Every lesson in the A1–A2 course, reorganised by the information German is signalling: Role, Agreement, and Structure.
German grammar signals three kinds of information at once. Role tells you what job each noun has. Agreement makes the words in a noun group match. Structure tells you where the conjugated verb belongs.
The useful shift is to stop asking “Which ending do I memorise?” and ask: What information is German signalling here?
| System | Central question | What lives inside |
|---|---|---|
| Role | What job does each noun have? | Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genitive, pronouns, case-triggering prepositions and case-governing verbs |
| Agreement | Which words must match? | Gender and articles, plurals, kein, possessives, adjective endings, comparison and relative-pronoun form |
| Structure | Where is the conjugated verb? | Conjugation, verb-second, questions, imperative, verb brackets, subordinate clauses and zu + infinitive |
Articles and prepositions that assign a case live here; cases are jobs.
| Topic (level) | Key rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A1pronouns-nom | Subject pronouns are the "doer" (Nominativ) forms; they change by case later (ich→mich→mir). | Er wohnt hier. |
| A1akkusativ | Case of the directly affected thing (wen/was?). Only masculine changes: der→den, ein→einen. | Ich sehe den Mann. |
| A1prepositions-intro | Many prepositions force a case: für/durch/gegen/ohne/um + Akkusativ; aus/bei/mit/nach/von/zu + Dativ. | mit dem Bus, für den Freund. |
| A2dativ | Case of the receiver/beneficiary (wem?); also after dative verbs (helfen, danken, gehören) and dative prepositions. der→dem, die→der, das→dem, plural→den(+n). | Ich gebe dem Kind das Buch. |
| A2wechselpraepositionen | Two-way prepositions (in, an, auf, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen): movement/wohin? → Akkusativ, location/wo? → Dativ. | Ich gehe in die Schule / Ich bin in der Schule. |
| A2genitiv | Case of possession/association (wessen?). Masc./neut. noun adds -s/-es; article des/eines. | das Auto des Mannes. |
| A2reflexive-verbs | The reflexive pronoun carries a role: usually Akkusativ (sich waschen), sometimes Dativ (sich etwas kaufen). | Ich wasche mich / Ich kaufe mir ein Buch. |
A noun group shares its gender, number, and case signals.
| Topic (level) | Key rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A1articles-gender | Every noun has a gender the article carries (der/die/das); learn the article with the noun. | der Tisch, die Lampe, das Buch. |
| A1plurals | Plural changes the noun form and the article becomes die for all genders. Patterns: -e, -er, -(e)n, -s, umlaut. | der Tisch → die Tische. |
| A1negation (kein) | kein negates a noun and declines like ein, agreeing in gender/number/case (nicht = placement → Structure). | Ich habe keinen Hund. |
| A1possessives | Possessive articles (mein, dein, sein…) take the SAME endings as ein/kein and agree with the OWNED noun. | meine Mutter, mein Vater, meinen Bruder. |
| A2adjective-endings | An adjective before a noun takes the ending that completes the gender+number+case package (weak after der, mixed after ein, strong with no article). | der gute Mann, ein guter Mann, guter Wein. |
| A2comparative-superlative | Comparative -er, superlative am …-sten / der …-ste; attributive forms still take agreement endings. | schneller, am schnellsten, das schnellste Auto. |
| A2relative-clauses | The relative pronoun agrees in gender+number with its noun, takes its case from its job inside the clause, and sends the verb to the end. | der Mann, der dort steht / den ich kenne. |
Find the conjugated verb first; its position reveals the sentence structure.
| Topic (level) | Key rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A1present-tense | Verbs conjugate to the subject (-e, -st, -t, -en); the conjugated verb sits in position 2. | ich wohne, du wohnst. |
| A1sein-haben | The two core irregular verbs; memorise them — they anchor sentences and build the Perfekt. | ich bin, du hast. |
| A1word-order-v2 | In a main clause the conjugated verb is always the 2nd element, whatever comes first. | Heute arbeite ich. |
| A1questions | Yes/no questions put the verb first; W-questions put the W-word first, verb second. | Arbeitest du? / Wo wohnst du? |
| A1imperative | Commands drop the subject and put the verb first. | Komm! / Kommen Sie! / Geht! |
| A1modal-verbs | The modal is conjugated in position 2; the main verb goes to the very end as an infinitive (verb bracket). | Ich muss heute arbeiten. |
| A1separable-verbs | The prefix splits off and goes to the end in a main clause. | Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf. |
| A1perfekt | haben/sein (position 2) + Partizip II at the end — the spoken past bracket. | Ich habe gegessen / Ich bin gegangen. |
| A2subordinating-conjunctions | weil, dass, wenn, obwohl… send the conjugated verb to the END of the clause. | …, weil ich müde bin. |
| A2praeteritum | The written/simple past: one conjugated verb in position 2; war, hatte, and modals common in speech. | Ich hatte … / er ging. |
| A2plusquamperfekt | hatte/war + Partizip II — the "past before the past" bracket. | Ich hatte gegessen. |
| A2konjunktiv-2 | Polite/hypothetical mood: würde + infinitive, or hätte/wäre/könnte. | Ich hätte gern… / Ich würde gehen. |
| A2infinitiv-zu | zu + infinitive at the end of the clause after certain verbs/expressions. | Ich versuche zu schlafen. |
| A2indirect-questions | After ob or a W-word the clause is subordinate — verb to the end. | Ich weiß nicht, ob er kommt. |
| A2passiv | werden (position 2) + Partizip II at the end; the affected thing becomes the subject. | Das Haus wird gebaut. |
| A2futur | werden (position 2) + infinitive at the end. | Ich werde morgen kommen. |
Some topics naturally touch two or three maps: Akkusativ, possessives, kein, Genitiv, and relative clauses connect Role with Agreement; reflexive verbs, relative clauses, and Passiv also touch Structure.
Use the same check on any sentence, from A1 through A2: