an outfit, weather, reasons, compass directions (im Norden, im Süden), birthdays, and invitations. You learn to strengthen an opinion, explain why an activity did not work out because of the weather, congratulate someone, and express what you would like to do.

The regular comparative is formed with -er: schnell → schneller. For a comparison using als: Der Zug ist schneller als der Bus. Some adjectives change their vowel or have irregular forms, so check the form before using it. Am besten is a common predicative superlative.

Denn introduces a reason without sending the verb to the end: Wir bleiben zu Hause, denn es regnet. For many adjectives, the suffix -los creates a “without” meaning: arbeitslos. Ordinal numbers appear in dates and birthdays; learn their form and the ending used in context.

Würde is conjugated, and the infinitive goes at the end: Ich würde gern am Meer feiern. This construction expresses a wish as a possibility. Am liebsten strengthens a preference: Am liebsten würde ich mit Freunden feiern. Ordinal numbers appear in dates and birthday wishes: am ersten Mai (“on the first of May”).