German Grammar Exercises

Practice German grammar by CEFR level: short explanations and interactive exercises with instant feedback. Free.

A1

Present Tense — Learn how regular German verbs work in the present tense. This topic covers personal endings, the formal Sie form, and the position of the conjugated verb in statements and questions.
Present Tense: Extra -e- — Learn why verbs such as arbeiten, reden, öffnen and zeichnen need an extra -e- in some present-tense forms.
Present Tense: S-sounds and Verbs in -eln — Learn the du form after s-sounds and the ich form of common verbs ending in -eln.
Present Tense: Stem-Changing Verbs — Learn common German verbs that change their stem vowel in the present tense. This A1 topic focuses on du and er/sie/es forms such as du liest, er fährt, sie läuft, plus the special verb wissen.
Present Tense: haben, sein and werden — Learn the present-tense forms of haben, sein and werden and use them in simple statements and questions.
Modal Verbs in the Present Tense — Learn the forms and meanings of können, müssen, sollen, dürfen, mögen, wollen and möchten. Practise the German sentence bracket in statements and questions.
Separable Verbs in the Present Tense — Learn how common separable verbs form a verbal bracket in main clauses.
Imperative: Commands and Requests — Learn how to form German commands and requests for du, ihr, and Sie. Practise regular, separable, and important irregular verbs as well as word order.
Noun Gender: der, die or das? — Learn the gender of German nouns and choose the correct definite article. Use common endings as clues and determine a compound noun’s article from its final noun.
Common Plural Forms — Learn common German nouns in the singular and plural. Practise them as word pairs and use them in short everyday sentences.
Accusative: Direct Objects — Learn the German accusative after common verbs and the forms den, einen and keinen.
Personal Pronouns: Subject and Object — Learn German personal pronouns as subjects and direct objects.
Basic Main-Clause Word Order — Learn verb-second order and inversion after a time or place phrase in simple German statements.
Yes/No Questions — Learn German questions without a question word and short answers with ja and nein.
Possessive Articles: mein, dein, sein — Learn German possessive articles in the nominative and accusative for simple everyday sentences.
Sentence Negation with nicht and kein — Learn to negate German statements with nicht or kein-. Practise the position of nicht and choose the correct form of kein- before nouns.
Basic Time Expressions with am, um and im — Learn simple German time expressions for clock times, days, months, and seasons.
Place and Direction: aus, nach, zu, in — Learn basic place and direction expressions with countries, cities, people, and buildings.
Everyday mit, bei and zu — Learn common phrases with mit, bei and zu for people, transport, and everyday destinations.
Everyday Perfect Tense — Use common German perfect-tense forms to talk about simple past activities.
Everyday Wh-Questions — Learn basic German wh-questions about people, things, time, reason, quantity, place, and direction.

