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Do you have a loved one or friend who plans to learn German ? We produce gift vouchers with your personal message for any amount over £40 for our small-group intensive courses and from £80 for our on-on-one private German tuition. You will find more information on our German lessons and prices on our website. Get your Christmas present sorted now and email us on jens @ olesentuition.co.uk with your message.

Are you eager to master the German language efficiently and witness rapid progress? Dive into the ultimate guide penned by an Oxford-educated native German tutor with over 25 years of invaluable teaching experience. Let's explore the absolutely essential topics that pave the way to German proficiency. What are the essential topics you need to learn properly to master the German language? No. 1 Verbs, verbs, verbs! First, learn to conjugate regular and irregular verbs in the present tense in German and do exercises on German verb conjugation to consolidate what you have learnt. Before you turn to other tenses, learn about separable verbs and study the the most common reflexive verbs in the language. The gradually learn how to form different tenses like the Perfekt tense , the Präteritum in German , the Plusquamperfekt , and the future tense in German . Identify logical patterns that apply to them as you will find it much easier to commit something to memory if there is a logic to what you're trying to drill in. No. 2 Understand German syntax! Focus on German word order , i.e. where to place words in a German sentence to avoid some of the most common mistakes foreigners make in the German language . Some tricky subordinate clause conjunctions that you need to get to grips with are als and wenn , um...zu and damit , nachdem and bevor . There are also two special kinds of subordinate clauses- relative clauses and infinitive clauses , which you need to learn as you progress to elementary level and beyond. No. 3 Learn how to use German articles Spend enough time learning and practicing the four cases in German and their function in a sentence, and try to memorise the most important gender rules in German . The cases are very important in the language as they allow you to distinguish between the subject and the object in the language. Without them, your German will plateau and remain very simple. No. 4 Pronouns, Prepositions, Adjectives! With a solid understanding of the cases, you should then turn to pronouns , prepositions and adjective endings to learn how they influence the usage of the cases. On our blog, you will find posts that help you get a better understanding of the difference between mir and mich, sein and ihr, prepositions with the accusative case, as well as dative only and genitive prepositions in German. No. 5 Build your vocabulary Memorise German words with flash cards and write sentences for essential vocabulary that are both intuitive and self-explanatory. You will see that you learn new words more effectively. Without context and repetition, you will forget words quite easily. Start with the ten most useful German verbs , learn how to express preferences in German, and try to use the most common words and phrases in German . From there on, focus on certain contexts like the general topic of food and learn how to order a meal in German etc. The more context there is to your learning, the better. As you progress, embrace the journey of consistent practice and application. Fluency in German is a culmination of mastering these essential topics and refining your skills through continuous practice. While other advanced topics like the subjunctive mood and the passive voice exist, the focus on these core areas ensures a strong foundation for language acquisition. For other tips and resources, check out our post on how to learn German properly- a German tutor's guide . Feel free to reach out with any questions on the topics discussed or the German language in general. Best of luck on your path to fluency! Explore Our German Lessons and Courses Here #howtolearngerman #learninggerman

Many language enthusiasts approach me seeking effective ways to fast-track their German language skills. In response, I've distilled my experience into five key strategies that can significantly accelerate your German language journey. 1. Verbs and Tenses Mastery: Focus: Conjugate regular and irregular German verbs in the present tense. Understand the formation of other tenses like the present perfect tense in German and the German imperfect tense. Learn when separable verbs split and delve into logical patterns for reflexive verbs. Why: This foundational understanding lays the groundwork for effective communication and expression in various contexts. 2. Unveiling German Syntax: Focus: Grasp German sentence structure to steer clear of common mistakes. Tackle tricky subordinate clauses, including als, wenn, um...zu, damit, nachdem, and bevor. Explore the nuances of relative and infinitive clauses. Why: Fluent syntax enhances your ability to construct sentences seamlessly and comprehend complex structures. 3. Mastering Cases and Gender Rules: Focus: Dedicate time to learning and practicing the four cases in German and memorise essential gender rules in German. Why: A solid grasp of cases ensures precision in expressing relationships within sentences and fosters grammatical accuracy. 4. Pronouns, Prepositions, and Adjective Endings: Focus: Build on case knowledge to understand how pronouns, prepositions, and adjective endings influence usage. Explore differences between mir and mich, prepositions with the accusative case, and dative and genitive prepositions. Why: This step refines your language skills, promoting nuanced and contextually appropriate communication. 5. Vocabulary Expansion with Flash Cards: Focus: Enhance your vocabulary using flash cards or index cards. Why: Regular exposure to new words aids retention, enriches your language repertoire, and fosters smoother communication. Conclusion: By integrating these five strategies into your language-learning routine, you're not just acquiring German; you're cultivating a profound understanding of its structures and intricacies. Embrace the journey, celebrate milestones, and watch as your language proficiency flourishes. Explore More Language Tips on Our Blog You might also want to check out our ultimate guide to learning German, the top 5 mistakes to avoid when learning German, and how long it usually takes to learn German. #learngermanfast #improveyourgerman

