Hobbies: Grammar & Phonics (AQA GCSE German): Revision Note

• To talk about what you enjoy doing in your free time, two key grammar points are essential: using gern and nicht gern to express likes and dislikes, and understanding separable verbs

• Let's look at these in more detail

Gern, lieber and nicht gern

• Use gern after a verb to say that you like doing something

• Use lieber after a verb to say that you prefer doing something

• Use nicht gern after a verb to say that you don't like doing something

• These are not verbs - they always work together with another verb

• In German, gern translates most naturally as you like doing something, rather than you like something

Here are some examples using gern with different pronouns and verbs from this unit:

• To say you don't like doing something, simply add nicht before gern:

• Lieber is most useful when making comparisons - you can use it with als (than) to say what you prefer over something else:

• You can extend your answer by adding a reason using weil (because). Note that weil sends the verb to the end of the clause:

Separable verbs

• Some German verbs are made up of two parts: a prefix and a base verb

• These are called separable verbs because in the present tense the prefix splits off and moves to the end of the sentence

• The base verb is conjugated as normal and stays in second position

Here are three separable verbs from this unit:

In the present tense, the prefix moves to the end of the sentence:

• When you look up a separable verb in a dictionary or vocabulary list, it will appear as one word, e.g. fernsehen

Nominalisation of infinitive verbs

• In German, any verb can be turned into a noun by capitalising the first letter and using das as the article

• This is called nominalisation

• These nouns are always neuter (das) and are especially common in sentences about hobbies

Examples:

• Das Schwimmen macht mir Spaß. - Swimming is fun for me.

• Ich liebe das Lesen. - I love reading.

• Das Wandern in den Bergen ist toll. - Hiking in the mountains is great.

Hobbies: phonics

• ie is pronounced like the English 'ee' sound in 'see'
  spielen
  lieber
  Lieblings-
  

• ei is pronounced like the English 'eye' sound in 'my'
  Freizeit
  mein
  einkaufen
  reisen