A2

Discourse particles: denn, doch and ja — Learn how denn, doch, and ja make spoken German friendlier, more emotional, or more emphatic. Practise curious questions, surprise, reminders, and expected agreement.
Verbs with Prefixes — Learn to distinguish separable, inseparable, and meaning-dependent German verb prefixes. Practise the sentence bracket in present-tense statements and questions.
The Perfect Tense with haben — Learn to talk about past events with haben and the past participle. Practise regular and irregular participles and the sentence bracket in statements and questions.
The Perfect Tense with sein — Learn which German verbs form the perfect tense with sein. Practise verbs of movement and change of state, special verbs, and word order in statements and questions.
Reflexive Verbs in the Accusative — Learn the reflexive pronouns mich, dich, sich, uns, and euch. Practise verbs that are always or sometimes reflexive, their word order, and perfect-tense questions.
Konjunktiv II: Polite Requests — Learn to make polite requests and questions with könnte, hätte, wäre, and würde. Practise the forms and German sentence brackets in everyday situations.
The Preterite: Overview — Get a compact overview of the German preterite and review its most important forms and word order.
Preterite: haben, sein and werden — Practise the especially frequent preterite forms of haben, sein and werden.
Preterite: Modal Verbs — Learn preterite forms of modal verbs and their position with an infinitive.
Preterite: Regular and Irregular Verbs — Form and practise regular and common irregular verbs in the preterite.
The Passive Voice in the Present and Preterite — Learn how German describes actions in the passive when the agent is unknown or unimportant. Practise werden + past participle in the present and preterite and use the correct word order in statements and questions.
Verb Complements: Nominative, Dative, and Accusative — Learn which case German verbs require for their complements. Practise verbs with nominative, dative, and accusative complements and the neutral order of dative and accusative objects.
Verbs with Prepositions — Learn fixed German verb-preposition combinations and whether they take the dative or accusative. Practise questions about people and things with preposition + wem/wen and wo(r)-.
German Cases: Articles and Noun Endings — Learn the definite article forms in all four German cases. Practise genitive -(e)s, dative plural -n, and how verbs and prepositions determine case.
The Four German Cases — Compare the nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Learn article forms, identify noun-phrase functions, and choose the case required by a verb or preposition.
Definite, Indefinite and Negative Articles — Learn when German uses a definite, indefinite, negative, or zero article. Practise the forms in the nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive.
Demonstrative and Interrogative Articles — Learn the forms of dies- and welch- and the difference between welch- and was für ein. Practise selection questions, questions about qualities, and the correct endings in the nominative, accusative, and dative.
Personal Pronouns in Three Cases — Learn German personal pronouns in the nominative, accusative, and dative. Practise replacing nouns, distinguishing du from Sie, and ordering pronouns in sentences with two complements.
Possessive Articles: mein, dein, sein — Learn how German possessive articles express ownership and how their endings depend on case, gender, and number. Practise mein-, dein-, sein-, ihr-, unser-, euer-, and formal Ihr- in everyday sentences.
German “es”: Three Functions — Learn the three main functions of German “es”: a pronoun replacing a neuter noun, the fixed subject of impersonal expressions, and a placeholder in first position. Practise when “es” must remain and when it disappears after a different sentence opening.
Possessive Pronouns: meiner, meine, meins — Learn how German possessive pronouns replace a noun that is already known. Practise forms based on the owner, case, gender, and number.
Possessive Pronouns: meiner, meine, meins — Learn how standalone German possessive pronouns replace a noun that has already been mentioned. Practise forms by owner, case, gender, and number in short answers and questions with gehören.
Negative Questions and doch — Learn to understand negative yes/no questions and answer them clearly with nein or doch. Also practise negative questions in the German perfect tense.
German Adjective Declension — Learn the endings of attributive German adjectives after definite articles, after ein-words, and without an article. Practise the nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive in everyday sentences.
Sentence Links: deshalb and trotzdem — Connect two main clauses with deshalb and trotzdem. Distinguish an expected consequence from a surprising contrast and keep the conjugated verb in position 2 in the second clause.
Main Clauses with Conjunctions — Learn to join two German main clauses with denn, aber, sondern, oder, and und. Distinguish reason, contrast, correction, alternative, and addition while keeping normal verb-second order in the second clause.
Time Expressions: im, am, um, von … bis, seit and ab — Learn which preposition German uses with months, days, dates, clock times, and periods. Distinguish im, am, um, and no preposition, then describe beginnings, endings, and duration.
Adverbial Subordinate Clauses — Learn to express reasons, contrasts, conditions, and time with weil, obwohl, wenn, and als. Practise verb-final order in subordinate clauses and inversion after a fronted subordinate clause.
Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers — Learn to express quantities, order, and dates with German number words. Practise forming and declining ordinal numbers and using dates with am, vom, and bis zum.
Comparative and Superlative — Learn how German adjectives form comparative and superlative degrees and how to compare with als, wie, and nicht so ... wie.
Dative Prepositions — Learn the common dative prepositions ab, aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, and zu. Distinguish destination, origin, and location, and use beim, vom, zum, and zur.
Interrogative Pronouns: wer, wen, wem, wessen, was — Learn to ask about people, possession, and things with wer, wen, wem, wessen, and was. Also practise standalone forms of welch- and was für ein when the noun is omitted.
Subordinate Clauses with dass — Learn to connect statements, thoughts, knowledge, and feelings with dass-clauses. Practise verb-final order and the word order used when the dass-clause comes first.
Accusative Prepositions — Learn the accusative prepositions bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, and um. Distinguish their spatial, temporal, and other meanings and use the correct accusative forms.
Infinitive with zu — Learn when German uses an infinitive phrase with zu, how it is formed, and when modal verbs take an infinitive without zu. Practise separable verbs and replacing a dass-clause when both clauses share the same subject.
Two-Way Prepositions: Where or Where To? — Learn the nine German two-way prepositions and choose the dative for location or the accusative for a destination. Practise articles, contractions, and common location verbs.
Word Formation: Nouns — Form German nouns with -chen, -lein, -er, -in, and -ung, and use nominalized infinitives. Learn the gender, plural, and typical meaning of each pattern.
Adverbs: Time, Place and Manner — Learn common German adverbs for time, frequency, place, direction, and manner. Practise their unchanging form, meaning, and position in a sentence.
Verb Position in Simple Sentences — Learn where the conjugated verb goes in statements, wh-questions, yes/no questions, and commands. Practise the verbal bracket with separable verbs, modal verbs, and the perfect tense.
Word Order in the Middle Field — Learn the usual order of objects and adverbial phrases in a German main clause. Practise N-D-A, pronoun order, prepositional complements, and Te-Ka-Mo-Lo.

