Some genitive prepositions are still used, but more and more are replaced by dative constructions. How does one know what to use and when? There…

The genitive case in English or in German shows a relationship between two nouns. The noun in the genitive case modifies (tells us something about) the other noun. The…

The past perfect or pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) expresses actions that took place before a certain point in the past. It is the German equivalent of the English…

A German reflexive verb is a verb that has an object which is the same as the subject of the verb ==> the action of…

Wo + preposition is useful when asking questions for clarification such as in Worauf wartet er? (What is he waiting for?) Many of the wo + prepositions replace the German word combination preposition + was. (incorrect -> Für…

In English and in German, there are some verbs that are used extensively with certain prepositions. In English, these are called “phrasal verbs”. Adding a…

After briefly reviewing the basics of the Präteritum, in this chapter we will turn to the Präteritum forms of modal verbs, which, unlike most forms…

The future perfect (Futur II, vollendete Zukunft) expresses the assumption that an action will have been completed by the time of speaking, or by a particular point…

The German future tense (Futur I) is mostly used to express assumptions about the present or future in German. We can also use this tense to express future intentions,…

The simple past is the tense used in the German language when writing–as opposed to speaking–about events that happened in the past and have now been completed. The…