German · A2 · Milestone
A2 halfway chest in German
Celebrate your A2 progress by reviewing familiar German for feeding, sleep, comfort and nappy changes. Use informal du when speaking to your baby.
What you'll learn
- Review completed actions with the Perfekt and ongoing situations with seit.
- Distinguish dative locations from accusative destinations.
- Use possessive pronouns, comparisons and familiar time expressions.
- Review ob and wenn clauses and past forms of modal verbs.
German phrases for a2 halfway chest
Du hast deine Milch getrunken und liegst jetzt im Babybett.
You have had your milk, and now you are lying in the cot.
Hast getrunken describes the completed drink. Im Babybett describes where your baby is lying.
Du bist seit einer Stunde wach.
You have been awake for an hour.
German uses the present tense with seit for a situation that started earlier and is still continuing.
Ich kann meinen Löffel nicht finden, also nehme ich deinen.
I can't find my spoon, so I'll take yours.
Deinen means 'yours' and replaces deinen Löffel. After also, the conjugated verb comes before the subject: nehme ich.
Deine Decke ist genauso weich wie dein Teddy.
Your blanket is just as soft as your teddy.
Genauso + adjective + wie means 'just as ... as'. The adjective weich stays unchanged here.
Nach dem Kuscheln schläfst du am besten.
You sleep best after a cuddle.
Am besten means 'best' when describing how someone does something. Nach takes the dative.
Ich frage mich, ob du eine frische Windel brauchst.
I wonder whether you need a clean nappy.
Eine frische Windel is a natural way to say 'a clean nappy'. After ob, the conjugated verb goes at the end.
Wenn du müde bist, lege ich dich in dein Babybett.
If you are tired, I'll put you in your cot.
Wenn introduces the condition. In dein Babybett uses the accusative because it describes a destination.
Du konntest nicht schlafen, also musste ich dich tragen.
You couldn't sleep, so I had to carry you.
Konntest and musste are simple-past modal forms. Schlafen and tragen stay in the infinitive.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
das Babybett
cot; crib
Im Babybett means 'in the cot'; im is short for in dem.
wach
awake
Use wach sein to describe being awake.
der Löffel
spoon
As a direct object, use meinen Löffel or deinen Löffel.
die Decke
blanket
In this baby-care context, Decke means 'blanket'.
der Teddy
teddy; teddy bear
A familiar short form of der Teddybär.
das Kuscheln
cuddling
This noun comes from kuscheln, 'to cuddle', and starts with a capital letter.
die Windel
nappy; diaper
Eine frische Windel means a fresh, clean nappy.
tragen
to carry
Dich tragen means 'to carry you'.
Perfekt: completed actions
The Perfekt commonly describes completed actions in everyday speech. Use a present-tense auxiliary and a past participle.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking | haben + getrunken | Du hast deine Milch getrunken. |
Locations and destinations
With in, use the dative for where someone is and the accusative for where someone is placed. Liegen means 'to be lying'; legen means 'to lay or put'.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Location: dative | in dem → im | Du liegst im Babybett. |
| Destination: accusative | in + dein Babybett | Ich lege dich in dein Babybett. |
Time expressions
Seit and nach take the dative. Use the present tense with seit when a situation is still continuing. A time expression can come first, followed by the conjugated verb.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Continuing duration | present tense + seit + dative | Du bist seit einer Stunde wach. |
| After an activity | nach + dative | Nach dem Kuscheln schläfst du am besten. |
Accusative possessives
A possessive pronoun can replace a noun already mentioned. Löffel is masculine and is a direct object here, so both the possessive determiner and the replacement pronoun end in -en.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Before the noun | meinen + Löffel | Ich kann meinen Löffel nicht finden. |
| Replacing the noun | deinen = deinen Löffel | Also nehme ich deinen. |
Equality and superlatives
Use genauso ... wie to compare equal qualities. Use am besten, the irregular superlative of gut, to say that an action happens 'best'.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Just as soft as | genauso + adjective + wie | Deine Decke ist genauso weich wie dein Teddy. |
| Sleep best | gut → besser → am besten | Nach dem Kuscheln schläfst du am besten. |
Ob and wenn clauses
Ob means 'whether' in an indirect yes/no question. Wenn means 'if' for a condition. Both send the conjugated verb to the end of their clause. If the wenn clause comes first, the main clause starts with its conjugated verb.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Indirect question | ob + subject + ... + verb | Ich frage mich, ob du eine frische Windel brauchst. |
| Condition first | wenn + ... + verb, main-clause verb + subject + ... | Wenn du müde bist, lege ich dich in dein Babybett. |
Past modal verbs
The simple past is commonly used with modal verbs in conversation. The other verb stays in the infinitive at the end of its clause.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Could not | du konntest nicht + infinitive | Du konntest nicht schlafen. |
| Had to | ich musste + infinitive | Ich musste dich tragen. |
Familiar main-clause patterns
The conjugated verb takes the second position in a statement. When also ('so') comes first, the subject follows the verb. German can use the present tense for an immediate intention.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A result or decision | also + conjugated verb + subject | Also nehme ich deinen. |
| An immediate intention | present tense with future meaning | Ich lege dich in dein Babybett. |
More examples
Du liegst im Babybett.
You are lying in the cot.
Location: im Babybett is dative.
Ich lege dich in dein Babybett.
I'll put you in your cot.
Destination: in dein Babybett is accusative.