German · A1 · Milestone
Halfway Milestone in German
Celebrate your halfway milestone by reviewing useful German for snacks, sleepovers, school projects, games and weather. These phrases use informal du when speaking to one child.
What you'll learn
- Ask simple questions and make plans.
- Encourage your child and give friendly instructions.
- Review familiar sentence patterns, possessives and weather expressions.
German phrases for halfway milestone
Hast du ein paar Snacks?
Do you have any snacks?
Ein paar means “a few” or “some.” German does not need a separate word for “any” here.
Lass uns deine Übernachtungsparty planen.
Let's plan your sleepover.
Lass uns + infinitive means “let's.” Übernachtungsparty is a sleepover with friends.
Dein Freund kann am Samstag kommen.
Your friend can come on Saturday.
For a female friend, say Deine Freundin. Am Samstag means “on Saturday.”
Ich bin stolz auf dein Projekt.
I am proud of your project.
Stolz auf means “proud of.” Auf takes the accusative in this expression: dein Projekt.
Auf deinem Schreibtisch liegen ein paar Bücher.
There are some books on your desk.
German naturally uses liegen (“lie”) for books resting on a surface. Deinem follows auf here because it describes a location.
Bitte such dir ein Spiel aus.
Please choose a game.
Aussuchen means “to choose.” In this friendly instruction, it splits into such … aus. Dir means “for yourself.”
Bringst du einen Regenschirm mit?
Are you going to bring an umbrella?
German often uses the present tense for future plans. Mitbringen (“to bring along”) splits into bringst … mit.
Heute ist es sonnig.
It is sunny today.
Heute means “today.” With heute first, the verb ist comes next, followed by es.
Hear these phrases and practise them
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Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Snack; die Snacks
snack; snacks
German also uses this familiar English word.
die Übernachtungsparty
sleepover
A gathering where friends stay overnight.
der Freund / die Freundin
male friend / female friend
Use dein Freund or deine Freundin for “your friend.”
stolz
proud
Use stolz auf to say what you are proud of.
der Schreibtisch
desk
Auf deinem Schreibtisch means “on your desk.”
das Buch; die Bücher
book; books
The plural adds an umlaut and -er.
das Spiel
game
Ein Spiel means “a game.”
der Regenschirm
umbrella
As the direct object, ein becomes einen: einen Regenschirm.
sonnig
sunny
Use es ist sonnig to describe the weather.
Simple questions
In a yes/no question, put the conjugated verb before the subject.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| With haben | Hast + du + object? | Hast du ein paar Snacks? |
| With a separable verb | Bringst + du + object + mit? | Bringst du einen Regenschirm mit? |
Making plans
After lass uns (“let's”) or kann (“can”), the main verb stays in its infinitive form at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Let's | Lass uns + object + infinitive. | Lass uns deine Übernachtungsparty planen. |
| Can | Subject + kann + time + infinitive. | Dein Freund kann am Samstag kommen. |
Friendly instructions and separable verbs
For a direct instruction to one child, use the informal imperative without du. Bitte makes it polite. A separable prefix goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Choose | aussuchen → such … aus | Bitte such dir ein Spiel aus. |
Possessives and locations
Dein means “your,” but its ending changes with the noun and its role. For a fixed location on a surface, auf takes the dative.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine subject | dein Freund | Dein Freund kann kommen. |
| Feminine subject | deine Freundin | Deine Freundin kann kommen. |
| Location on a desk | auf + dative: auf deinem Schreibtisch | Auf deinem Schreibtisch liegen ein paar Bücher. |
Verb position in statements
In a simple statement, the conjugated verb comes second. A time or place expression can come first; the subject then follows the verb.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject first | Subject + verb + description. | Es ist sonnig. |
| Time first | Time + verb + subject + description. | Heute ist es sonnig. |
| Place first | Place + verb + subject. | Auf deinem Schreibtisch liegen ein paar Bücher. |
More examples
Hast du ein Buch?
Do you have a book?
Use the same question pattern with a different object.
Deine Freundin kann heute kommen.
Your friend can come today.
This refers to a female friend. Kommen stays at the end.
Ich bin stolz auf dich.
I am proud of you.
Use dich after stolz auf when speaking directly to your child.
Bitte bring ein Spiel mit.
Please bring a game along.
Mitbringen splits into bring … mit in this instruction.