German · A1 · Milestone
Final A1 Milestone in German
Celebrate your A1 progress with eight familiar phrases for everyday family life. Review polite instructions, needs, shared activities, permission, places, transport and a simple question about the past.
What you'll learn
- Give a polite instruction and suggest a shared break.
- Talk about what you need and enjoy doing together.
- Describe where something is and how you travel.
- Give permission and say a date.
- Ask a simple question about someone's day.
German phrases for final a1 milestone
Zieh bitte deine Jacke an.
Put on your jacket, please.
Use this friendly instruction with one child. The verb anziehen splits: Zieh comes first and an goes at the end.
Ich brauche einen Bleistift.
I need a pencil.
Bleistift is masculine. Use einen because the pencil is the direct object of brauche.
Lass uns eine Bildschirmpause machen.
Let's take a screen break.
Lass uns ... machen is a useful pattern for suggesting something to do together.
Deine Tasche ist hinter der Tür.
Your bag is behind the door.
Hinter der Tür tells us where the bag is. For this location, hinter takes the dative case.
Ich spiele gern Schach mit dir.
I like to play chess with you.
Gern means you enjoy an activity. Mit dir means 'with you' when speaking to one child.
Du darfst deinen Freund am ersten Juni besuchen.
You may visit your friend on the first of June.
Darfst gives permission. For a female friend, say deine Freundin instead of deinen Freund.
Wir fahren mit dem Bus ins Schwimmbad.
We go to the pool by bus.
German uses fahren for travel by vehicle. Ins Schwimmbad means 'to the swimming pool'.
War dein Tag gut?
Was your day good?
War is a past form of sein ('to be'). Put it first to make this yes/no question.
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
anziehen
to put on
Used for clothing. It is a separable verb: Zieh deine Jacke an.
der Bleistift
the pencil
Plural: die Bleistifte.
die Bildschirmpause
the screen break
A break from using screens. German combines Bildschirm ('screen') and Pause ('break').
die Tasche
the bag
Plural: die Taschen.
die Tür
the door
In hinter der Tür, die changes to der because of the dative case.
Schach spielen
to play chess
Use no article before Schach.
dürfen
may; to be allowed to
Use it for permission: du darfst means 'you may'.
das Schwimmbad
the swimming pool
Ins Schwimmbad describes going to the pool; im Schwimmbad describes being there.
Instructions and shared suggestions
Use the informal imperative with one child. Bitte makes an instruction polite. Lass uns followed by an infinitive suggests a shared activity.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Separable verb | Zieh ... an. | Zieh bitte deine Jacke an. |
| Let's | Lass uns ... machen. | Lass uns eine Bildschirmpause machen. |
Direct objects: the accusative
A direct object often uses the accusative case. Masculine ein becomes einen, and dein becomes deinen. Feminine deine stays the same.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine noun | ein Bleistift → einen Bleistift | Ich brauche einen Bleistift. |
| Possessive word | dein Freund → deinen Freund | Du darfst deinen Freund besuchen. |
Location, destination and transport
Hinter takes the dative when describing a location. Mit always takes the dative. In takes the accusative when describing movement into a place.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Location | hinter + dative | Deine Tasche ist hinter der Tür. |
| Transport | mit + dative | Wir fahren mit dem Bus. |
| Destination | in das → ins | Wir fahren ins Schwimmbad. |
Enjoying an activity
Use a verb with gern to say that you like doing something. After mit, du changes to dir.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Like doing | verb + gern | Ich spiele gern Schach. |
| With you | mit dir | Ich spiele gern Schach mit dir. |
Permission and dates
With dürfen, the other verb stays in its infinitive form at the end. Dates after am use an ordinal number with the ending -en.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Permission | Du darfst ... besuchen. | Du darfst deinen Freund besuchen. |
| Date | am ersten Juni | Du darfst deinen Freund am ersten Juni besuchen. |
A question about the past
War means 'was' with a singular subject such as dein Tag. In a yes/no question, the conjugated verb comes before the subject.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | subject + war | Dein Tag war gut. |
| Question | War + subject ...? | War dein Tag gut? |
More examples
Zieh bitte deine Schuhe an.
Put on your shoes, please.
The same instruction pattern works with Schuhe ('shoes').
Ich spiele gern mit dir.
I like to play with you.
A simple way to express enjoyment of time together.
Du darfst deine Freundin am ersten Juni besuchen.
You may visit your female friend on the first of June.
Deine Freundin is the feminine direct-object form.
Ja, mein Tag war gut.
Yes, my day was good.
A simple answer to War dein Tag gut?