German · B1 · Milestone
B1 three-quarter milestone in German
Celebrate your B1 three-quarter milestone by reviewing familiar conversations about reading, school, pocket money and sports. These phrases bring together grammar you have already practised.
What you'll learn
- Explain how progress happens and describe changes since a past event.
- Use relative clauses to identify people and places.
- Discuss imaginary situations, choices and alternatives.
- Review past routines, actions happening now and future plans.
- Choose adjective endings and preposition cases confidently.
German phrases for b1 three-quarter milestone
Du verbesserst deine Lesefähigkeiten, indem du jeden Tag ein bisschen übst.
You improve your reading by practising a little every day.
Indem explains how you achieve something. The conjugated verb, übst, goes at the end of its clause.
Das ist die Lehrerin, der du vertraust, weil sie dir zuhört.
That is the teacher you trust because she listens to you.
Vertrauen takes the dative, so the feminine relative pronoun is der. Zuhören also takes the dative: dir means 'to you' here.
Wenn du dein Taschengeld sparen würdest, würdest du den Fußball früher kaufen.
If you saved your pocket money, you would buy that football sooner.
Würdest + infinitive presents an imagined situation and its result. Den Fußball refers to the particular football already being discussed.
Seitdem du dem Sportverein beigetreten bist, genießt du nach dem Training kaltes Wasser.
Since you joined the sports club, you have enjoyed cold water after practice.
The joining is a completed event, expressed with the perfect tense. German uses the present, genießt, for the enjoyment that continues now. Kaltes has the strong neuter accusative ending -es.
Du kannst entweder zeichnen oder lesen, statt fernzusehen.
You can either draw or read instead of watching television.
Entweder ... oder links alternatives. Statt ... zu expresses what you do instead; fernsehen becomes fernzusehen.
Als du sechs warst, warteten wir jeden Morgen vor deinem Klassenzimmer.
When you were six, we waited outside your classroom every morning.
Als introduces one particular past period, even though the waiting happened every morning. Warteten is the regular Präteritum form of warten with wir.
Das Klassenzimmer, das neben der Bibliothek liegt, wird gestrichen.
The classroom that is next to the library is being painted.
Das is the nominative relative pronoun referring to das Klassenzimmer. Wird gestrichen is the present passive: the room receives the action.
Wenn es morgen regnet, werde ich deine Sporttasche unter die Bank stellen, weil sie dort trocken bleibt.
If it rains tomorrow, I will put your sports bag under the bench because it will stay dry there.
Wenn introduces the condition; werde ... stellen expresses the future plan. Unter die Bank uses the accusative for a destination. After weil, bleibt goes at the end.
Hear these phrases and practise them
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Try it free for 7 daysKey words
die Lesefähigkeiten
reading skills
Usually plural in this context. Deine Lesefähigkeiten verbessern means 'to improve your reading skills'.
jemandem vertrauen
to trust someone
The person trusted is in the dative: Du vertraust der Lehrerin.
jemandem zuhören
to listen to someone
A separable verb with a dative object: Sie hört dir zu. In a weil-clause: weil sie dir zuhört.
das Taschengeld
pocket money; allowance
Taschengeld sparen means 'to save pocket money'.
einem Sportverein beitreten
to join a sports club
Beitreten takes the dative and forms its perfect tense with sein: Du bist dem Sportverein beigetreten.
genießen
to enjoy
Takes an accusative object: Du genießt kaltes Wasser.
streichen
to paint
Used for painting walls or rooms. Its past participle is gestrichen.
die Sporttasche
sports bag
The pronoun referring back to this feminine noun is sie.
