German grammar, one topic at a time. Each article explains one rule in plain English and shows it in short, everyday sentences.
The Plusquamperfekt is the German tense used to describe an action that happened before another past event - often called the "earlier past". In this complete guide, you’ll learn how to form and use it, how it compares to Perfekt and Präteritum. You’ll also discover when native speakers actually use it.
Learn how adjectives change after the indefinite article ein / eine in German. This guide includes rules, examples, declension tables and practice exercises with answers. You’ll be able to confidently use adjectives in all cases and genders, including complex sentences with multiple adjectives.
Learn what the German Genitive case (Genitiv) is and how to form it: articles, -s/-es noun endings, proper names and weak nouns. Discover the common Genitive prepositions, when to use von + Dative instead, Genitive attributes after prepositions like durch, and practise with exercises.
Want to know when to use wie or als in German? This guide explains the difference between equality and inequality and provide rules with clear explanations and example sentences. Learn how to compare people, objects, numbers and past events correctly and master fixed expressions like "mehr als", etc.
Learn indirect questions in German (indirekte Fragesätze): when to use ob or a W-word, why the verb goes to the end, how to punctuate them, and the most useful phrases like “Kannst du mir sagen, …?” and “Ich frage mich, ob …”, with audio examples.
Learn the Präteritum in German with this complete guide. Discover when to use the simple past, how to form regular, irregular, mixed and separable verbs, and practice with audio examples and exercises so you can read, write and speak confidently in the past tense.
This guide walks you through the entire system of Konjunktiv II in German – from forming hypothetical and unreal statements to choosing between würde + infinitive and original forms like wäre, hätte or könnte. You’ll find strong and weak verb charts, modal verb forms, unreal past patterns, real-life sentences, Konjunktiv II exercises and an FAQ covering common learner questions.
Learn how to ask and answer prepositional questions in German! This article explains the difference between asking about things or ideas (wo-/wor- questions) and asking about people (preposition + wen/wem), plus practical tips on using da-/dar- pronominal adverbs for natural answers.
Learn how German verbs with prepositions work and why the correct case matters. This guide explains which prepositions take the accusative, dative or genitive, how two-way prepositions behave, and lists the most common reflexive and non-reflexive verbs with prepositions, such as sich interessieren für (to be interested in).
This article provides a clear overview of German reflexive verbs, where the subject and object refer to the same person. It explains the reflexive pronouns like "sich waschen" and "sich kümmern um", the difference between accusative and dative forms, and how reflexive verbs work in everyday German.
Comparatives and superlatives help you describe things in German, e.g. who’s faster or more beautiful. This guide breaks down how to form and use them correctly. You'll also learn about comparative constructions such as "als", "wie", "so … wie", that are used to express differences and similarities.
Explore German coordinating conjunctions (Nebenordnende Konjunktionen) with this guide! Learn how to use 6 core conjunctions: "und", "oder", "aber", "denn", "doch" and "sondern" correctly, including rules for comma placement, example sentences and interactive quiz.
Want to speak about time accurately in German? This guide breaks down all the key temporal prepositions — like um, am, im, seit, and für — showing you which case to use (accusative or dative) and how to use them in real-life sentences. Learn the difference between seit and für and get a chart with examples.
In German plurals (Plural von Nomen) show that we are talking about more than one thing or person. This beginner-friendly guide explains the main plural rules, including endings like -e, -er, -n/-en, -s and when vowels change with umlauts. You’ll also learn how to recognize plurals using articles and verbs.
The German verb "werden" is essential for A1 learners, appearing in many contexts — from expressing change ("to become") to forming the future tense and passive voice. This guide covers its meanings, conjugation in present and past tenses and practical examples.
The German imperative (Deutsch Imperativ) is used to give commands, instructions, or invitations — essential for sounding natural in daily conversations. In this article you’ll learn how to form the imperative for du, ihr, Sie, and wir, with easy examples like Geh! (Go!), Komm! (Come!), and Lesen Sie! (Read!).
The German nominative case (Nominativ) is the foundation of German grammar, marking the subject of a sentence. In this article you’ll learn when to use the nominative, how articles (der, die, das, ein, kein) change with gender and number, and how to apply possessive pronouns correctly.
