This page contains resources and exercises
for students of elementary German.

Select a topic from the menu below

General Resources
First-Semester German | Second-Semester German



General Resources for Elementary German

Free on-line German-language courses (with downloadable textbook and audiofiles):

• Beginning German (Deutsche Welle)
  
• German Steps (BBC)
  
• German for Beginners (German Way)

Reference works

• Learn how to conjugate any German verb
  
• Review the basic principles of German grammar
  
• Read clear explanations of most grammatical features covered in the first four semesters of German study
• Explore an archive of other German-grammar sites

Pronunciation

• Learn how to speak better German with the German Pronunciation Guide
  
• The Virtual German Language Lab
  
• Read explanations and illustrations of proper German pronunciation
  
• Distinguish between umlauted and non-umlauted sounds

Vocabulary

• Explore a basic English-German dictionary with lists of vocabulary lists arranged by category and grammatical function
  
• Learn the 1000 most frequently-used words in the German language
  
  
  Retiurn to top of page
  
  
  

  ---

  
  
  First-semester German
  
  Questions and Answers | Present Tense Verbs | Nominative and Accusative
  Word Order | Translations | Vocabulary
  
  Enhance your understanding of each topic presented in Kontakte by checking out the "Inhalt" exercises compiled at the Kontakte-Online webpage
  
  Questions and Answers
  • See if you can match up simple questions and answers
  • See if you can identify the correct answers to simple questions
  • Question Words (multiple choice)
  
  
  Verbs (Present tense)
  • Practice conjugating verbs in the present tense: Exercise 1; Exercise 2; Exercise 3; Exercise 4; Exercise 5; Exercise 6 (modal verbs)
  • Making commands (2 exercises) **
  • Simple Past forms of "sein" and "haben" (sentence completion)
  • Eliminate the modal verb **
  • Insert the modal verb **
  
  
  Nominative and Accusative Cases: Articles and Pronouns
  • See if you can identify articles and pronouns for household objects
  • How well do you know your possessive pronouns?
  • How well do you know your nominative and accusative case articles?
  • Play a game to see how well you know your noun genders (click V to move left, and N to move right)
  • Forms of "welch-" (multiple choice)
  • Test your knowledge of nominative case pronouns (click on C after each response to see if you have it right)
  • Take a quiz on Der, die, oder das
  
  
  Word Order
  • Test your knowledge of basic German word order (2 Übungen) **
  • Coordinating conjunctions (sentence completion)
  
  
  Translations
  • Try your luck at translating from English to German! If you do not know how to create German characters on your computer, use the following tips: ä can be rendered as ae; ö can be renderes as oe; ü can be rendered as ue; and ß can be rendered as ss: **
    

    Who are you? Who are those other people? How long has this been going on? What do those other people look like? Basic Commands Basic statements from commands Miscellaneous Sentences How are you feeling? Dialogue: Duration and Frequency Time Phrases Present Tense Verb Forms** (this exercise will generate a different quiz every time you reload the page) Dialogue: Birthday** Dialogue: Plans for the day** Dialog: What's up? (1)** Dialogue: Tough Decision** Dialogue: Thanksgiving** Arbeitsplätze ** Dialog: Christmas Gifts**

  
  
  Vocabulary Exercises
  • Saying Hello and Good-Bye**
    
  • Fields of Study**
    
  • Noun Plurals**
  • See if you can write out German numbers
  • Play a game to see how well you know the genders of foods and drinks
  • Sehr oder viel?(multiple choice)
  • Appearances (how to describe people).
  • Clock Time Jeopardy. Play this game with a friend!
  • Play Vocabulary Jeopardy (midterm vocabulary review). Play this game with a friend!
  