B1

Genitive: Possession and Names — Learn how the German genitive expresses possession and relationships. Practise articles, noun endings, names, and rewriting von + dative.
Comparative Clauses with je … desto/umso — Learn to express proportional change with je … desto/umso. Practise comparative forms, verb-final order in the je-clause, and verb-second order in the main clause.
Konjunktiv II: Unreal Wishes — Learn to express unreal wishes and hypothetical conditions with Konjunktiv II. Practise wenn-clauses, würde + infinitive, and verb position.
Indirect Questions — Learn to report German wh-questions and yes/no questions as subordinate clauses. Practise question words or ob, verb-final order, and polite introductory phrases.
Relative Pronouns: der, die, das — Learn to describe people and things more precisely with German relative clauses. Choose relative pronouns in the nominative, accusative, and dative, including forms used after prepositions, and place the verb at the end.
Reflexive Pronouns: Dative or Accusative? — Distinguish dative and accusative reflexive pronouns. Learn why an additional accusative object often requires mir or dir, and practise verbs whose meaning changes with the construction.
Future I: Future Events and Assumptions — Learn how to use werden + infinitive for future events and assumptions. Distinguish formal Futur I from the present tense for fixed plans, and use wohl, vielleicht, and wahrscheinlich appropriately.
Prepositional Adverbs: da(r)- and wo(r)- — Learn to refer to things, situations, and clauses with da(r)- and ask about them with wo(r)-. Distinguish these forms from preposition + pronoun for people and from spatial or temporal da-words.
The German Verb lassen — Distinguish all eight meanings of lassen and their perfect patterns: leave, arrange, allow, joint proposal, offer help, possibility, stop, and cause.
N-Declension — Learn which masculine German nouns take -(e)n outside the nominative singular. Practise accusative, dative, and genitive forms and distinguish singular from plural.
Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt) — Learn how German describes an event completed before another past event. Practise forming the Plusquamperfekt with hatte or war, choosing the auxiliary, and using nachdem clauses.
Nominalized Adjectives for People — Learn how German adjectives can be used as nouns for people. Practise capitalization, gender, number, and adjective endings in all four cases.
Nominalized Adjectives: etwas Neues — Learn neuter nominalized adjectives after alles, das, etwas, nichts, viel, wenig, and ein bisschen. Practise capitalization and the endings -e and -es.
Paired Connectors — Learn to link parallel elements with sowohl … als auch, nicht nur … sondern auch, weder … noch, and entweder … oder. Distinguish addition, emphatic addition, double negation, and alternatives.
Purpose clauses: um … zu and damit — Learn to express goals and intentions with um … zu or damit. Choose the structure from the subjects and place the verb correctly.
Time Clauses: bevor, nachdem, während, seitdem — Learn to express time relationships precisely with bevor, nachdem, während, and seitdem. Practise meaning, verb-final order, and tense sequence with nachdem.
Genitive Prepositions: während, wegen, trotz, innerhalb, außerhalb — Learn five common German genitive prepositions and distinguish time, cause, concession, and spatial or temporal boundaries. Practise the correct genitive articles and noun endings.
Present Participle as an Adjective — Learn to express ongoing, simultaneous actions with the German Partizip I before a noun. Practise formation, adjective endings, and shortening relative clauses.
The Functions of werden — Distinguish werden as a full verb, a passive auxiliary, and part of Futur I. Learn why its perfect form is sometimes geworden and sometimes worden.
Temporal Prepositions: vor, nach, in, seit, bei and während — Distinguish past points, duration, future time, simultaneity, and deadlines with German temporal prepositions. Practise the dative and genitive forms used in time expressions.