Indem: explaining how
Indem introduces the method used to achieve something. English often uses 'by' followed by an -ing form; German uses a full clause with its conjugated verb at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Method | main clause + indem + subject + ... + conjugated verb | Du verbesserst deine Lesefähigkeiten, indem du jeden Tag übst. |
Relative clauses: nominative and dative
A relative pronoun matches the gender and number of the noun it refers to. Its case depends on its role inside the relative clause. Relative clauses are separated by commas and have the conjugated verb at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Feminine dative: object of vertrauen | die Lehrerin → der | Das ist die Lehrerin, der du vertraust. |
| Neuter nominative: subject of liegen | das Klassenzimmer → das | Das Klassenzimmer, das neben der Bibliothek liegt, wird gestrichen. |
Würde hypotheticals
Use würde with an infinitive to describe an imagined situation. In a wenn-clause, the infinitive comes before the final form of würde. When that clause comes first, the main clause begins with its conjugated verb.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Imagined condition | wenn + subject + ... + infinitive + würde-form | Wenn du dein Taschengeld sparen würdest, ... |
| Imagined result | würde-form + subject + ... + infinitive | ... würdest du den Fußball früher kaufen. |
Strong singular adjective endings
Without an article or another determiner, an adjective uses strong endings to help show gender and case. In kaltes Wasser, Wasser is the neuter accusative object of genießen, so the adjective ends in -es.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine accusative | adjective + -en | Du trinkst kalten Saft. |
| Feminine accusative | adjective + -e | Du trinkst kalte Milch. |
| Neuter accusative | adjective + -es | Du genießt kaltes Wasser. |
Seitdem: from then until now
Seitdem means 'since' and introduces a starting point in time. A completed starting event can use the perfect tense. The main clause uses the present when the situation still continues, even where English uses the present perfect.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Completed starting event | seitdem + subject + ... + past participle + auxiliary | Seitdem du dem Sportverein beigetreten bist, ... |
| Continuing situation | present tense in the main clause | ... genießt du nach dem Training kaltes Wasser. |
Choices and alternatives
Entweder ... oder means 'either ... or'. Statt ... zu means 'instead of doing something' and normally shares its understood subject with the main clause. With a separable verb, zu goes between the prefix and the verb.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Two choices | entweder + option A + oder + option B | Du kannst entweder zeichnen oder lesen. |
| An alternative action | statt + zu-infinitive | Du liest, statt fernzusehen. |
| Separable infinitive | fernsehen → fernzusehen | Statt fernzusehen, kannst du zeichnen. |
Wenn, als and weil
Use wenn for conditions or repeated occasions. Use als for one particular past event or period. Weil gives a reason. All three introduce clauses with the conjugated verb at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Future condition | wenn + present tense | Wenn es morgen regnet, werde ich deine Sporttasche unter die Bank stellen. |
| A particular past period | als + past tense | Als du sechs warst, warteten wir jeden Morgen vor deinem Klassenzimmer. |
| Reason | weil + subject + ... + conjugated verb | Die Tasche steht unter der Bank, weil sie dort trocken bleibt. |
Regular Präteritum
Regular verbs form the Präteritum with -te- plus personal endings. A stem ending in -t, such as wart-, needs an extra e before -te-. Präteritum is common in written accounts; everyday speech often uses the perfect tense.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Warten with wir | wart- + -e- + -te- + -n → warteten | Wir warteten jeden Morgen vor deinem Klassenzimmer. |
Present passive and Futur I
Both constructions use werden, but the other verb form changes the meaning. Werden plus a past participle forms the passive. Werden plus an infinitive forms Futur I.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present passive | present form of werden + past participle | Das Klassenzimmer wird gestrichen. |
| Futur I | present form of werden + infinitive | Ich werde deine Sporttasche unter die Bank stellen. |
Two-way prepositions: location or destination
With two-way prepositions such as vor, neben and unter, use the dative for a location and the accusative for a destination. The key is location versus destination, not simply whether any movement happens.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Location: where? | vor / neben / unter + dative | Wir warteten vor deinem Klassenzimmer. |
| Location beside something | neben + dative | Das Klassenzimmer liegt neben der Bibliothek. |
| Destination: where to? | unter + accusative | Ich stelle die Tasche unter die Bank. |
| Resulting location | unter + dative | Die Tasche steht unter der Bank. |
More examples
Du verbesserst deine Lesefähigkeiten, indem du vorliest, statt fernzusehen.
You improve your reading skills by reading aloud instead of watching television.
This combines indem for a method with statt ... zu for an alternative.
Das ist die Lehrerin, der du vertraust und die neben der Bibliothek wartet.
That is the teacher you trust and who is waiting next to the library.
The same teacher takes der as the dative object of vertraust and die as the nominative subject of wartet.
Wenn es morgen regnet, wird die Tasche unter der Bank stehen.
If it rains tomorrow, the bag will be under the bench.
Wird ... stehen is Futur I, not passive. Unter der Bank describes a location, so it uses the dative.