QCAA German Extension flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Definite article cases

German definite articles change by case: nominative der/die/das, accusative den/die/das, dative dem/der/dem, genitive des/der/des; plural is die in nominative/accusative and den in dative.

Verb-second word order

In a German main clause the finite verb occupies position two; if a time expression or object starts the sentence, the subject follows the verb, producing inversion.

Subordinate clause verb-final

In German subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions such as weil, dass, obwohl or wenn, the finite verb moves to the final position.

Separable verb placement

With separable verbs like aufstehen or einkaufen, the prefix detaches and appears at the end of a main clause, as in Ich stehe früh auf.

Perfect tense auxiliaries

German perfect tense uses haben with most verbs and sein with intransitive verbs of motion or change of state, plus sein, bleiben and werden.

Konjunktiv II politeness

Konjunktiv II forms such as hätte, wäre, könnte and würde plus infinitive express hypothetical situations, polite requests and unreal conditions in German.

Sie versus du

German uses Sie plus plural verb forms for formal address with strangers and adults; du is used with family, friends, peers and children.

German official languages

German is an official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Belgium; it is also regional official in South Tyrol, Italy.

Adjective ending triggers

German adjective endings depend on the preceding article type (definite, indefinite or zero), plus the noun's gender, number and case.

Modal particles function

Particles such as doch, mal, ja, halt and eben add tone or emphasis to German sentences but carry little lexical meaning and rarely translate directly.

Genitive preposition list

German genitive prepositions include wegen, trotz, während, statt and aufgrund; they require the following noun phrase to take genitive case.

Two-way prepositions rule

Prepositions such as in, an, auf, über, unter, vor and hinter take accusative for movement or direction and dative for fixed location.

Text analysis structure

A German Textanalyse typically has an introduction naming title, author, text type, source and topic; a main section summarising content and analysing language; and a conclusion evaluating the text.

Textsorten identification

Common German Textsorten include Nachricht, Kommentar, Reportage, Interview, Rede, Blog, Leserbrief and Anzeige; each has distinct purpose, audience and register.

Summary tense and person

A German content summary (Inhaltsangabe) uses present tense, third person and neutral language, reporting the main ideas without personal opinion or direct quotation.

Argument components

A German argument typically contains These (claim), Argument (supporting reason), Beispiel (example) and Schlussfolgerung (conclusion); identifying each helps evaluate logical strength.

Rhetorical device terms

Key German rhetorical devices include Metapher, Vergleich, Ironie, rhetorische Frage, Anapher, Alliteration, Hyperbel and Personifikation, each shaping tone and persuasion.

Register analysis markers

Register in German texts is marked by Sie or du address, formal versus colloquial vocabulary, nominal versus verbal style, sentence length and use of modal particles.

Source reliability check

To evaluate a German stimulus text, check author, publication, date, intended audience, explicit intention and possible bias or omission of opposing views.

Quotation and line reference

In German analysis, quotations use quotation marks and, where line numbers exist, a line reference such as (Z. 12); paraphrases should be clearly attributed.

Analytical connectives

German analytical writing uses connectives such as zunächst, darüber hinaus, hingegen, folglich, dennoch and abschließend to signal sequence, contrast and conclusion.

Critical response thesis

A German critical response states a clear thesis in the introduction, supports it with reasons and evidence in body paragraphs, and restates the position in the conclusion.

Claim-evidence-explanation pattern

Each body paragraph in a German argument should present a claim, provide evidence or an example, then explain how the evidence supports the claim.

Creative voice consistency

A creative German response maintains a consistent narrator or character voice through stable register, vocabulary, tense and attitude across the whole text.

German dialogue punctuation

German direct speech uses „…“ quotation marks; the reporting clause after the quotation is lowercase, and the comma follows the closing quotation mark.

Narrative past tenses

German narratives use Präteritum for background and main past events, Plusquamperfekt for earlier events, and Perfekt mainly in dialogue or informal narration.

Sentence variety tools

German sentence variety comes from subordinate clauses, relative clauses, infinitive clauses with zu, participial phrases and varied sentence openings.

Cohesive devices German

German cohesive devices include Konnektoren like dennoch, daher, außerdem, einerseits/andererseits, and pronoun or synonym chains linking sentences.

Register markers in writing

Formal German writing uses Sie, full verb forms and nominal style; informal writing may use du, contractions, modal particles and shorter sentences.

das versus dass

German das is an article or relative pronoun, while dass is a conjunction; test by replacing with welches or dies, which only fits das.

Editing checklist German

Check German writing for subject-verb agreement, correct case after prepositions, verb position, noun capitalisation, comma rules and ß versus ss.