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Closed (yes/no) questions

Grammatik

Present simple – normally; routine

Present continuous (BE + –ing) – ongoing; current

Remember that English has two present tense forms.

Adverbs of time tell us which English tense to choose.

German has one present tense only. It is used with all adverbs.

Create closed (yes/no) questions by swapping the verb and subject:

Arbeitest du jede Woche im Restaurant?

Arbeitest du im Moment im Restaurant?

Do you work in the restaurant every week?

Arbeitest du? =

Do you work? AND

Are you working?

Are you working in the restaurant at the moment?

2 of 8

Ein Interview

hören

Schreib 1-8. Schreib die Fragen auf Englisch.

	Frage auf Englisch
	Do you / Are you…	living in Munich at the moment?
	Are you / Do you…	work in the restaurant every day?
	Do you / Are you …	often talk with the customers in German?
	Do you / Are you…	learning another language now?
	Do you / Are you…	sometimes get ill?
	Do you / Are you…	usually earn money?
	Are you / Do you …	singing ‘Happy Birthday’ now?
	Are you / Do you…	helping in the kitchen today?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Timing: 6 minutes��Aim: to practise differentiating between the two present tense meanings in English, based on understanding of the German adverbs.��Procedure:

1. Explain the task. Click on audio button 1 to play recording. Students select the simple present or present continuous question beginning and write this and the remainder of the question in English.

2. Click to reveal answer.

3. Repeat for items 2-8.

4. Correct all answers.

Note: sometimes more than one English translation is possible; number 1, for example, could also be translated ‘Do you live in Munich at the moment?’. The focus of this task is for learners of German to practise the knowledge that one present tense form works for two present tenses in English.

Transcript:

1. Wohnst du im Moment in München?

2. Arbeitest du jeden Tag im Restaurant?

3. Redest du oft auf Deutsch mit den Kunden?

4. Lernst du jetzt eine andere Sprache?

5. Wirst du manchmal krank?

6. Verdienst du normalerweise Geld?

7. Singst du jetzt(?) ‘Zum Geburtstag viel Glück?’

8. Hilfst du heute in der Küche?

3 of 8

Ein Interview

Schreib die Fragen auf Deutsch.

schreiben

1 Do you sing/are you singing for the customers?

2 Are you working/do you work in the kitchen?

3 Do you earn/are you earning a lot of money?

4 Are you having/do you have problems?

5 Are you learning/do you learn new things?

6 Do you find/are you finding the work easy?

1 Do you take/are you taking holiday?

2 Are you living/do you live alone?

4 Do you find/are you finding the food interesting?

5 Are you visiting/do you visit Berlin?

6 Do you learn/are you learning other languages?

3 Do you speak/are you speaking French?

4 of 8

Ein Interview

schreiben

1 Do you sing/are you singing for the customers?

2 Are you working/do you work in the kitchen?

3 Do you earn/are you earning a lot of money?

4 Are you having/do you have problems?

5 Are you learning/do you learn new things?

6 Do you find/are you finding the work easy?

1 Singst du für die Kunden?

2 Arbeitest du in der Küche?

4 Hast du Probleme?

5 Lernst du neue Dinge?

6 Findest du die Arbeit einfach?

3 Verdienst du viel Geld?

Checke deine Fragen.

checken – to check

Person A

Like miauen, checken is an imported German verb; überprüfen also means to check.

Procedure:�1. Person B turns away from the board. (S/he could pair up to compare answers with another B student for one minute, whilst Person As check their answers).

2. Click to animate answers.�3. Person A has one minute to check and correct answers.�4. Draw students’ attention to another cognate verb, ‘checken’, clicking to reveal the information box. Whilst these cognate verbs are an interesting feature of the German language (and its versatility), it might be worth mentioning that checken falls outside the 5000 most frequent whilst überprüfen is within the most frequently used 2000 German words, making it a much more useful word to learn.

�Word frequency (1 is the most frequent word in German): �überprüfen [1616] checken [>5009]�Source: Jones, R.L. & Tschirner, E. (2019). A frequency dictionary of German: core vocabulary for learners. Routledge

5 of 8

Ein Interview

schreiben

1 Machst du Urlaub?

2 Wohnst du allein?

4 Findest du das Essen interessant?

5 Besuchst du Berlin?

6 Lernst du andere Sprachen?

3 Sprichst du Französisch?

Checke deine Fragen.

checken – to check

1 Do you take/are you taking holiday?

2 Are you living/do you live alone?

4 Do you find/are you finding the food interesting?

5 Are you visiting/do you visit Berlin?

6 Do you learn/are you learning other languages?

3 Do you speak/are you speaking French?

Person B

Like miauen, checken is an imported German verb; überprüfen also means to check.

6 of 8

Ein Interview

sprechen

Partnerarbeit

Person A stellt eine Frage.�Person B antwortet mit dem Adverb 1 oder 2. (You can choose which adverb to answer with!)

Do you have / are you having fun with the children in the restaurant?

Beispiel:

Hast du Spaß mit den Kindern im Restaurant?

Person A

Ja, ich habe heute Spaß mit den Kindern im Restaurant.

1	2
normalerweise	heute

Person A schreibt die Antwort auf Englisch.

is having fun with the children in the restaurant today.

7 of 8

ein Interview machen

sprechen

Person B schreibt die Optionen.

1	2
jetzt	manchmal
nie	im Moment
jedes Jahr	jetzt
heute	oft
jetzt	immer
am Wochenende	normalerweise

Person A stellt Fragen 6 – 1.

Person A schreibt Notizen auf Englisch.

Person B antwortet.

1 Do you sing/are you singing for the customers?

2 Are you working/do you work in the kitchen?

3 Do you earn/are you earning a lot of money?

4 Are you having/do you have problems?

5 Are you learning/do you learn new things?

6 Do you find/are you finding the work easy?

Person A

Aim: to practise spoken production of prepared questions, without reference to notes, but with English translations as support.��Procedure:�1. Partner B copies his/her six sets of response prompts down and turns away from the board.

2. Click for these to disappear and the English question prompts to appear.

3. Partner A asks questions in reverse order 6 – 1. This is to ensure that Partner B has to listen and understand, rather than remember what s/he has seen.

4. Partner B responds, giving full sentence replies with one of the two adverbs.

5. Partner A notes responses in English, paying attention to which use of English (simple present or present continuous) is required.

Note: the task has been prepared in this way to avoid printing, and handing out copies. If preferred, teachers could print and distribute the handout provided.�

8 of 8

ein Interview machen

sprechen

1 Do you take/are you taking holiday?

2 Are you living/do you live alone?

4 Do you find/are you finding the food interesting?

5 Are you visiting/do you visit Berlin?

6 Do you learn/are you learning other languages?

3 Do you speak/are you speaking French?

Person B

Person A schreibt die Optionen.

1	2
immer	heute
dieses Jahr	normalerweise
manchmal	im Moment
im Moment	jede Woche
oft	im Moment
einmal im Jahr	heute

Person B stellt Fragen 6 – 1.

Person B schreibt Notizen auf Englisch.

Person A antwortet.