German · A1 · Family moment
Your Weekend Plans in German
Use these questions and statements to help your child plan the weekend, think about travel, and agree on a meeting time. German often uses the present tense where English uses “going to.”
What you'll learn
- Ask your child about plans using informal du.
- Talk about transport, friends, and things to bring.
- Use the German present tense to describe future plans.
- Agree on a meeting time.
German phrases for your weekend plans
Was hast du vor?
What are you going to do?
A natural way to ask about plans. The verb vorhaben means “to plan” or “to intend.”
Triffst du dich mit deinen Freunden?
Are you going to meet your friends?
Sich mit jemandem treffen means “to meet up with someone.” Use dich with du.
Wie kommst du dahin?
How are you going to get there?
Wie asks “how,” and dahin means “there” when talking about a destination.
Ich schaue nach, wann die Busse fahren.
I'm going to check the bus times.
Literally: “I'll check when the buses run.” In the part starting with wann, the verb fahren goes at the end.
Du brauchst dein Handy.
You're going to need your phone.
Brauchen means “to need.” German uses Handy for a mobile phone.
Packst du deine Tasche?
Are you going to pack your bag?
For this yes/no question, put the verb packst before du.
Wir machen eine Uhrzeit aus.
We're going to agree on a time.
Eine Uhrzeit ausmachen means “to agree on a time.” The prefix aus goes at the end.
Ich treffe dich um sechs.
I'm going to meet you at six.
Use um with a clock time. Dich means “you” as the person being met.
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
vorhaben
to plan; to intend
A separable verb: du hast ... vor.
die Freunde
friends
After mit, use the dative: mit deinen Freunden means “with your friends.”
nachschauen
to check; to look up
A separable verb: ich schaue ... nach.
der Bus
bus
The plural is die Busse.
das Handy
mobile phone; cell phone
Say dein Handy for “your phone” when speaking to your child.
die Tasche
bag
Say deine Tasche for “your bag.”
die Uhrzeit
time of day; clock time
Use this when agreeing on a specific meeting time.
Talking about plans: English “going to”
German commonly uses the present tense for future plans when the context makes the meaning clear. Do not translate “going to” with gehen unless you mean actually going somewhere.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A plan | Present tense + future context | Ich treffe dich um sechs. = I'm going to meet you at six. |
| A future need | du + brauchst | Du brauchst dein Handy. = You're going to need your phone. |
| Asking about intentions | Was + hast + du + vor? | Was hast du vor? = What are you going to do? |
Question word order
In a yes/no question, the verb comes first. With a question word such as was or wie, the question word comes first and the verb follows.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/no question | Verb + subject + rest | Packst du deine Tasche? |
| Question with wie | Wie + verb + subject + rest | Wie kommst du dahin? |
Separable verbs
Some German verbs have a prefix that separates. In these simple statements and questions, the main verb changes to match the subject, and the prefix goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| vorhaben — to plan | du hast ... vor | Was hast du vor? |
| nachschauen — to check | ich schaue ... nach | Ich schaue nach. |
| ausmachen — to agree on; to arrange | wir machen ... aus | Wir machen eine Uhrzeit aus. |
More examples
Ich treffe mich mit meinen Freunden.
I'm going to meet my friends.
A possible reply from your child. With ich, use mich rather than dich.
Ich fahre mit dem Bus.
I'm going to take the bus.
Mit dem Bus means “by bus.”
Wir treffen uns um sechs.
We're going to meet at six.
Wir treffen uns means “we meet each other.” Use um before the time.