Wir treffen uns: reflexive verbs past and present, forming adverbs, role play | German

Starter quiz

Match the German and English.

das Hemd

⇔

shirt ✓

die Behandlung

⇔

treatment ✓

der Gedanke

⇔

thought ✓

persönlich

⇔

personal, personally ✓

die Farbe

⇔

colour ✓

oben

⇔

above, up there ✓
Match the German and English.

sich treffen

⇔

to meet, meeting ✓

sich interessieren für

⇔

to be interested in, being interested in ✓

sich informieren über

⇔

to find out about, finding out about ✓

sich legen

⇔

to lie down, lying down ✓

sich verstehen

⇔

to get on, getting on ✓
Where does the past participle go in a perfect tense sentence?

straight after the auxiliary verb

at the end of the clause or sentence ✓

before the direct object

straight after the subject
Which case follows the prepositions 'in', 'an' and 'auf' when there is no movement or location is being described?

nominative

accusative

dative ✓
Which of these time phrases relates to a specific time?

montags

donnerstags

nachmittags

am Mittwoch ✓

nachts
Which of these phrases do not contain a verb?

Wir fahren samstags in die Stadt.

Ab und zu aber nicht oft. ✓

Max ist von seinem Bruder abhängig.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag! ✓

Er zeigt Interesse an Mathe.

Exit quiz

Match the German and English.

sich bewegen

⇔

to exercise, exercising ✓

sich äußern

⇔

to express oneself, expressing oneself ✓

übrigens

⇔

by the way ✓

indem

⇔

by, while ✓

das Detail

⇔

detail ✓

sich treffen

⇔

to meet, meeting ✓
Which of these is most important to include in every one of your role play answers?

a question

an adverb of time

a verb ✓

an opinion

the past tense
Which of these verbs could be reciprocal (two-way)?

Wir rufen uns an. ✓

Sie bewegt sich.

Sie treffen sich. ✓

Wir unterhalten uns ✓

Er äußert sich.
Rewrite this sentence in the perfect tense: 'Wir verstehen uns gut.'

'Wir haben uns gut verstanden.' ✓
How do you say 'on Mondays' in German, implying a regular activity?

'montags' ✓
Translate the following sentence into German: 'We meet up on Sundays.'. Use the reflexive verb 'sich treffen'.

'Wir treffen uns sonntags.' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Reflexive pronouns relate the action of the verb back to the subject, so subject and object are the same.
If the action of the verb is reciprocal, or two-way, reflexive pronouns can also mean ‘each other’.
In the perfect tense, the reflexive pronoun usually comes after the first (auxiliary) verb.
To change a noun into an adverb to describe regular events, remove its capital letter and add '-s' to the end.
In a role play, say a short phrase in response to each prompt and include at least one verb in each phrase.

Common misconception

If we see a reflexive pronoun, e.g., 'uns' or 'sich', this always means the subject (doer) and object (receiver) of the verb are the same.

Some plural reflexive verbs are reciprocal or two-way, meaning the action of the verb is done 'to each other' rather than to oneself. Use context to work out whether reflexive or reciprocal meaning is intended.

Keywords

Reflexive - describes an action where the subject and object of the verb are the same
Reciprocal - describes an action that is two-way or mutual
Adverb of time - a word that describes the timing and/or frequency of an action
Role play - a task with a situation and prompts to ask and answer questions, simulating a conversation