MTEL German (27) flashcards

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

Verb-second rule

In German main clauses the finite verb occupies the second position, so an initial adverbial or subordinate clause pushes the subject after the verb: Heute gehe ich ins Kino.

Verb-final in subordinate clauses

Subordinating conjunctions such as weil, dass, ob, wenn, and obwohl send the finite verb to the end of the clause: Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil es regnet.

Two-way prepositions

An, auf, in, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, and zwischen take the accusative for motion or direction and the dative for location: in die Stadt versus in der Stadt.

Weak adjective declension

After der-words (der, die, das, dieser) adjectives take -e in the nominative singular and -en elsewhere: der gute Wein, den guten Wein, dem guten Wein.

Final devoicing

Voiced consonants become voiceless at the end of a syllable or word in German, so Rad and Rat sound alike and Tag ends in a /k/ sound.

Separable prefixes

Prefixes such as auf-, an-, ein-, and mit- are stressed and detach in main clauses, moving to the end: Ich stehe um sieben auf; past participle aufgestanden.

Perfekt with sein

The perfect tense uses sein with intransitive verbs of motion or change of state (gehen, fahren, aufstehen, sterben) and with sein, bleiben, and werden.

Konjunktiv II

The past subjunctive forms hätte, wäre, würde, könnte, and müsste express hypotheses, wishes, and politeness: Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee, Wenn ich Zeit hätte.

Genitive prepositions

Wegen, trotz, während, statt, and innerhalb govern the genitive in formal German: wegen des Wetters, trotz des Regens; colloquial speech often substitutes the dative.

Noun gender by suffix

Nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, and -tion are feminine; -chen and -lein are neuter; -er (agent) and -ling are masculine; -ment and -um are usually neuter.

Formal letter conventions

A formal German letter opens with Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren and closes with Mit freundlichen Grüßen; the Sie form is capitalized and used consistently throughout.

TeKaMoLo word order

Adverbials in the middle field follow temporal, causal, modal, local order: Ich fahre heute wegen der Arbeit mit dem Zug nach Berlin.

German number formation

Numbers above twenty are said units-first: einundzwanzig is 21, hundertfünfzig is 150; years are read as hundreds, so neunzehnhundertneunzig is 1990.

Clock time conventions

Halb drei means 2:30 (half to three), Viertel nach drei means 3:15, and Viertel vor drei means 2:45; these differ from English half-past usage.

False friends

Cognates that mislead: bekommen means to receive, Gift means poison, also means so or therefore, bald means soon, and aktuell means current rather than actual.

Ich-Laut versus ach-Laut

The ich-Laut /ç/ follows front vowels (ich, Milch), while the ach-Laut /x/ follows back vowels (ach, Buch); both are distinct German phonemes.

German s pronunciation

Initial s before p or t is pronounced /ʃ/ (Sport, Straße), and single s between vowels is voiced /z/ (sagen, Sonne); these are frequent pronunciation targets.

Passive with modals

With modal verbs the passive places the past participle before the infinitive at the end: Das Haus muss gebaut werden; the agent uses von for people and durch for means.

Weimar Classicism

A German literary period around 1786–1805 associated with Goethe and Schiller in Weimar, emphasizing harmony, humanism, and the ideal of Bildung.

Sturm und Drang

A 1770s–80s literary movement named after Klinger's play, valuing genius, emotion, and revolt against rationalist rules; Goethe's Werther and Schiller's Die Räuber belong to it.

Romantic blue flower

The blaue Blume from Novalis's Heinrich von Ofterdingen symbolizes Romantic Sehnsucht and the search for the infinite; Romanticism also valued folk poetry and the Middle Ages.

Brecht's Verfremdungseffekt

Brecht's epic theater uses alienation effects, placards, and songs to prevent emotional identification and provoke critical reflection; examples include Mutter Courage and Der gute Mensch von Sezuan.

Kafka's Die Verwandlung

Kafka's novella opens with Gregor Samsa waking as an insect; its precise bureaucratic style and ambiguity gave rise to the term kafkaesk for absurd, oppressive situations.

DACH region

The German-speaking core of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; German is also official in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Belgium's German-speaking Community.

Swiss German

The Alemannic dialects spoken in daily life in Switzerland (Schwyzerdütsch); Standard German is used in writing and schools, and Swiss spelling omits ß (Strasse).

German unification dates

Germany divided into BRD and DDR in 1949, the Berlin Wall was built in 1961 and fell in 1989, and Wiedervereinigung occurred in 1990; 3 October is the national holiday.

ACTFL three modes

The Communication standard comprises Interpersonal (negotiating meaning), Interpretive (reading or listening for meaning), and Presentational (prepared speaking or writing for an audience).

Backward design

Wiggins and McTighe's model: identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, then plan learning experiences; all three stages must align with the standards.

Comprehensible input hypothesis

Krashen's claim that acquisition proceeds with input slightly above current level (i+1) and that the affective filter of anxiety or low motivation reduces uptake.

Structured input activities

Input-processing tasks require learners to attend to form to get meaning, such as choosing between Der Mann sieht den Hund and Der Hund sieht den Mann.

Integrated Performance Assessment

An IPA combines interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational tasks around one theme, scored with rubrics aligned to proficiency levels and shared with learners in advance.

Products, practices, perspectives

A culture-teaching model that links artifacts (products), routines (practices), and values (perspectives); comparisons develop intercultural competence rather than tourism trivia.