German Infinitives: Building Verb Foundations
Year 6 German 75-minute lesson Understanding the building blocks of German verbs
What is an Infinitive? (Was ist ein Infinitiv?)
The basic form of a verb In English: 'to play', 'to eat', 'to learn' In German: 'spielen', 'essen', 'lernen' The verb before it changes for different people
German Infinitive Endings
Most German infinitives end in -en Examples: spielen, lernen, essen, lesen Some end in -n Examples: sein, tun Look for these endings to spot infinitives!
Infinitive Detective Game
Find the infinitive in each sentence: Ich möchte essen. Wir lernen Deutsch. Du kannst lesen. Ich will spielen.
Common German Infinitives
{"left":"spielen (to play)\nessen (to eat)\nlernen (to learn)\nlesen (to read)","right":"schwimmen (to swim)\nsingen (to sing)\ntanzen (to dance)\nschlafen (to sleep)"}
Sentence Building Workshop
Build sentences using infinitives: Start with: Ich will... (I want to...) Add: Ich kann... (I can...) Try: Ich möchte... (I would like to...) Example: Ich will spielen!
Quick Check: Can You Spot the Pattern?
Which words are infinitives? a) ich (I) b) spielen (to play) c) gehen (to go) d) du (you) e) lesen (to read)
Today's Learning Summary
Infinitives are the basic form of German verbs Most end in -en, some end in -n We can use them with modal verbs like 'will', 'kann', 'möchte' They help us build simple German sentences Practice makes perfect - keep looking for infinitives!