German · B1 · Everyday language
The Missing Lunchbox in German
Tell a little story together about a missing lunchbox. Practise common German verbs in the Präteritum, a past tense often used in written stories and storytelling. In everyday conversation, speakers often use the Perfekt instead.
What you'll learn
- Retell the lunchbox story in the correct order.
- Use ging, kam, sah, fand, gab and nahm with singular subjects.
- Recognise the du forms, especially sahst.
- Describe where things were and where they went.
German phrases for the missing lunchbox
Gestern ging ich in dein Klassenzimmer.
Yesterday, I went to your classroom.
Ging is the Präteritum of gehen. After Gestern, the verb comes before the subject: ging ich.
Deine Lehrerin kam an die Tür.
Your teacher came to the door.
Kam is the Präteritum of kommen. This story uses a female teacher; for a male teacher, use Dein Lehrer.
Ich sah deinen Schulranzen neben dem Schrank.
I saw your school bag beside the cupboard.
Sah is the Präteritum of sehen. Neben dem Schrank describes a location, so neben takes the dative here.
Dein Freund fand eine Brotdose unter der Bank.
Your friend found a lunchbox under the bench.
Fand is the Präteritum of finden. This uses a male friend; for a female friend, say Deine Freundin.
Die Lehrerin gab mir die Brotdose.
The teacher gave me the lunchbox.
Gab is the Präteritum of geben. Mir is dative because it identifies the person receiving the lunchbox.
Ich nahm sie für dich mit nach Hause.
I took it home for you.
Sie refers to die Brotdose. Mitnehmen means 'to take along'; in the Präteritum, it separates into nahm … mit.
Zu Hause sahst du den Namen auf dem Deckel.
At home, you saw the name on the lid.
With du, sah becomes sahst. Der Name becomes den Namen as a direct object.
Am Ende kam deine Brotdose wieder in deinen Schulranzen.
In the end, your lunchbox went back into your school bag.
Kam … wieder in is a natural way to describe something going back into a container. In takes the accusative here because it describes a destination.
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
das Klassenzimmer
classroom
In dein Klassenzimmer means 'into your classroom'; it describes a destination.
der Schulranzen
school bag; school backpack
Commonly used for a child's structured school bag. Die Schultasche is a broader alternative.
die Brotdose
lunchbox
A common word for the box holding a child's packed food. Use sie for 'it' because Brotdose is feminine.
die Bank
bench
Unter der Bank means 'under the bench'. In this school setting, Bank refers to a seat.
der Deckel
lid
Auf dem Deckel means 'on the lid'.
nach Hause / zu Hause
home / at home
Use nach Hause for movement home and zu Hause for being at home.
Common irregular verbs in the Präteritum
These verbs change their stem in the Präteritum. The ich and er/sie/es forms are identical. A singular noun subject, such as die Lehrerin, uses the er/sie/es form.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| gehen — to go | ich ging; du gingst; er/sie/es ging | Gestern ging ich in dein Klassenzimmer. |
| kommen — to come | ich kam; du kamst; er/sie/es kam | Deine Lehrerin kam an die Tür. |
| sehen — to see | ich sah; du sahst; er/sie/es sah | Du sahst den Namen. |
| finden — to find | ich fand; du fandest; er/sie/es fand | Dein Freund fand eine Brotdose. |
| geben — to give | ich gab; du gabst; er/sie/es gab | Die Lehrerin gab mir die Brotdose. |
| nehmen — to take | ich nahm; du nahmst; er/sie/es nahm | Ich nahm die Brotdose. |
Starting a sentence with time or place
In a German main clause, the conjugated verb is the second sentence element, not necessarily the second word. If a time or place expression comes first, the subject follows the verb.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Time first | Time expression + verb + subject + … | Gestern ging ich in dein Klassenzimmer. |
| Place first | Place expression + verb + subject + … | Zu Hause sahst du den Namen. |
Taking something along: mitnehmen
Mitnehmen is a separable verb. In a simple main clause, nahm is the conjugated verb and mit separates from it. A destination phrase such as nach Hause can naturally follow mit.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Without a destination phrase | Subject + nahm + object + mit | Ich nahm die Brotdose mit. |
| With a destination phrase | Subject + nahm + object + mit nach Hause | Ich nahm sie mit nach Hause. |
Location or destination?
Prepositions such as in, auf, unter and neben take the dative when describing where something is, and the accusative when describing a destination.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Location: where? | neben + dative | Ich sah deinen Schulranzen neben dem Schrank. |
| Location: where? | unter + dative | Dein Freund fand eine Brotdose unter der Bank. |
| Destination: where to? | in + accusative | Die Brotdose kam wieder in deinen Schulranzen. |
More examples
Was sahst du auf dem Deckel?
What did you see on the lid?
A simple question to invite your child into the story. German uses sahst without a separate word for 'did'.
Wo fand dein Freund die Brotdose?
Where did your friend find the lunchbox?
After the question word Wo, use fand and then the subject.
Die Lehrerin gab sie mir.
The teacher gave it to me.
When both objects are unstressed personal pronouns, the accusative pronoun normally comes first: sie mir.
Du nahmst die Brotdose mit.
You took the lunchbox along.
Practise the du form nahmst while keeping the separable prefix mit.