German grammar guides

Short, example-led explanations of the patterns learners get stuck on most. Every example can be played aloud, and each guide ends with practice you can check yourself.

• A1–A2

  German dative prepositions: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu

  The seven German prepositions that always take the dative, with article tables, contractions like zum and beim, examples and practice.

• A2–B1

  German two-way prepositions: accusative or dative? (Wechselpräpositionen)

  When in, an, auf and the other two-way prepositions take the accusative and when the dative: the Wohin/Wo rule, verb pairs like legen/liegen, examples and practice.

• A1–B1

  German word order: verb second and verb at the end (weil, dass)

  Where the verb goes in a German sentence: verb in second position, inversion after time words, and the verb at the end after weil, dass, ob and wenn.

• B1

  German relative clauses: der, die, das, den, dem, denen

  How to build German relative clauses: choosing the relative pronoun by gender and case, the verb at the end, prepositions like in der and mit denen, with practice.

• B1

  weswegen, weshalb, warum: asking and explaining reasons in German

  The difference between warum, wieso, weshalb and weswegen, how to use them in questions, in 'der Grund, weswegen…' and as 'which is why', compared with deshalb and weil.

• A2–B1

  The German verb werden: become, future and passive

  The three jobs of werden: to become, the future tense and the passive voice. Conjugation, 'aus + Dativ … werden', common mistakes and practice.