MATSEC AM German cheat sheet

In a listening passage, the speaker's opinion is often introduced by phrases like 'meiner Meinung nach', 'ich finde', or 'ich glaube'; these signal the answer to 'Was denkt der Sprecher?' questions.

For numbers and dates in listening tasks, expect distractors: a speaker may correct themselves ('also, nicht am Dienstag, sondern am Mittwoch'), so the final stated value is the correct one.

In oral exams, use the formal 'Sie' with examiners unless invited to use 'du'; use 'du' only with peers in role-play scenarios if the prompt specifies familiarity.

German modal particles ('doch', 'mal', 'ja', 'halt') soften or emphasize statements; in listening, they indicate the speaker's attitude (e.g., 'Komm doch mit!' = friendly invitation).

When giving a presentation (Vortrag) in the oral exam, structure it with 'Einleitung' (topic and outline), 'Hauptteil' (2–3 points with examples), and 'Schluss' (summary and personal opinion).

Common listening task formats: multiple choice, true/false with justification, matching speakers to statements, and note completion; read the questions before the audio plays to predict vocabulary.

In discussions, use Redemittel to agree/disagree: 'Da stimme ich dir zu', 'Das sehe ich anders', 'Einerseits ... andererseits ...'; these demonstrate interactional competence.

For picture-based speaking tasks, describe location using prepositions with accusative/dative: 'Auf dem Bild sehe ich ...', 'In der Mitte steht ...', 'Links daneben liegt ...'.

Skim the text first for global meaning (Überschrift, first sentence of each paragraph), then scan for specific details required by the questions.

Identify text type and register: a 'Leserbrief' expresses opinion, a 'Bericht' is factual, an 'Anzeige' is promotional; this helps locate the information asked for.

For 'Welche Aussage ist richtig?' items, eliminate options that are too absolute ('immer', 'nie', 'alle') unless the text explicitly supports them.

Recognize cohesive devices: 'deshalb', 'trotzdem', 'außerdem', 'jedoch' signal logical relationships; understanding these is key for inference questions.

In gap-fill reading tasks, check both grammar (case, preposition, verb form) and meaning; the correct word must fit the sentence syntactically and semantically.

Watch for negation and contrast: 'nicht ... sondern', 'kaum', 'selten', 'ohne ... zu' reverse or limit meaning; misreading these leads to wrong answers.

For matching headings to paragraphs, identify the topic sentence (usually first or last sentence) and choose the heading that captures the main idea, not a detail.

Vocabulary in context: infer unknown words from word formation (prefixes like 'un-', 'miss-', suffixes like '-bar', '-heit') and from surrounding collocations.

For a formal letter (formeller Brief), use 'Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren' or 'Sehr geehrte Frau X', close with 'Mit freundlichen Grüßen'; use 'Sie' consistently.

For an informal letter/email (informeller Brief), use 'Liebe/Lieber X', close with 'Viele Grüße' or 'Bis bald'; use 'du' forms.

A well-structured argumentative text (Erörterung) includes: Einleitung (thesis), Hauptteil (arguments with examples, counterargument), Schluss (conclusion restating position).

Use connectors to link sentences: 'zunächst', 'darüber hinaus', 'im Gegensatz dazu', 'folglich', 'zusammenfassend'; these improve coherence and are assessed.

In a 'Bericht' (report), use past tense (Präteritum/Perfekt) and impersonal style; include W-Fragen: wer, was, wann, wo, wie, warum.

Word count matters: plan roughly 5 minutes for brainstorming and outlining, 20 minutes for writing, 5 minutes for checking verb endings, cases, and word order.

Vary sentence structure: alternate main clauses, subordinate clauses (weil, obwohl, dass), and infinitive constructions (um ... zu, ohne ... zu) to show range.

Check verb-second rule in main clauses and verb-final in subordinate clauses; errors here are among the most penalized in writing.

German cases: nominative for subject, accusative for direct object, dative for indirect object, genitive for possession; prepositions determine case (e.g., 'mit' + dative, 'für' + accusative).

Two-way prepositions (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen) take accusative for motion/direction and dative for location/position.

Verb conjugation: regular weak verbs add -te in Präteritum (machen → machte); strong verbs change stem (gehen → ging); mixed verbs combine both (bringen → brachte).

Adjective endings depend on article type: after definite article ('der neue Film'), after indefinite article ('ein neuer Film'), and with no article ('neue Filme').

Subordinate clauses: conjunction sends finite verb to the end ('Ich weiß, dass er kommt'); in indirect questions, use 'ob' or W-word + verb-final.

Reflexive verbs take reflexive pronouns in accusative (mich, dich, sich, uns, euch, sich) or dative (mir, dir, sich, uns, euch, sich) depending on the verb (sich waschen vs. sich die Zähne putzen).

The passive voice: werden + Partizip II ('Das Buch wird gelesen'); agent introduced by 'von' (person) or 'durch' (means).

Vocabulary building: learn nouns with article and plural (der Tisch, die Tische), verbs with case (helfen + dative), and common collocations (eine Entscheidung treffen).

Konjunktiv II for polite requests and hypotheticals: 'Ich würde gern ...', 'Wenn ich Zeit hätte, ...'; forms: hätte, wäre, würde + infinitive.