German · A1 · Milestone
Three-quarter Milestone in German
Celebrate your progress by reviewing familiar German phrases for your child's day, from getting ready for school to talking about friends and football. Use du and dein when speaking to one child.
What you'll learn
- Review everyday language for home, school and activities.
- Practise simple statements, questions and instructions.
- Recognise familiar patterns for time, possession and negation.
German phrases for three-quarter milestone
Wo tut dir das Bein weh?
Where does your leg hurt?
German often uses the definite article with body parts. Dir means 'to you' and shows whose leg hurts.
Du hast zwanzig Cent.
You have twenty cents.
Use hast with du. Cent stays unchanged after a number when stating an amount.
Wir gehen zu Fuß zur Schule.
We walk to school.
Zu Fuß means 'on foot'. Zur Schule means 'to school'.
Pack dein Lesebuch ein.
Pack your reading book.
Einpacken means 'to pack'. In this instruction, ein moves to the end.
Fußball beginnt um halb fünf.
Football starts at half past four.
Halb fünf means 4:30: halfway to five. For an afternoon activity, this is 16:30.
Wasch dich bitte.
Wash yourself, please.
Dich means 'yourself' here. Wasch is a common instruction form for one child.
Es gibt heute keine Hausaufgaben.
There is no homework today.
Hausaufgaben is plural in German, so use keine for 'no homework'.
Ich sehe deinen Freund.
I see your friend.
Deinen Freund refers to a male friend. For a female friend, say: Ich sehe deine Freundin.
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 Bein
the leg
Plural: die Beine.
zwanzig
twenty
Use it before Cent to say an amount of money.
zu Fuß
on foot
Gehen zu Fuß means 'to walk' rather than travel by vehicle.
das Lesebuch
the reading book
A book used for reading practice, especially at school.
Fußball
football; soccer
This means soccer, not American football.
heute
today
Useful for talking about today's plans and tasks.
die Hausaufgaben
homework
Usually plural in German, unlike English 'homework'.
der Freund / die Freundin
the male friend / the female friend
Choose the noun to match the friend you mean.
Present-tense statements
In a simple statement, the conjugated verb comes second. Its ending or form matches the subject.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| You have | du hast | Du hast zwanzig Cent. |
| We walk | wir gehen | Wir gehen zu Fuß zur Schule. |
| I see | ich sehe | Ich sehe deinen Freund. |
Asking where something hurts
Begin with wo to ask 'where'. Wehtun means 'to hurt'; in this question, weh goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Where does it hurt? | Wo tut dir … weh? | Wo tut dir das Bein weh? |
Instructions to one child
Start with the instruction form of the verb and leave out du. Add bitte to make the request polite.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Separable verb | einpacken → Pack … ein. | Pack dein Lesebuch ein. |
| Reflexive verb | sich waschen → Wasch dich. | Wasch dich bitte. |
Telling the time
Use um for 'at' with a clock time. German halb names the coming hour, so halb fünf is 4:30, not 5:30.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| At half past four | um halb fünf | Fußball beginnt um halb fünf. |
Objects and possessives
The thing you pack or the person you see is an accusative object. Dein stays dein before a neuter noun, but becomes deinen before a masculine noun.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Neuter object | das Lesebuch → dein Lesebuch | Pack dein Lesebuch ein. |
| Masculine object | der Freund → deinen Freund | Ich sehe deinen Freund. |
| Feminine object | die Freundin → deine Freundin | Ich sehe deine Freundin. |
Saying there is no homework
Es gibt means 'there is' or 'there are'. Use keine before the plural noun Hausaufgaben to say there is no homework.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| No homework | es gibt + keine Hausaufgaben | Es gibt heute keine Hausaufgaben. |
More examples
Pack bitte dein Lesebuch ein.
Pack your reading book, please.
Bitte can come after the instruction verb.
Heute gehen wir zu Fuß zur Schule.
Today we walk to school.
When heute comes first, the verb still comes second, followed by wir.
Ich sehe deine Freundin.
I see your friend.
Use this version when the friend is female.