Heidi: perfect tense -ieren verbs, perfect tense with adverbs | German

Starter quiz

Match the following German adjectives and adverbs to their English equivalents.

schade

⇔

a pity ✓

schrecklich

⇔

terrible ✓

fantastisch

⇔

fantastic ✓

nützlich

⇔

useful ✓

spannend

⇔

exciting, thrilling ✓

beliebt

⇔

popular ✓
Match the time adverbials to their English equivalents.

endlich

⇔

finally ✓

vorher

⇔

earlier, beforehand ✓

damals

⇔

(back) then ✓

schon

⇔

already ✓

einmal

⇔

once ✓

noch

⇔

still ✓
Put the words in the correct order to complete the following statement: Verbs ending in __________ are often near cognates. Their past participles end in __________ and do not start with __________.

1

⇔

-ieren

2

⇔

-iert

3

⇔

'ge'
Match the example sentences to the German time adverbials you would need to use when translating the sentences.

I've never read the Heidi books.

⇔

nie ✓

Heidi is still my favourite book.

⇔

immer noch ✓

I haven't received the book yet.

⇔

noch nicht ✓

Can I read the book again?

⇔

noch einmal ✓

I've read Heidi twice.

⇔

zweimal ✓
Which of the perfect tense sentences below are correct?

Mein Freund hat die Party georganisiert.

Meine Mutter hat auf der Uni Latein studiert. ✓

Der Lehrer hat ein Heidi-Theaterstück produziert. ✓

In der Schweiz hat man die wunderbare Landschaft fotografieren.
Fill in the gap to complete the following sentence: 'Ich habe das Buch __________ erhalten.' (I haven't received the book yet.)

schon immer

schon einmal

noch nicht ✓

noch nie

Exit quiz

Match the following '-ieren' verbs to their English equivalents.

organiserien

⇔

to organise, organising ✓

passieren

⇔

to take place, happen ✓

dekorieren

⇔

to decorate, decorating ✓

akzeptieren

⇔

to accept, accepting ✓

telefonieren

⇔

to telephone, telephoning ✓

reparieren

⇔

to repair, repairing ✓
The 3rd person singular present tense of -ieren verbs is the same as the past participle. How can you spot the difference?

If it's the perfect tense, the past participle comes at the end of the sentence. ✓

If it's the present tense, the -ieren verb is usually in 2nd place. ✓

If it's the perfect tense, look for 'haben' or 'sein' as the verb in 2nd place. ✓

If it's the perfect tense, the -ieren verb is usually in 2nd place.

If it's the present tense, look for 'haben' or 'sein' as the verb in 2nd place.
The Heidi books, written by Johanna __________, have helped to __________ Switzerland as a __________ country. The books have dominated the __________ book world for over __________ __________.

1

⇔

Spyri

2

⇔

define

3

⇔

healthy

4

⇔

international

5

⇔

150

6

⇔

years
Which of these statements about the Heidi books are true?

The books were written around 50 years ago.

The Heidi books have been translated into more than 50 languages. ✓

Heidi lives with her grandfather in the Alps. ✓

Heidi has a friend called Klara. ✓
'Schon einmal' has several meanings - what are they?

'ever' in a question ✓

'(once) before' ✓

'at least once' ✓

'never'

'not yet'
Fill in the past participles: 'Ich habe mein Heidibuch __________ (to lose)! Schade, denn ich habe __________ (to promise), es meinem Freund zu geben. Das Buch hat mich __________ (to inspire).'

1

⇔

verloren

2

⇔

versprochen

3

⇔

inspiriert

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The past participles of '-ieren' verbs don't start with 'ge-'. They end with '-iert'.
Use adverbs like 'nie', 'schon', and 'noch nicht' with the perfect tense to provide more information.
Many '-ieren' verbs are near cognates.

Common misconception

Past participles of -ieren verbs start with 'ge-' like most other past participles.

Unlike most other past participles, most German -'ieren' verbs act like some other weak German verbs, meaning that they do not have 'ge' at the beginning of their participles (for example, verbs beginning with 'be', 'er', and 'ver').

Keywords

-ieren verbs - verbs which end in ‘ieren’; for example, 'fotografieren', 'studieren'
Time adverbials - adverbs or adverbial phrases which denote time; for example, 'nie', 'schon', 'noch nicht'