The claim I'll seek to defend in this blog post is that learning German consists in 75% learning grammar and 25% learning German words. Well. Like any other generalisation, this statement simplifies things of course. However, getting a good understanding of grammar might be more important in the process of learning German than in many other languages, and paradoxically perhaps, more important than learning vocabulary. Of course you can't say anything without knowing the words to express your ideas, but once you know a fair share of words you hit the brick wall of German grammar soon after. One of the most important lessons that students need to learn is thus how to send their ideas through a grammar filter to check what they can actually say in German when translating from their mother tongue and where they need to place words in their German sentence. Ultimately, German is a language in which most sentences work like a composition. A composition, you might wonder. Why a composition? Here's one example: Having checked whether they wish to go for standard word order or emphasise any other element in their sentence (such as the time), most of my students think very carefully about the grammatical consequences of the verbs they intend to use and whether they'll have a second verb at the end, before they figure out the middle bit between subject, the conjugated verb in second position and their main verb at the end. Screening their sentence for an indirect and direct object, for a genitive, the correct tense, prepositions, adjective endings and so on, my students understand that they master the language when they understand its grammar. Here comes the caveat: German words, especially its verbs, are, for the most part at least, very precise and context-specific. Anyone who ever tried to translate the English word "put" into German will understand what I mean. For anyone who doesn't: there are more than five different translations of the word, depending on its exact position. So, to argue as I did above that German is 75% words and 25% grammar, might seem false, as there are so many different words to learn. However, having learned the words, it's still the grammar that determines everything after that. Is it a challenge? Yes! Yet, is it also rewarding? Very much so. Find out for yourself. If you're interested, learn more about our new online German courses generally and our beginner German classes via Zoom more specifically. On this blog, you will also find many posts with helpful tips on how to improve your German. We have several articles on prepositions- from an explanation of im, am, um in German, the spatial prepositions nach, zu, in, an, auf, to the Two-Way Prepositions, Accusative Only Prepositions, Dative Only Prepositions, and finally the Genitive only prepositions in German. We also have posts on the difference between als and wenn, when to use um...zu and damit, the difference between man and Mann, mir vs. mich in German, and many other topics in German grammar. However, you will also find posts on German vocabulary. Just check out our blog.

We all know Germans aren't exactly well known for their sense of humour. So whenever my students think I'm funny, the first thing they question (as a joke, normally!) is whether I'm really German. I am "deeply German" as one of my students once said in some respects, but not in others. So every Christmas the one thing that actually gets me in the Xmas mood is "Weihnachten bei Hoppenstedts". Why? Because it makes fun of taking Christmas too seriously- from a very German perspective. It's a must watch. You'll find it online (they keep changing links, hence no link here) Enjoy and Merry Christmas! Curious how to say "Merry Christmas in German", then check out my post. Find out more about Olesen Tuition and the German language here. We explain how long it takes to learn German, the difference between man and Mann in German, write about the pros and cons of online the most popular German dictionaries, and tell you which language learning apps we recommend,

If you studied German before but are not sure of your level, you can now get a free 15-25 minute assessment Learn more about our evening German classes London and our weekend German courses London. On our German language blog, you will also find a comparison between the most popular online dictionaries Linguee, dict.cc, dict.leo and Collins and a review of language learning apps like Duolingo, Memrise, and Babbel.

