KS3 · German · Year 9
Places you like and prefer: verbs + indirect object, 'gefallen', 'mögen'
Ambitions and destinations: 'mögen', 'möcht-', past tenses
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/9
Your learning goal
I can express likes and preferences using 'mögen' with a subject and 'gefallen' with an indirect object.
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Places you like and prefer: verbs + indirect object, 'gefallen', 'mögen': slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.
Original teaching resources
The original illustrated PowerPoint is available as well as the IllumED text slides. It retains the publisher’s design and credits.
Download original PowerPoint ↓What you’ll learn
I can express likes and preferences using 'mögen' with a subject and 'gefallen' with an indirect object.
Key learning points
- German [th] sounds like 't' in English.
- If 't' and 'h' are in different syllables, you say both sounds separately, like in 'Rathaus'.
- The verbs 'mögen' and 'gefallen' both express 'liking', but they work in different ways.
- 'Mögen' works like a standard verb where the subject likes something, e.g., 'ich mag Fußball'.
- 'Gefallen' is 'to please'; use it with an indirect object pronoun, e.g., 'Fußball gefällt mir' - 'football pleases me'.
Words to know
- indirect object pronoun
- replaces the person, people or thing(s) that the verb action is done to, when the action is to me, for you, to them
- adverb
- word that describes a verb or an adjective
Common mistakes
'Gefallen' means ‘to like’ and works like a normal verb where I am the subject that does the action of ‘liking’.
'Gefallen' means ‘to please’, so works differently. You are not doing the ‘liking’, the thing you like is ‘pleasing’ you. E.g., 'das Kleid gefällt mir' - literally, 'the dress pleases me'. More naturally translated - 'I like the dress'.
For parents, carers and teachers
- Now that pupils have revisited 'gefallen' and 'mögen', build in regular short interactions to express likes and dislikes - especially using 'gefallen', which is trickier due to its word order and dative structure. Frequent use helps build confidence and accuracy.