Revision A2 - Wiederholung A2

Revision

Obviously, before learning anything new in B2, we revised the material that have been covered till now with A2 level. Here is quick overview of some important topics, particularly Grammar, that were covered in A2.

• Sentences with weil
  eg. Ich lerne Deutsch, weil...
• Sentences with dass
  eg. Ich glaube, dass ...
• Comparative and superlativ
  eg. gut-besser-am besten
• Ordering at a restaurant
  eg. Herr Ober! Ich möchte bestellen.
• Using 'als'
  eg. Als ich 15 Jahre alt war, ...
• Words with 'arbeit' as the root
  eg. arbeitslos, Arbeitsamt, ...
• Talking to someone on phone and leaving a message
  eg. Können Sie bitte mich mit Herr Schmidt verbinden? ...
• Stating purpose using damit and zu
  eg. Ich brauche den Kuli, damit ich die Informationen notieren kann.
• What would you need to pack in your suitcase for your business trip
  eg. den Reisepass, das Buch, ...
• Which preposition to use when talking about time
  eg. im Juli, am Wochenende, ...
• Reflexive verbs with appropriate prepositions.
  eg. Ich ärgere mich über laut Lärm.
• Discuss about media of past and present
  eg. Früher gab es Telegraph, aber jetzt benutzt man Telefon.
• Discuss about what you would like to do. Worauf hast du Lust?
  Ich habe Lust zu laufen.
• Relative pronouns
  eg. Ich habe mit die Frau gesprochen, die schöne Augen hatte.

The aforementioned topics were covered in earlier posts. Make sure that you go through them first.

Grammar - Modal Verbs

Here is a list of modal verbs in German language, check if you remember their meaning:

• können: can
• dürfen: may
• sollen: shall
• müssen: must
• wollen: will
• wissen: know

Note: 'mögen' is not a modal verb because it can be used as a main verb, eg. Ich möchte ein Eis.

Pronunciation - Accent

An important pronunciation tip for German language: Original German words and 'trennbar' verbs have stress on the first syllable (eg. einkaufen, der Urlaub), whereas international words and 'nicht trennbar' verbs have stress on the second syllable (eg. verpassen, das Hotel).

Useful Phrases

• Es ist höchste Zeit(, dass etwas passiert.): it's high time (that something happened)
• Ich habe eine fünf: I have a four - eg. when playing snakes and ladders.
• Du bist an der Reihe! (Du bist dran!): it's your turn or you're next.
• keine Zeit verschwenden: not to waste time

Vocabulary

• das Schlagzeug: drumset
• der Untertitel: subtitle (pl. Untertitel)
• die Katze, der Krater: female and male cats respectively
• der Stoff: stuff, material
• die Stadtrundfahrt: sight-seeing
• der Zeitpunkt: moment
• die Furcht: fear (adj. furchtbar)
• der Begriff: concept, term - as in terminology
• die Ergänzung: addition
• die Schildkröte: turtle
• die Voraussetzung: precondition
• der Würfel: dice (also cube)
• verschwenden: to waste, eg. money, time
• seit: since, eg. Seit drei Monate studiere ich an der Universität.

Stufe B1.1 - Level B1.1

Stufe B1.1

You might be thinking A1, B1, C2, blah blah..., what exactly do these levels mean? They stand for different levels of proficiency in European languages. As everything else, European states are trying to standardize language skills. If you don't understand what they exactly mean, here is a quick overview. According to the article, here is what a person should be capable of, after successfully completing B1 Deutsch.

• ...understands the main issues if standard language is used clearly and if the conversation is about familiar aspects of work, school, leisure etc., you can manage most situations while travelling in a German-speaking country,
• ... give your opinion on familiar subjects and personal interest in a simple and coherent way,
• ... relate experiences and events, describe dreams, hopes and goals and give short explanations regarding plans and opinions.

I started with an intensive course today, and it is B1.1. As with previous courses that I had at Goethe Institute the instructor is really enthusiastic and really knows what he is talking about. He articulates himself very well and all of us in the class understand him. It is going to be a busy three weeks. I look forward to learing a lot and sharing what I learn with all of you. As always, if you discover a mistake in the blog then please let me know. Also, be it a rule in grammar or pronunciation, if you are struggling with something in German language please write to me. I will try to ask it to my teacher, and post the answers.

We are going to use a book from Cornelsen again. It's called studio d B1 by Funk, Kuhn, Demme and Winzer. If you remember, we used studio d A2 for the previous level (A2) as well. If you want to buy the book, make sure that you check the vocabulary section at the end of the book. I sent an email to the publisher inquiring about an English version of the vocabulary. However, I was told that they have a separate handout for earlier levels, but not for B1. They have German-Czech versions of the handout though, if it is helpful for you. Hence, it is handy to have a dictionary at hand. In any case, if you are following this blog you should be fine because towards the bottom of each post, you will see a dedicated Vocabulary section where you will find meanings of new words.

Throughout the lecture I was just thinking, "Why oh why did I not revise the blogs before I came to the class?" We did revise a lot of material covered in A2. Maybe you will notice it yourselves. However, whenever there is something that I have shared in an earlier blog post, I will also share a link to the original article. That way, you can always go back and do the exercise when you feel a bit rusty with something.

It's time to start learning German again. So, let's start with B1.1!