Grammar guide
German grammar guides: rules and examples (A1–C1)
Clear explanations of German grammar from A1 to C2: rules, example sentences, tables and common mistakes. Every guide ends with free practice tests and worksheets.
- grammar guides
- 30
- CEFR
- A1–C1
A1 Beginner 8 guides
- Accusative Case in German (Akkusativ): Rules, Endings and Examples Learn the German accusative case at A1: when to use it, den/einen/keinen endings, accusative pronouns and prepositions, common mistakes and a quick check. Read the guide
- German Articles der, die, das: Gender Rules, Tips and Examples Learn der, die and das in German: the three genders, useful noun-ending patterns, plural die, ein/eine and common A1 mistakes, with a quick check. Read the guide
- German Modal Verbs (können, müssen, wollen…): Forms, Word Order and Common Mistakes Learn the German modal verbs können, müssen, dürfen, wollen, sollen, mögen and möchten: meanings, conjugation, word order and typical A1 mistakes. Read the guide
- German Possessive Articles (mein, dein…): Forms, Endings and Examples Learn German possessive articles mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer: endings in nominative and accusative, sein vs ihr, common mistakes and a quick check. Read the guide
- German Present Tense: Regular and Irregular Verbs Learn the German present tense (Präsens): regular endings, stem-changing verbs like fahren and sprechen, sein and haben, word order and common mistakes. Read the guide
- Negation in German: nicht and kein – Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn when to use nicht and kein in German: clear A1 rules, kein endings tables, the position of nicht, common mistakes and a quick check with answers. Read the guide
- Sein and Haben: German Present Tense Forms, Uses and Common Mistakes Learn the German verbs sein (to be) and haben (to have): present tense tables, everyday uses, common mistakes and a quick check with answers. Read the guide
- Separable Verbs in German: Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn German separable verbs at A1: where the prefix goes, common verbs like aufstehen and anrufen, modal verbs, questions and typical mistakes. Read the guide
A2 Elementary 6 guides
- German Comparative and Superlative: Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn the German comparative and superlative: -er and am -sten, umlauts, irregular forms like gut – besser – am besten, als vs wie, and common mistakes. Read the guide
- German Dative Case (Dativ): Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn the German dative case at A2: dative articles and pronouns, dative prepositions and verbs, word order, common mistakes and a quick check. Read the guide
- German Perfect Tense (Perfekt): Form, haben or sein, and Common Mistakes Learn the German Perfekt: haben or sein, past participles with ge-, word order and common mistakes, with clear A2 examples and a short quick check. Read the guide
- German Reflexive Verbs: Pronouns, Word Order and Common Mistakes Learn German reflexive verbs at A2: mich or mir, reflexive pronoun tables, word order, Perfekt with haben, common verbs and mistakes, plus a quick check. Read the guide
- Subordinate Clauses in German: weil, dass, wenn – Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn German subordinate clauses with weil, dass and wenn: verb-final word order, comma rules, modal and separable verbs, common mistakes and practice. Read the guide
- Two-way Prepositions in German (Wechselpräpositionen): Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn German two-way prepositions: when to use accusative (Wohin?) or dative (Wo?), with tables, legen/liegen pairs, common mistakes and a quick check. Read the guide
B1 Intermediate 6 guides
- German Adjective Endings: Weak, Mixed and Strong Declension Learn German adjective endings at B1: weak, mixed and strong tables, a simple method to choose the right ending, special cases and common mistakes. Read the guide
- German Passive Voice (Passiv): Forms, Uses and Common Mistakes Learn the German passive (B1): werden + Partizip II in all key tenses, von vs durch, worden vs geworden, dative passive, common mistakes, quick check. Read the guide
- German Relative Clauses: Relative Pronouns, Word Order and Examples Learn German relative clauses at B1: relative pronoun table, cases, word order, prepositions, was and wo, common mistakes and a quick check with answers. Read the guide
- Infinitive with zu in German: Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn the German infinitive with zu: where zu goes, which verbs and phrases need it, um … zu, ohne … zu, commas and common mistakes. B1 guide with quiz. Read the guide
- Konjunktiv II in German (würde, hätte, wäre): Forms, Uses and Common Mistakes Learn German Konjunktiv II (B1): würde + infinitive, hätte, wäre and könnte for wishes, polite requests and unreal conditions, with tables and a quiz. Read the guide
- Simple Past (Präteritum) in German: Forms, Uses and Common Mistakes Learn the German Präteritum: regular, irregular and mixed verb forms, war/hatte and modals, when to use it instead of Perfekt, plus common mistakes. Read the guide
B2 Upper-intermediate 5 guides
- Genitive Case and Genitive Prepositions in German: Endings, Uses and Common Mistakes Learn the German genitive at B2: article and noun endings, -s vs -es, weak nouns, genitive prepositions like wegen and trotz, and common mistakes. Read the guide
- Konjunktiv I in German: Indirect Speech Rules, Forms and Examples Learn German Konjunktiv I for indirect speech: forms, past and future, when to switch to Konjunktiv II, common mistakes and a quick check with answers. Read the guide
- Participles as Adjectives in German: Partizip I and Partizip II Learn how German uses Partizip I and Partizip II as adjectives: meaning, formation, endings, relative-clause conversion and common B2 mistakes. Read the guide
- Passive with Modal Verbs in German: Form, Tenses and Common Mistakes Learn the German passive with modal verbs: muss gemacht werden, konnte gelöst werden, hätte getestet werden müssen. Tables, examples and a quick check. Read the guide
- Two-part Connectors in German (sowohl … als auch, entweder … oder) Learn German two-part connectors like sowohl … als auch, entweder … oder, weder … noch and je … desto: meaning, word order, examples and common mistakes. Read the guide
C1 Advanced 5 guides
- Alternatives to the Passive in German: sich lassen, -bar and sein + zu Learn the German alternatives to the passive: sich lassen + infinitive, -bar adjectives and sein + zu. Forms, meanings, tenses and common C1 mistakes. Read the guide
- Extended Participle Attributes in German: Forms, Word Order and Examples Learn German extended participle attributes: Partizip I and II, zu + Partizip I, word order, endings and how to convert relative clauses into them. Read the guide
- Konjunktiv II in the Past (hätte gemacht, wäre gegangen): Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn the German Konjunktiv II past: hätte/wäre + participle, modals with the double infinitive, word order, key uses and the most common mistakes. Read the guide
- Nominalisation (Nominalisierung): Rules, Examples and Common Mistakes Learn German nominalisation at C1: turn verbs and clauses into nouns, swap weil, obwohl and nachdem for wegen, trotz and nach, and avoid common mistakes. Read the guide
- Subjective Use of Modal Verbs in German: Meaning, Forms and Common Mistakes Learn the subjective use of German modal verbs: muss, dürfte, kann, soll, will for probability and reported claims, with past forms, mistakes and a quiz. Read the guide