One of my former students once told me what her ingenious strategy is for using “zu” in German. “I just stick it at the end to make the sentence sound German”. Unsurprisingly, as always in the German language, there is a rule for when we use zu- intuition won’t do the trick. In this blog post, I'll explain when to use zu and when not do. Many students first learn about zu as a dative only preposition. I have covered dative prepositions in German elsewhere, in this blog post I focus on the word zu in combination with verbs. First, let’s clarify where zu is never used- after modal verbs and auxiliary verbs like werden und würden. So können, wollen, sollen, dürfen, möchten, mögen, müssen, and the aforementioned verbs only go with the infinitive of the verb without zu before it. Ich muss meinen Unterricht vorbereiten. (I need to prepare my lesson) Er wird im Sommer in Urlaub fliegen. (He will fly on holiday in the summer) Sie würde lieber zu Hause bleiben. (She would rather stay at home) Let’s now look at two situations in which zu is used in subordinate clause. The first situation is in combination with the conjunctions “um...zu”, “ohne...zu”, “statt...zu”. Um mein Griechisch zu verbessern, muss ich mehr Vokabeln lernen. (In order to improve my Greek, I have to study more vocabulary) Ich gehe selten aus dem Haus, ohne vorher meinen Schlüssel zu suchen. (I rarely go out of the house, without looking for my key prior before I leave) Sie geht zu Fuß, statt den Bus zu benutzen. (She goes by foot instead of taking the bus) The trickier situation in which zu is being used in a subordinate clause is after verbs that trigger a so-called infinitive construction. The most common verbs and phrases are: Anfangen- to start to do something Aufhören - to stop doing something Anbieten - to offer to do something Beginnen - to begin to do something Beabsichtigen - to intend to do something Die Absicht haben - to have the intention to do something Beschließen - to decide to do something Entscheiden - as above Sich entschließen - as above Versprechen - to promise to do something Versuchen - to try to do something Bereit sein zu -to be ready to do something Ich fange an, eine E-Mail zu schreiben. (I start writing my email) Wir beabsichtigen/haben die Absicht, einen Urlaub zu planen. (Wie intend to plan a holiday) Sie beschließen/entscheiden sich/entschließen sich, ihr Auto zu verkaufen. (They decide to sell their car) Ich versuche, mehr Zeit zum Joggen zu finden. (I try to find more time for jogging) The good news is that the zu often translates into English and reminds you that there is a zu in the infinitive clause. So I hope you see that the German use of zu is not as random as my student assumed. One final remark on commas in German . Rules have changed in the last 25 years. Nowadays, it's optional to use a comma before the infinitive clause. But I'm old school, so I use commas there to distinguish the main from the subordinate clause. Learn more about how to structure German sentences and subordinate clauses in the language on my blog. There, you will also find posts about the difference between nachdem and danach, bevor and vorher , when to use zu in German sentence , an explanation of how to use um...zu and damit , and a post about the use of als and wenn in German . Of course, we also have articles on other grammar topics, such as reflexive verbs and how to use them in German , direct and indirect questions in the German language , as well as many others.

