QCAA German cheat sheet

Register rule: use du/ihr with friends, family, peers and classmates; use Sie with strangers, officials, teachers and shop staff unless invited to switch.

Formal letter and email frame: Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, ... Mit freundlichen Grüßen; informal frame: Liebe/Lieber ..., ... Viele Grüße or Bis bald.

Indirect requests soften commands: Könnten Sie bitte ...? / Würden Sie mir helfen? The Konjunktiv II form (könnte, würde, hätte, wäre) signals politeness, not past time.

Agreeing: Da stimme ich dir zu; Das sehe ich auch so. Disagreeing politely: Da bin ich anderer Meinung; Das stimmt zwar, aber ...

Clarification gambit: Wie bitte? / Könntest du das bitte wiederholen? / Was heißt das genau? - used to repair breakdowns without switching to English.

Turn-taking markers: Also, ...; Na ja, ...; Übrigens ...; Ach so; Genau; Echt? These keep the exchange flowing and signal active listening.

Sich verabreden pattern: Hast du am Samstag Zeit? - Ja, wann denn? - Sagen wir um drei vor dem Kino. - Abgemacht! Time expressions take the accusative after a preposition of time only when duration is implied.

Du/Sie consistency: once a speaker uses a first name and du, the rest of the exchange stays informal; mixing du and Sie in one turn reads as a deliberate snub.

Gist-first strategy: identify the text type (Durchsage, Anzeige, Rezension, Interview) and the speaker's purpose before decoding individual words.

Scan for numbers, times and prices: German writes decimals with a comma (3,50 €) and thousands with a point (1.000); times use 24-hour form in announcements (14:30 Uhr).

Separable verbs split in main clauses (Der Zug kommt um acht an); the prefix appears at the end, so the meaning is only complete at clause end.

Negation traps: nicht negates the specific element it precedes; kein- negates nouns. Nicht wahr? and oder? are tags expecting agreement.

Modal particles change tone, not content: doch, mal, ja, halt, eben, denn. Er kommt doch signals 'after all', not a contradiction.

Listening cues: intonation rises on yes/no questions and falls on W-questions; stressed syllable carries the corrective information in a contrast.

Inference rule: if a question asks about the speaker's attitude, choose the option supported by an evaluative adjective or modal particle, not by a factual detail.

Text-type signals: Bewerbung uses formal Sie and qualifications; Speisekarte uses nouns and prices; Wetterbericht uses future and probability phrases (voraussichtlich, vereinzelt).

Verb-second rule in main clauses: the finite verb occupies position 2, so a fronted time or place expression pushes the subject after the verb (Am Wochenende fahre ich ...).

Subordinate clauses send the finite verb to the end after weil, dass, obwohl, wenn, als; in a dass-clause the separable prefix stays attached (..., weil er früh aufsteht).

Perfect tense: haben with most verbs, sein with motion/change-of-state verbs (gehen, fahren, aufstehen, werden, bleiben) and with sein/bleiben.

Passive present: werden + Partizip II (Das Haus wird gebaut). Agent introduced by von, means by durch.

Structuring a spoken presentation: Einleitung (topic + hook), Hauptteil (2–3 points with examples), Schluss (summary + opinion). Signpost with Zunächst, Danach, Abschließend.

Stating opinion in writing: Meiner Meinung nach ...; Ich bin der Ansicht, dass ...; Ein wichtiger Punkt ist, dass ... - each needs a supporting reason.

Nominalisation raises register: weil es billig ist → wegen der günstigen Lage; wenn man vergleicht → im Vergleich zu.

Written accuracy checks: capitalise all nouns, match adjective endings to article and case, and keep the finite verb in position 2 in every main clause.

Case system: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object, after durch/für/gegen/ohne/um), dative (indirect object, after aus/bei/mit/nach/seit/von/zu), genitive (possession).

Article patterns: der/die/das/die; accusative masculine der→den; dative plural adds -n to the noun (mit den Freunden).

Three genders and plural are lexical facts, not predictable rules; diminutives in -chen and -lein are always neuter (das Mädchen).

Adjective endings: after der-words the ending is weak (-e/-en); after ein-words it is mixed; with no article it is strong and carries the case signal.

German-speaking geography: Germany's 16 Bundesländer include Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen and Berlin (a city-state); Austria has 9, Switzerland 26 cantons.

Landmarks and regions: der Rhein, die Donau, der Harz, die Alpen, der Bodensee; die Schweiz is feminine, as are most rivers in German (die Elbe) except der Rhein, der Main, der Neckar.

Cultural calendar: Karneval/Fasching before Lent, Oktoberfest in Munich (late September to early October), Weihnachtsmarkt in Advent, Tag der Deutschen Einheit on 3 October.

School and work vocabulary: das Gymnasium, die Realschule, die Hauptschule, die Lehre (apprenticeship), das Abitur - the dual system combines apprenticeship with vocational school.