Some German verbs always need the dative case, and the best way to learn them is to practise. In this practice lesson, Johannes from YourGermanTeacher gives you two exercises with 10 sentences each: first A1 dative verbs, then personal pronouns in accusative and dative.

Warm-Up: the Dative Verb he...

Knowing when to use the accusative and when to use the dative is one of the biggest steps in German grammar. This lesson gives you the big picture of the German cases: why they exist, what each one does, how to recognise them and which verbs and prepositions go with which case. It is aimed at begi...

In the German simple past, haben and sein are the two verbs you will use most, and they are irregular. This lesson shows you the conjugation of haben and sein in the Präteritum and explains when to use them. You also get example sentences to practise with.

Haben in the Präteritum

When you talk to two or more people, you need the plural imperative, and you will use it all the time. Whenever you give advice, an order or a request to a group, you use the Imperativ Plural. This lesson shows you how to form the informal (ihr) and the formal (Sie) versions, with many examples.

Q...

The German imperative helps you give advice, make requests and give orders, and it is easier to form than you might think. This lesson shows you the formal imperative (Sie) and the informal imperative (du) when you speak to one person, with the conjugation rules, the sentence structure and the spe...

Sein oder haben? That is the big question in the German Perfekt. This lesson gives you three simple rules for when you need sein as the auxiliary verb, plus a bonus tip with special cases.

How the Perfekt With Sein Works

Present: Ich reise nach Berlin. Perfekt: Ich bin nach Berlin gereist. You onl...

The Perfekt is the most important German past tense, especially when you speak. This lesson shows you when to use it, how to form the past participle of regular, irregular and separable verbs, and how to build the complete sentence.

What Is the Perfekt?

The Perfekt (das Perfekt) is the past tense ...

Where are you going? German needs one of five little words to answer, and choosing the right one trips up a lot of learners. This lesson covers all five Richtungspräpositionen (prepositions of direction): nach, zu, in, auf and an, with rules and tendencies you can rely on.

The Five Prepositions of...

English has three words for what German does with two: since, for and ago. In this lesson you learn when to use seit and when to use vor, which key features each one has, and how to stop picking the wrong one.

Why Since, For and Ago Confuse English Speakers

In English, "since", "for" and "ago" all...

Together with the five prepositions from A1.1, these four give you all nine German time prepositions for A1. Here you learn in, vor, nach and für, which case each one takes, and how vor can mean both before and ago.

The Four Prepositions