The Dative case (der Dativ) in German is used to mark the indirect object — the person or thing receiving the action. This article explains the dative case rules, shows examples and how articles and pronouns change. You’ll also learn about dative verbs and prepositions that always require this case.
The perfect tense in German, also known as Perfekt, is one of the most used verb forms in spoken German when referring to events that happened in the past. In this article you will find out when to choose Perfekt or Präteritum, when to use haben or sein for Perfekt tense and what is Partizip II.
Modal verbs (Modalverben) are essential for expressing permission, ability, necessity and desire. You’ll learn the key modal verbs — dürfen, können, mögen, müssen, sollen and wollen — along with their English equivalents, sentence structure rules and full conjugation charts (Präsens and Präteritum).
Negation is essential in German grammar and goes far beyond just saying "no". In this article you’ll learn how to use German negation words like "nein", "nicht", "kein", "nie", "doch", "nichts" and "niemand" correctly and discover how to express "nothing", "never" or "nobody".
Want to say what you can or cannot do in German? This complete guide to the modal verb "können" covers everything: meanings, sentence structure, conjugation tables, negation rules, question formation and common expressions.
Learn the German accusative case (Akkusativ) with this clear and easy guide! Find out when to use changed articles like "den", "einen", "keinen" as well as accusative pronouns such as "mich", "dich" and more.
Learning German verbs can be challenging, especially when it comes to separable (trennbare) and inseparable (nicht trennbare) verbs. This article describes common prefixes and their meaning, explains tricky double-meaning verbs and provides a quiz to check your knowledge.
Learning verb conjugation in the present tense is essential for clear communication in German. This article explains when to use the Präsens, how to conjugate weak (regular), strong (irregular) and mixed verbs.
Possessive pronouns in German – like mein (my), dein (your), and sein (his) – show ownership or relationships. They adapt based on gender, number and case. This guide covers base forms, endings, example sentences and practical tips to use them.
W-Fragen are open-ended German questions that begin with a "W" word like Was, Wo or Warum. Similar to the English "Five Ws" they are essential for meaningful conversations and effective writing. This article breaks down their structure, provides real-world examples and offers helpful tips and exercises.
Ja-Nein Fragen are simple yes-no questions common in everyday German. This article explains the essential word order rule – verb first, then subject – and shows how to form questions with modal verbs, separable verbs and the Perfekt tense. Also find out how to compose answers, including negations.
The German verb "haben", meaning "to have", is essential for any learner. It’s irregular in the present tense and widely used to express possession, build perfect tenses and form common idioms. This article covers present tense conjugation, real-life examples, idiomatic usage and practical exercises.
Learning German word order helps you make correct and natural sentences. This article explains the most important rules in easy language with lots of examples. You will find out where to put the verb, how to ask questions, how to use subordinate clauses, etc.
Understanding how to use articles ein/eine (a/an) and kein/keine (not a/no) is essential when learning German. This guide focuses on their forms and usage in the nominative case, which is used for the subject of a sentence.
The German verb "sein" means "to be" in English and is one of the first verbs learners encounter. This guide explains how to use "sein" in the present tense (Präsens) with personal pronouns like ich bin, du bist and wir sind. You'll learn when to use it, how to form questions and negations and get exercises to practice.
German personal pronouns like ich, du, and Sie are essential for everyday communication. This guide explains each pronoun by meaning, number and usage, with examples to help you speak and write more naturally in German.
Struggling with der, die, das? In this guide, you'll learn how to determine the gender of a noun based on its meaning and suffix. We cover common patterns, exceptions, and memorization strategies
In this beginner-friendly guide you’ll learn how German grammatical gender works and how to choose the correct article based on gender, number, and case. We break down definite and indefinite articles with easy-to-follow tables, helpful examples and practical tips.
Curious about how the German alphabet works? This comprehensive guide introduces you to the "Deutsches Alphabet," covering all 26 standard letters plus the unique German characters Ä, Ö, Ü, and ß. Discover how German pronunciation differs from English, learn essential vocabulary, and see practical examples that will help you master spelling and reading in German.
In our grammar articles you’ll find:
Practise what you read with the A1, A2 and B1 grammar exercises or the sentence builder.