German · A2 · Milestone
A2 three-quarter milestone in German
Celebrate your A2 progress with language for supporting your child's growing independence. Review polite requests, everyday routines, plans and praise without introducing new grammar.
What you'll learn
- Make polite requests and describe where things should go.
- Talk about everyday routines and independent choices.
- Ask about plans using indirect questions.
- Recognize separable verbs in the Perfekt.
- Connect ideas with trotzdem, bevor and weil.
German phrases for a2 three-quarter milestone
Könntest du einen kleinen Ball in den Schrank legen?
Could you put a small ball in the cupboard?
Könntest du …? makes a polite request. In den Schrank uses the accusative because it describes the destination.
Gehst du mit deinem Freund und ohne dein Handy los?
Are you going with your friend and without your phone?
Mit takes the dative; ohne takes the accusative. For a female friend, use mit deiner Freundin. Losgehen means to set off.
Hast du dir die Haare gebürstet?
Have you brushed your hair?
German commonly uses a dative reflexive pronoun with body care: dir die Haare, rather than deine Haare.
Weißt du, wann die Übernachtungsparty anfängt?
Do you know when the sleepover starts?
In the indirect question beginning with wann, the verb goes at the end. Anfängt stays together here.
Du hast bei der Aktivität im Verein mitgemacht.
You took part in the club activity.
Mitmachen means to join in or take part. Its Perfekt form is hast mitgemacht.
Das Projekt war schwierig. Trotzdem hast du es abgeschlossen.
The project was difficult. Still, you finished it.
Trotzdem means still or nevertheless. When it comes first, the conjugated verb follows immediately: Trotzdem hast du …
Bitte räum den Tisch ab, bevor du dein Spiel startest.
Please clear the table before you start your game.
Abräumen separates in the command: räum … ab. In the bevor clause, startest goes at the end.
Ich bin stolz, weil du den Ausflug selbst geplant hast.
I am proud because you planned the trip yourself.
Selbst emphasizes that your child did the planning. In the weil clause, the auxiliary hast comes last.
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
der Schrank
cupboard; cabinet; wardrobe
The exact English meaning depends on what the furniture is used for.
das Handy
mobile phone; cell phone
Handy is a German noun, not the English adjective meaning useful.
sich die Haare bürsten
to brush one's hair
For du, say du bürstest dir die Haare.
die Übernachtungsparty
sleepover
Used for a social overnight stay, especially with friends.
der Verein
club; association
An organized group, such as a sports club. Im Verein means in or at the club.
mitmachen
to join in; to take part
A separable verb: du machst mit; du hast mitgemacht.
abschließen
to finish; to complete
For a project, ein Projekt abschließen means to complete it. The participle is abgeschlossen.
den Tisch abräumen
to clear the table
Use this for removing dishes and other items after a meal.
der Ausflug
trip; outing
Usually a relatively short trip, such as a day out.
stolz
proud
Ich bin stolz auf dich means I am proud of you.
Review: directional accusative
With two-way prepositions such as in, use the accusative for a destination and the dative for a location. The distinction is destination versus location, not simply movement versus no movement.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Destination: where to? | in + accusative | Du legst den Ball in den Schrank. |
| Location: where? | in + dative | Der Ball liegt im Schrank. |
Review: mit and ohne
Mit always takes the dative. Ohne always takes the accusative. Articles and possessives change to match the case and noun.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| With | mit + dative | Du gehst mit deinem Freund los. |
| Without | ohne + accusative | Du gehst ohne dein Handy los. |
Review: dative reflexives
When a body part is the direct object, German often uses a dative reflexive pronoun and a definite article. For ich and du, the dative reflexive forms are mir and dir.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| First person | ich + mir + body part | Ich bürste mir die Haare. |
| Second person in the Perfekt | du + dir + body part | Hast du dir die Haare gebürstet? |
Review: indirect question-word clauses
After an introduction such as Weißt du, keep the question word but move the conjugated verb to the end. Separate the clauses with a comma.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct question | question word + verb + subject | Wann fängt die Übernachtungsparty an? |
| Indirect question | Weißt du, + question word + subject + verb | Weißt du, wann die Übernachtungsparty anfängt? |
Review: polite könnte requests
Könntest du …? means Could you …? and softens a request. Put the main verb in the infinitive at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Polite request to one child | Könntest du + … + infinitive? | Könntest du einen kleinen Ball in den Schrank legen? |
Review: adjective endings
An adjective before a noun needs an ending. In einen kleinen Ball, Ball is masculine and accusative, so klein takes -en. After sein, an adjective has no such ending.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine nominative | ein + adjective ending -er + noun | Ein kleiner Ball liegt im Schrank. |
| Masculine accusative | einen + adjective ending -en + noun | Könntest du einen kleinen Ball holen? |
| Adjective after sein | sein + adjective without an ending | Das Projekt war schwierig. |
Review: separable verbs in the Perfekt
Many separable verbs place ge- between the prefix and the verb stem in the past participle. The verbs below use haben. In a main clause, the participle goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mitmachen | haben + mitgemacht | Du hast bei der Aktivität mitgemacht. |
| abschließen | haben + abgeschlossen | Du hast das Projekt abgeschlossen. |
| abräumen | haben + abgeräumt | Du hast den Tisch abgeräumt. |
Review: trotzdem, bevor and weil
Trotzdem introduces an unexpected contrast and keeps main-clause word order. Bevor and weil introduce subordinate clauses, where the conjugated verb goes last. Bevor means before; weil means because.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast | Trotzdem + conjugated verb + subject + … | Trotzdem hast du es abgeschlossen. |
| Time | bevor + subject + … + conjugated verb | Bitte räum den Tisch ab, bevor du dein Spiel startest. |
| Reason in the Perfekt | weil + subject + … + participle + auxiliary | Ich bin stolz, weil du den Ausflug selbst geplant hast. |
More examples
Könntest du den Tisch abräumen?
Could you clear the table?
In a request with könntest, the separable infinitive abräumen stays together at the end.
Weißt du, wann dein Freund kommt?
Do you know when your friend is coming?
The indirect question puts kommt at the end.
Du hast dir die Haare gebürstet, bevor du losgegangen bist.
You brushed your hair before you set off.
Losgehen uses sein in the Perfekt. After bevor, the auxiliary bist goes last.