KS3 · German · Year 9
What is important: infinitive uses, 'es ist' + adjective, 'zu' + infinitive
Desires, plans and priorities: 'möcht-' future and use of infinitive
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/9
Your learning goal
I can recognise infinitives and use them correctly in two-verb structures when talking about what is important to me.
1 of 9
What is important: infinitive uses, 'es ist' + adjective, 'zu' + infinitive: 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 recognise infinitives and use them correctly in two-verb structures when talking about what is important to me.
Key learning points
- The stress on cognates is often different in German compared to English, e.g., 'consequence' - 'Konsequenz'.
- Regular revisiting of vocabulary is important for developing recall.
- An infinitive is a verb in its long form, giving its general meaning, e.g., 'helfen' - 'to help'.
- In a two-verb structure with an infinitive, the infinitive is typically the second verb and is at the end of the clause.
- Some but not all two-verb structures with an infinitive use ‘zu’ before the infinitive; modal verbs and 'werden' do not.
Words to know
- stress
- pronouncing one syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word
- infinitive
- form of the verb giving its general meaning
Common mistakes
All two-verb structures with an infinitive use 'zu' before the infinitive.
Some two-verb structures with an infinitive use 'zu' before the verb, but not all. It depends on the verb in the sentence; 'zu' is not needed following modal verbs or 'werden' meaning 'will', but is needed after the structure 'es ist' + adjective.
For parents, carers and teachers
- For the Task B3 speaking task, teachers may wish to give additional support to any students who may need it, by giving key words on the board that students will require to complete the task.