Navigating the intricacies of German grammar is a rewarding journey, and one crucial aspect is understanding accusative prepositions. In this blog post, we'll unravel the mysteries of accusative prepositions, explore their usage, and equip you with the knowledge to wield them confidently in your German language endeavours. German students usually get introduced to the dual prepositions in German first before they learn about prepositions that only take the accusative case. When to Use Accusative Prepositions Accusative prepositions are employed when there is direct action towards an object or when indicating a specific direction. Direction of Motion: Use accusative prepositions to denote movement or direction, especially when the action is toward a specific destination. Time Duration: Indicate the duration of an action or event using accusative prepositions, such as "durch" (through) or "für" (for). Specific Destinations: When referring to a specific location or destination, accusative prepositions clarify the target of the action. The five main prepositions in this category, which my German students remember by the acronym "DOGFU", are: Confusingly for English native speakers, the German preposition "gegen" is also used to combat illnesses, e.g. Sie nimmt Antibiotika gegen Husten (She is taking antibiotics for cough). So, even though some of the accusative prepositions might puzzle you initially, the good news is that, unlike the two-way prepositions, there is no rule to remember here. You just need to learn that these prepositions only take the accusative case. However, "ohne" and "um" can also be used as subordinate clause conjunctions so be careful not to confuse the two different ways of using them. Other prepositions in the category of accusative prepositions are bis (until, to) which never takes an article, and hence I don't ask my students to learn it as an accusative preposition e.g. Ich arbeite oft bis 21 Uhr. Er fuhr bis Frankfurt mit seinem Auto, dann nahm er den Zug. entlang (along) which is a very confusing preposition as it can be put before or after the noun, and can take the accusative (for specific routes), dative (for fenced-off areas), and even the genitive case (and is then synonymous with "längs") e.g. Das Schiff fährt den Rhein entlang. An der Mauer entlang wachsen viele Pflanzen. Entlang des Flusses befinden sich viele Hausboote. wider (synonymous with "gegen") in some fixed expressions: e.g. Sie hat wider Willen ihre Hausaufgaben gemacht. Wider Erwarten hat er die Stelle bekommen. Common Pitfalls and Tips Mastering accusative prepositions can be challenging, but awareness of common pitfalls can smooth the learning curve: Accusative Pronouns: When using pronouns, remember that accusative pronouns replace the direct object in a sentence. Memorization and Practice: Regularly practice using accusative prepositions in context. Create sentences or engage in conversations to reinforce your understanding. Context Matters: Pay attention to the context of a sentence. Accusative prepositions are often determined by the nature of the action being described. Congratulations! You've taken a significant step in mastering German grammar by delving into accusative prepositions. Embrace the learning process, practice regularly, and soon you'll wield these linguistic tools with confidence. Whether you're navigating a bustling city or discussing future plans, accusative prepositions will guide you through the German language. You might also want to check out our posts on dative prepositions in German and genitive prepositions in German to progress further on your language-learning journey! Viel Erfolg (Good luck)!

In part fourteen of our blog series on tricky false friends between German and English we will discuss the difference between two nouns- the German “Meinung” and the English “meaning”. Even though their spelling is very similar indeed, their translations are quite different. Even though both nouns are derived from “meinen” (to mean), the German word “die Meinung” translates as “opinion”, while the English “meaning” is equivalent to “die Bedeutung” in German. So watch out; not least because we all know that in our 'digital age' we are being bombarded with a lot of opinions but they don't necessarily have any real meaning. Leaving you with that deep thought ;). Some of our previous posts on false cognates clarified the German brav and the English brave, the difference between the German Bad and the English bad, and the German Chef and the English chef, and explained why schmuck wouldn't be considered as an insult by a German native speaker. On our German Language Blog "Auf Deutsch, bitte!", you will find posts on how long it takes to learn German, a review of language learning apps Duolingo, Memrise, Babbel, Quizlet, and Busuu, and a comparison between dict.leo, dict.cc, Linguee, and Collins online dictionaries, Learn more about our German lessons London, small-group German courses London, and German classes online on our website.

The German verb “blenden“ and the English “to blend” are so-called false friends (or false cognates) because even though they may look like twins their meanings bear no relation whatsoever. In this post, I will explain the difference in meaning between blenden and blend. While the German verb ‘blenden’ means ‘to deceive, to blind’, the English ‘blend’ stands for ‘mischen or verschmelzen’. E.g. Er blendet viele Leute mit seiner emphatischen und herzlichen Art und seinem guten Aussehen. (He deceives many people with his emphatic and affectionate behaviour and his good looks) Um einen Smoothie zu machen, vermischt sie Basilikum, Bananen, Äpfel und Kiwi mit einem Mixgerät. (In order to make smoothie, she blends basil, bananas, apples, and kiwis with a blender) Following from the above, for a German native speaker a ”Blender” wouldn’t be a helpful kitchen device but a deceitful person. The last seven entries of our blog series revealed the difference between become and bekommen, the surprising meaning of a German Gift,  English also and its meaning in German, the English "bald" vs. the German "bald", the difference between “brand” vs ”Brand”, On our German Language Blog "Auf Deutsch, bitte!", you also find posts on very German things to do, long German nouns, why the English word fun is used in a different way in German, why Am Morgen and morgens are not the same, as well as reading comprehension exercises at A2 German, B1 German, B2 German We also warn you about the top 5 mistakes in German and tell you how to avoid them. Find out more about our German lessons and online German courses here.

