Mein Alltag: telling the time, prepositions ‘um’, ‘seit’ and ‘vor’ | German

Starter quiz

Match the German and English.

Viertel vor

⇔

quarter to ✓

Viertel nach

⇔

quarter past ✓

halb

⇔

half (to) ✓

zehn nach

⇔

ten past ✓

fünfundzwanzig vor

⇔

twenty-five to ✓

fünf vor

⇔

five to ✓
What is the German word for 'o'clock'?

'Uhr' ✓
Match the German and English.

klappen

⇔

to work, go smoothly ✓

trennen

⇔

to separate, separating ✓

verstecken

⇔

to hide, hiding ✓

überlegen

⇔

to consider, think about, think of ✓

bewegen

⇔

to move, moving ✓

behandeln

⇔

to treat, treating ✓
Match the German and English.

individuell

⇔

individual, individually ✓

sobald

⇔

as soon as ✓

solange

⇔

as long as ✓

seitdem

⇔

since then ✓

persönlich

⇔

personal ✓

nachdem

⇔

after ✓
Which prepositions always take the accusative case?

seit

vor

für ✓

gegen ✓

durch ✓
Choose the correct translation of the following sentence: 'seit dem siebzehnten Jahrhundert'

for the seventeenth century

since the seventeenth century ✓

in the seventeenth century

seventeen hundred years ago

after the seventeenth century

Exit quiz

Match the German and English.

gehen um

⇔

to be about, being about ✓

sich bewegen

⇔

to exercise, exercising ✓

Entschuldigung!

⇔

Sorry! Excuse me! ✓

der Hof

⇔

courtyard, farm ✓

der Termin

⇔

appointment, date ✓

überraschen

⇔

to surprise, surprising ✓
Translate the following sentence into German using the 12-hour clock: 'At half past nine.'

'Um halb zehn. ' ✓
'Er fährt heute um die 6km.' Choose the correct translations.

Today he's travelling for 6km.

Today he's travelling around 6km. ✓

Today he's driving about 6km. ✓

Today he's travelling approximately 6km. ✓

Today he's driving at 6 o'clock.
Which case follows 'um' when it refers to a place and means 'around'?

nominative

accusative ✓

dative

accusative or dative
'__________ drei Jahren habe ich mir das Bein gebrochen.' Choose the correct preposition.

Seit

Um

Vor ✓

Auf

Für
Translate the following sentence into German: 'I have been waiting for an hour.'

'Ich warte seit einer Stunde. ' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Use the 12 hour or the 24 hour clock to tell the time in German. Use 'um' to say ‘at’ with clock times.
'Um' can also mean ‘around’ or ‘approximately’ when used with numbers, and is normally followed by the definite article.
When referring to a place, 'um' means ‘around’ and is always followed by the accusative case.
'Seit' is used with present tense to express an unfinished action started in the past. It can mean ‘since’ or ‘for’.
'Vor' + length of time is used with past tense to say how long ago something happened. Use the dative case.

Common misconception

'Um' always means 'at' and is used with clock times.

Whilst 'um' is used commonly with clock times to mean 'at', it can also mean 'around' when referring to places, e.g., 'around the corner', or 'about, approximately' with numbers, e.g., 'about 10km'. It also follows some verbs, e.g., 'es geht um'.

Keywords

Um - preposition meaning ‘at’ with clock times and ‘around’ with places, used with the accusative case
Seit - preposition meaning ‘since’ or ‘for’, followed by the dative case
Vor - preposition meaning ‘ago’, followed by the dative case
Accusative - case used for the direct object in a sentence, after most verbs and some prepositions
Dative - case used for the indirect object in a sentence and after a dative verb or preposition