B1 three-quarter milestone in German

What you'll learn

• Explain how something is done and what happens instead.
• Discuss imaginary plans, alternatives and changes over time.
• Review relative clauses, adjective endings and word order.
• Describe past routines, future arrangements and actions in the passive.

German phrases for b1 three-quarter milestone

• Du sparst Zeit, indem du deine Sportsachen abends packst, statt morgens alles zu suchen.

  You save time by packing your sports kit in the evening instead of searching for everything in the morning.

  Indem explains the method: the conjugated verb packst goes last. Statt ... zu introduces the action you avoid.

• Ist das der Freund, dem du geholfen hast, als das Projekt schwierig wurde?

  Is that the friend whom you helped when the project became difficult?

  Helfen takes the dative, so use dem for a male friend. For a female friend: Ist das die Freundin, der du geholfen hast ...? Als refers to a particular past situation.

• Wenn du eine Übernachtungsparty organisieren würdest, welche Freunde würdest du einladen?

  If you organised a sleepover, which friends would you invite?

  Würde + infinitive expresses an imaginary situation. In the wenn-clause, organisieren würdest comes at the end.

• Starker Kleber hält das Modell zusammen, aber wir brauchen auch dickes Papier für das Dach.

  Strong glue holds the model together, but we also need thick paper for the roof.

  Without an article, the adjectives take strong endings: starker with a masculine nominative noun and dickes with a neuter accusative noun.

• Seitdem du dem Verein beigetreten bist, bist du selbstbewusster geworden, weil du die anderen Kinder kennst.

  Since you joined the club, you have become more confident because you know the other children.

  Seitdem introduces the starting point of a change continuing into the present. Weil gives the reason. Both clauses place their conjugated verb last.

• Entweder werden wir den Schreibtisch neben das Fenster stellen, oder wir werden ihn zwischen den Regalen stehen lassen.

  Either we will put the desk beside the window, or we will leave it between the shelves.

  Entweder ... oder presents alternatives. Neben das Fenster gives a destination; zwischen den Regalen describes an unchanged location.

• Als ich zehn war, wartete ich oft vor der Bibliothek und sammelte Ideen für Schulprojekte.

  When I was ten, I often waited in front of the library and collected ideas for school projects.

  Als introduces a specific period in the past, even though the waiting happened repeatedly within it. Wartete and sammelte are regular Präteritum forms.

• Die Plakate, die eure Gruppe gestaltet hat, werden in der Aula ausgestellt.

  The posters that your group designed are being displayed in the hall.

  Die refers back to the plural Plakate. Werden ... ausgestellt is present passive. Eure means 'your' when addressing the child as a member of a group.

Key words

Indem and statt ... zu

Indem + a clause explains how a result is achieved. Statt ... zu + infinitive gives an alternative action that is not taken. In this pattern, both actions have the same understood subject.

Relative clauses and dative relative pronouns

A relative pronoun matches the noun it refers to in gender and number. Its case depends on its role inside the relative clause. Relative clauses have verb-final order and are separated by commas.

Hypotheticals with würde

Use würde + infinitive for imagined situations and choices. Würde changes to match the subject. In a subordinate clause, it follows the infinitive at the end.

Strong singular adjective endings

When there is no article, the adjective ending signals gender and case. These examples review masculine nominative and neuter accusative.

Seitdem, weil and subordinate-clause word order

Seitdem means 'since' in a time sense; weil means 'because'. Both send the conjugated verb to the end. If a subordinate clause comes first, the main clause starts with its conjugated verb.

Alternatives and Futur I

Entweder ... oder means 'either ... or'. Futur I uses werden + infinitive. When entweder occupies the first position, the conjugated verb follows it.

Two-way prepositions: destination and location

With prepositions such as neben, zwischen and vor, use the accusative for a destination and the dative for a location. Movement alone does not determine the case.

Wenn, als and regular Präteritum

Use als for a particular past event or period. Use wenn for conditions and repeated 'whenever' situations. Regular Präteritum forms use -te; verbs such as warten need an extra e, giving wartete.

Present passive versus Futur I

Both patterns use werden, but what follows is different. Present passive uses a past participle and focuses on what happens to something. Futur I uses an infinitive to describe a future action.

More examples

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