Vocabulary (Wortschatz)
Vocabulary questions test topic words and their correct use in context: family, school, daily routine, food, shopping, travel, health and environment. You are also tested on gender, plural forms, opposites, compounds and verb-preposition combinations.
Organise words in chunks
- Learn nouns with article and plural: der Tisch, die Tische; das Mädchen, die Mädchen.
- Learn verbs with case or preposition: helfen + Dativ; warten auf + Akkusativ; sich freuen auf + Akkusativ for future anticipation; sich freuen über + Akkusativ for present or past joy.
- Build opposites: groß/klein, teuer/billig, anfangen/aufhören.
- Compounds take the gender of the last element: das Krankenhaus = krank + Haus; der Kühlschrank = kühl + Schrank.
Worked example
Choose the correct word: 'Ich ______ mich auf die Ferien.' Answer: freue. Reasoning: sich freuen auf is reflexive and takes the accusative; freue agrees with ich; auf die Ferien shows future anticipation. Second example: Gift means poison, not gift. The German word for gift is das Geschenk.
Traps
- False friends: Gift, bekommen, werden, also, Chef (boss), Handy (mobile phone).
- Noun gender is not predictable from meaning: das Problem but die Antwort.
- Separable prefixes change meaning: stehen, aufstehen, verstehen.
- Do not invent a compound's gender; use the gender of the final word.