Deutsch lernen: compound nouns, 'Lieblings-' and 'Haupt-', translation | German

Starter quiz

Match the German words below to their English meanings.

ankommen

⇔

to arrive, arriving ✓

wiederholen

⇔

to repeat, repeating ✓

jetzt

⇔

now ✓

der Vorteil

⇔

advantage ✓

das Mittagessen

⇔

lunch ✓

das Abendessen

⇔

evening meal ✓
Put the endings in order to complete the sentence: 'Ich lern__________ Deutsch, du sprich__________ schon Spanisch! Alex schreib__________ Briefe auf Französisch. Ich kann Englisch sprech__________.'

1

⇔

e

2

⇔

st

3

⇔

t

4

⇔

en
In word order ______, the verb is sent to the end of the clause or sentence.

'three' ✓
Which group of conjunctions uses word order 1?

und, oder, weil, dass

und, oder, aber, weil

und, oder, aber, denn ✓

und, aber, dass, nur
Match the following words to the correct gender.

Antworten

⇔

die (fpl) ✓

Übung

⇔

die ✓

Vorteil

⇔

der ✓

Lied

⇔

das ✓
Which of the following words are compound nouns?

Wortschatz ✓

Tischtennis ✓

Rucksack ✓

Bedeutung

Kindergarten ✓

Exit quiz

Match these compound nouns to the correct gender.

Schwimmbad

⇔

das ✓

Klassenzimmer

⇔

die (ntpl) ✓

Lieblingsfilm

⇔

der ✓

Klassenarbeit

⇔

die (fpl) ✓
Which types of words can combine with a noun to form a compound noun?

adjectives ✓

nouns ✓

verb stems ✓

prepositions ✓

determiners; for example, 'der', 'die', 'das'
Slight spelling alterations are sometimes needed to aid the pronunciation of compound words. Match each example word to the correct rule.

Schulsystem

⇔

remove 'e' ✓

Badezimmer

⇔

add 'e' ✓

Arbeitsblatt

⇔

add 's' or 'es' ✓

Reihenfolge

⇔

add 'n' or 'en ✓
Put these nouns in the correct order to make the following compound words in German: Favourite conversation (__________ + __________); main difference (__________ + __________).

1

⇔

Lieblings

2

⇔

gespräch

3

⇔

Haupt

4

⇔

unterschied
Select the best English translation for the following German phrase: 'Deutschlernen ist fantastisch!'

German learning is fantastic. ✓

Learning German is fantastic. ✓

To learn German is fantastic.

It is fantastic to learn German.
Put the options below in the correct order to complete this sentence: 'Dunkelgrün' combines two __________, 'ankommen' is __________ followed by __________, 'Freizeit' has __________ before the noun.'

1

⇔

adjectives

2

⇔

a preposition

3

⇔

a verb

4

⇔

an adjective

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Combine two or more words to create a compound noun.
'Lieblings-' creates compound nouns to mean 'favourite'.
'Haupt-' creates compound nouns to mean 'main'.
A literal translation of a compound noun into English can aid understanding but is not always accurate.

Common misconception

Compound nouns are completely different words that cannot be understood or pronounced unless they have been met before.

Compound nouns are made up of two (or more) nouns, one or more of which pupils may already know. Knowledge of formation and read aloud can promote recognition as can activities where pupils produce compounds from known words.

Keywords

Compound noun - one noun created from two or more words
'lieblings-' - a prefix added to nouns to mean 'favourite'
'haupt-' - a prefix added to nouns to mean 'main'