B2

Advanced Location and Path Expressions — Use innerhalb, außerhalb, oberhalb, unterhalb, bis, bis zu, and entlang with correct case and placement.
German Adverbial Order: TeKaMoLo — Order temporal, causal, modal, and local adverbials in the German middle field. Learn same-class ordering, fronting, focus, and deliberately marked deviations.
Auch and Focus Particles — Distinguish sentence-wide auch from focusing auch and place German focus particles immediately before the constituent they highlight.
Counterfactual Wishes, Conditions, and Concessions — Connect present and past counterfactual wishes and conditions with consequences and concessive counterarguments.
Fixed Prepositions with Accusative Valency — Learn fixed accusative prepositional complements and distinguish meaning-dependent variants.
Fixed Prepositions with Dative Valency — Learn fixed dative prepositions with verbs, nouns, and adjectives and group them semantically.
Requests, Suggestions, Advice, and Reproaches — Use Konjunktiv II for polite requests, suggestions, and advice. Contrast current recommendations with missed alternatives and reproaches.
Past Konjunktiv II Forms — Build unreal past statements with hätte or wäre, participles, modal double infinitives, and the passive. Contrast present and past counterfactuals.
Location, Destination, and Origin — Distinguish wo, wohin, and woher with aus, von, nach, zu, in, bei, an, and auf.
Modal Verbs: Obligation, Permission, and Necessity — Explore nuanced obligation, permission, prohibition, and absence of necessity.
Modal Verbs: Present Assumptions and Reported Claims — Express graded present assumptions and reported claims.
Negative Words and Scope — Distinguish temporal, spatial, personal, and quantity negation, including not yet and no longer.
Position and Scope of nicht — Place nicht accurately in whole-sentence and constituent negation. Identify which complements precede or follow it and how its position changes the contrast.
Three Types of Noun Declension — Distinguish normal nouns, n-declension, and nominalized adjectives across cases.
Participles as Adjectives: Active and Passive Meaning — Form and decline present (Partizip I) and past (Partizip II) participles as adjectives and distinguish simultaneous activity from passive/result meaning.
Alternatives to the werden Passive — Replace the werden passive with sich lassen, sein + zu + infinitive, and suitable adjectives while respecting modality, register, and meaning limits.
Past Tenses: Perfekt, Präteritum, and Plusquamperfekt — Form German Perfekt, Präteritum, and Plusquamperfekt and choose haben or sein.
Advanced Prepositional Complements and Pronominal Adverbs — Form questions and references with wo(r)-, da(r)-, and preposition + person, and link infinitive/dass clauses correctly.
Sentence Connections and Verb Position — Distinguish subordinate-clause connectors, position-1 conjunctive adverbs, and position-0 coordinating conjunctions. Place the finite verb and subject correctly across connected clauses.