There is a surprising number of false friends in German and English. False friends (the official term being "false cognates") are words pairs of words that are often similar in spelling but with a significantly different meaning. To help students avoid common misunderstandings, I have written blog posts on the most frequent and trickiest false friends between the two languages. In this post, I begin with the word Gift which exists in both languages but with very different meanings . While the English word "gift" refers to a present, the German noun "Gift" actually means poison. So you really don't want to confuse the two! The German translation of "gift" is "das Geschenk". Let's look at some examples. Sie hat mir ein Geschenk gegeben. (She gave me a gift/present) Im Labor befindet sich Gift. (There is poison in the laboratory) So watch out! My blog series on false friends in English and German continues with these confusing words: Also vs. also Art vs. art Bad vs. bad Bald vs. bald Become vs. bekommen Blenden vs. blend Brand vs. Brand Brav vs. brave Chef vs. chef Fast vs. fast Meinung vs. meaning Spenden vs. spend Schmuck vs. schmuck On our German language blog, you'll find many other posts about the language. For instance, we have a post on German sayings and proverbs, German compound nouns and their meaning, on the ten most useful German verbs, and many posts on German grammar- from adjective endings in German, an explanation of the German cases, Gender rules in German, to German word order in main and subordinate clauses. Find out more about our German lessons, small German classes, and new online German courses here.

As a German tutor who knows that the language has many grammar rules to learn, you try to neatly explain the various topics and distinguish them from others so that your students are not confused in the end. That's often possible, but unfortunately there are certain words that belong to two or more different grammatical topics. In this post, I explain how to use them and hopefully avoid confusion. "Als" is used as a subordinate clause conjunction, a compound conjunction, as an adverb in the comparative and- sorry, but I can't help it- as the English "as". Als ich ein Kind war, habe ich oft mit meinen Freunden auf der Straße gespielt (here, als is a subordinate conjunction that you need to learn to distinguish from "wenn". It translates as "when" but is only used in the past) Sie mag sowohl Erdbeeren, als auch Himbeeren (the compound conjunction "sowohl..., als auch.." translates as "as well as") Er ist größer als sie (comparison between unequal adjectives; translates as "than") Ich arbeite als Deutschlehrer (used in the context of roles, professions, with verbs like "ansehen" (to be considered as) it is similar to the English "as") "Ohne" is both an accusative-only preposition and a subordinate clause conjunction with zu. Ich gehe nie ohne mein Handy aus dem Haus (Accusative preposition) Er will sein Deutsch verbessern, ohne seine Hausaufgaben zu machen (subordinate clause conjunction) "Statt" and "anstatt" (which can be used synonymously) are also both a preposition- this time one that only goes with the genitive case in German- and a subordinate clause conjunction with zu. Statt des Tennisspiels sieht er lieber eine Krimiserie (genitive preposition) Statt seine Hausaufgaben zu machen, spielt er lieber Videospiele (subordinate clause conjunction) "Um" is another accusative only preposition- with two separate meanings- and the most well-known subordinate clause conjunction with zu. Wir treffen uns morgen um 12 Uhr (temporal preposition, which translates as "at") Sie läuft oft um die Kirche (herum) (spatial preposition that means "around") Sie lernt Deutsch, um besser mit den Eltern ihres Mannes reden zu können (subordinate clause conjunction) "Seit" is again a preposition- though a dative only one- and a subordinate clause conjunction but without zu. Ich wohne seit 14 Jahren in Großbritannien (dative only preposition) Seit sie mir die Grammatik erklärt hat, fällt mir das Sprechen viel einfacher (subordinate clause conjunction) Learn more about German word order in main and subordinate clauses on my blog. There, you will also find posts about the difference between nachdem and danach, bevor and vorher, when to use zu in German sentence, an explanation of how to use um...zu and damit, and a post about the use of als and wenn in German. Related topics on our blog are relative clauses in German, and the German cases. However, it's not just grammar that we write about. You will also find reviews about online German dictionaries, apps for learning German, and our new blog series on false friends in German and English.