  
  Return to top of page
  
  
  

  ---

  
  
  Second-semester German
  
  Present and Past Tense Verbs | Nominative, Accusative, Dative
  Prepositions | Da- and Wo-Compounds | Word Order: Conjunctions | Translations |
  Time Phrases | Place Phrases | Adjectives | Relative Clauses | Vocabulary
  
  Verbs (present and past tenses)
  • Modal Verbs (sentence completion)
  • Modal Verbs (multiple choice)
  • Quizzes on Verb Forms
  • Commands
  • Compound Past with "sein" or "haben" (multiple choice)
  • Verb Conjugation (sentence creation)
  • Compound Past forms (table completion)
  • Compound Past forms (table completion)
  • Making commands with reflexive verbs (2 exercises) **
  • Glossary of Reflexive Verbs
  • Reflexive Verbs (German to English matching) **
  • Reflexive Verbs (English to German matching) **
  • Reflexive Pronouns
  • Learn how to conjugate any German verb
  • Verb Conjugation (toggle back and forth between the two sets of exercises to generate completely different quizzes)**
  • Dative Verbs **
  • Dative verbs
  • Simple Past
  • Simple Past Modals
  • Forms of werden
  • Dornröchen**
  • Paulas Unfall**
  
  
  Nominative, Accusative, Dative and Genitive Cases: Articles and Pronouns
  • Know your cases (nominative, accusative, dative)
  • Pronouns: Dative or Accusative? (multiple choice)
  • Pronouns: Dative or Accusative? (multiple choice)
    
  • Pronoun Substitution (visit the page frequently to generate different sets of exercises)**
  • DAP-ADN
  • Wer, Wen, Wem, or Was? (visit the page frequently to generate different sets of exercises)**
  • Genitive Case
  • German Cases
  • Article Endings
  • Dative endings
  • Dative Pronouns
  
  
  Prepositions
  • AC/DC Prepositions (location or direction)
  • AC/DC Prepositions (dative or accusative?)
  • Prepositions (sentence completion; long letter)
  • AC/DC prepositions (table completion)
  • Locations (three exercises) **
  • Destinations (two exercises) **
  • AC/DC in Albert's Room **
  • AC/DC in Jutta's Room **
  • AC/DC Prepositions
  • Hanging out with hängen **
  • Lost and Found **
  • Aus, bei nach, von, zu
  • Prepositions
  • AC-DC articles
  • Im, am or um
    
  
  
  Da- and Wo-Compounds
  • Da- and Wo-Compounds (multiple choice)
  • DA-compounds or personal pronouns? (two sets of exercises)**
  • WO-compounds or personal pronouns? (two sets of exercises)**
  
  
  Word Order: Subordinating Conjunctions
  • Test your knowledge of simple German word order (2 Übungen) **
  • Test your knowledge of basic German word order (3 Übungen) **
  • Word order and separable prefixes
  • Wenn oder Als?
  • Als, Wenn, Wann
  • Subordinating conjunctions (sentence completion)
  • Conjunctions
  • Nachdem and Bevor Clauses **
  
  
  Translations
  • Dialog: What's up? (1)**
  • Dialog: Christmas Gifts**
  • Time Phrases (three exercises)**
  • Lost and Found **
  • Questions about Housing **
  • In the Restaurant **
  • Es geht mir schlecht **
  • Dative Verbs 1 **
  
  
  Time Phrases
  • Time Phrases (3 translation exercises)**
  
  
  Place Phrases
  • Arbeitsplätze: Wo? **
  • Arbeitsplätze: Wohin?? **
  • Wohnungen **
  • Sonstiges **
  • Zu Hause **
  • Locations (three exercises) **
  • Destinations (two exercises) **
  • AC/DC in Albert's Room (two exercises)**
  
  
  Adjectives: Endings and Comparative and Superlative Forms
  • Explanation of Comparative and Suplerative Adjectival Forms
  • Describe clothing with adjectives after "der" (table completion)
  • Describe clothing with adjectives after "ein" (table completion)
  • Adjective endings: Nom, Dat, Acc (multiple choice)
  • Adjectiv-Endungen Quiz
  • Comparisons and contrasts (sentence completion)
  • Comparisons and contrasts (sentence completion)
  • Wie oder als? (multiple choice)
  • Adjectival Degrees** (two exercises; English to German)
  • Adjective Opposites**
  • Adjectival Forms
  • Adjective Endings
  • Dornröchen**
  • Paulas Unfall**
    
  
  
  Relative Clauses
  • Relative pronouns
  • sentence completion
  • multiple choice
  • Definite relative pronouns (five sets of exercises) Masculine, Feminine, Plural, Mixed) **
  
  
  Vocabulary
  • Nicht mehr oder noch nicht? (sentence completion)
  • Reflexive Verbs (German to English matching) **
  • Reflexive Verbs (English to German matching) **
  • Health Vocabulary Selecting the right verb