What are the best German series on Netflix for keen learners in 2023? In this post you’ll discover ten strong contenders: what they’re about and why they’re useful and fun. Plus, at the end, two useful tips to help you find the shows and get the most out of watching them. Unsure of the value of learning German by watching TV? Well, many learners seriously underestimate the … [Read more...]
How to use German infinitives
In this post we’ll get to grips with German infinitives. What do we actually mean when we talk about the infinitive of a German verb? When do you use the infinitive in German and can you use it on its own as a bare infinitive or do you have to use the zu infinitiv (Infinitiv mit zu)? How similar are German and English here? Eh? Read on! All will be revealed, with lots of … [Read more...]
German relative pronouns and relative clauses made clear
German relative pronouns cause some students a headache simply because they haven’t taken time to understand how the relative clause sentence pattern works and what it's for. Don’t make that mistake! In this post, you’ll find a clear explanation with the jargon busted and lots of clear examples. All the way through, we'll highlight what's similar to English. To finish, we’ll … [Read more...]
German false friend words alert! (Your ultimate list)
As German learners, we love the hundreds of words that look similar or even identical and mean the same in both German and English. They may be words with a common Germanic root ("cognates" such as the man and der Mann), modern borrowings from one language to the other (the Rucksack, die Party…) or words taken from another language (often French, Greek or Latin like the/der … [Read more...]
Must-know German opinion phrases for agreeing and disagreeing
As a beginner in German, it’s a great feeling just to have the most basic exchanges: to say a little about yourself and your surroundings, ask some practical questions. But as you start to improve, you’ll soon want to have more meaningful conversations. You’ll want to share your interests, enthusiasms, likes and dislikes. And to find out about what matters to your conversation … [Read more...]
How to make German friends, in the country or not!
If you’re serious about improving your spoken German, you need to use it consistently. A great way to do that is to make German friends (or meet native German speakers from elsewhere). But how do you find them? In this post, you’ll find some great practical ideas of how you can meet more native German speakers and make the most of the contacts that come your way, maximising the … [Read more...]
German future tense (Futur I): top dos and don’ts
Das Futur I is the German future tense. You’ll usually first meet die Zukunft, as it’s also known, as you move into the intermediate or B1 level. But how do you form the Futur I correctly and where does it go in the sentence? In this post, you’ll discover all you need to know about the German future tense including common pitfalls you need to avoid to get it … [Read more...]
German cases made simple (goodbye to endless tables)
You won’t get far into your German learning journey without noticing some words change their form in ways that seem strange for an English native. Meet the four German cases! There’s no denying that the extra “moving parts” complicate German for learners but, if you take time to understand how the system works, you’ll see that the cases can be conquered :) Hold on, though! … [Read more...]
Six German vocabulary keys to unlock your word power
At first sight, you’ll probably recognise a lot fewer words in a German text than a Spanish or French one. Add to that those super-long words the language seems to love and you could be forgiven for thinking that German vocabulary is just impossible. Not so! If you discover just a little about where German gets its words from (and how longer words are formed) you'll see that … [Read more...]
German genitive case: the only guide you’ll ever need
In this example-packed post you’ll discover how to form the German genitive case and what it’s used for. There are some nifty genitive-avoiding workarounds too! Genitive-avoiding? Yep, the first of three good pieces of news about the case is that it’s by far the least-used of German's four cases. Even in higher registers of written German, the … [Read more...]