At the Doctor's: Exam Skills (AQA GCSE German): Revision Note

Jonas is saying how he feels. Complete the sentences in English.

• Jonas has been feeling ill for _______________.

• He has two symptoms: a headache and _______________.

• Yesterday he _______________.

• The doctor told him to _______________.

• He has also injured his _______________.

Answers:

• Jonas has been feeling ill for a few days
  seit ein paar Tagen

• He has two symptoms: a headache and tiredness / feeling very tired
  bin sehr müde

• Yesterday he went to the doctor's
  bin ich zum Arzt gegangen

• The doctor told him to stay at home
  ich soll zu Hause bleiben

• He has also injured his arm
  mir auch den Arm verletzt

• Think about what type of word is missing before you listen - the first gap needs a time expression, the second needs a symptom, and the last needs a body part

• This helps you listen out for the right kind of word

Read aloud these sentences in German.

1. Ich fühle mich seit drei Tagen schwach.

2. Ich habe starke Schmerzen.

3. Der Arzt hat mich untersucht.

4. Ich habe mir den Arm gebrochen.

5. Die Schmerzen sind leider noch nicht besser.

Answer:

• You should have pronounced the z in Arzt and Schmerzen as 'ts', not like an English 'z'

• You should have pronounced the hard ch in schwach, Bauch and untersucht as a rasping sound at the back of the throat, not as 'k'

• You should have pronounced the ch in ich as a soft sound, made further forward in the mouth

• Use the preparation time to identify any tricky sounds before you start reading

• Look out for the letter z and the letter combination ch in particular - both are very different from their English equivalents

Sophie writes about her health and wellbeing. Choose the correct letter(s).

Ich habe mich letzte Woche nicht gut gefühlt. Ich hatte starke Bauchschmerzen und konnte nicht schlafen. Meine Mutter hat einen Termin beim Arzt gemacht. Der Arzt hat gesagt, ich soll drei Tage zu Hause bleiben und viel Wasser trinken. Ich darf auch keinen Sport machen. Jetzt fühle ich mich ein bisschen besser.

1. Sophie felt unwell …

A. this week
B. last week
C. last month

2. She had two problems. Choose the two correct answers.

A. a headache
B. stomach ache
C. could not eat
D. could not sleep

3. Who made the doctor's appointment?

A. Sophie
B. her father
C. her mother

4. The doctor told Sophie to…

A. take medication and rest
B. stay at home and drink water
C. stay at home and do light exercise

Answers:

1. B - last week
   letzte Woche

2. B and D - stomach ache / could not sleep
   starke Bauchschmerzen / konnte nicht schlafen

3. C - her mother
   Meine Mutter hat einen Termin beim Arzt gemacht

4. B - stay at home and drink water
   ich soll drei Tage zu Hause bleiben und viel Wasser trinken

• Read each sentence carefully - don’t just spot a word and choose the answer

• Be careful with answers that look right at first glance - check the details in the text

• If the question asks for two answers, make sure you can clearly find both in the text

Choose the correct word from the three options.

Ich fühle ______________ schon zwei Tagen krank.

Answer:

The correct answer is mich. The sentence means: I have already been feeling ill for two days.

The verb sich fühlen is reflexive - the reflexive pronoun must match the subject. Since the subject is ich, the correct pronoun is mich.

Choose the correct word from the three options.

Ich ______________ mich heute Morgen krank gefühlt.

Answer:

The correct answer is habe. The sentence means: I felt ill this morning.

Sich fühlen takes haben as its auxiliary in the perfect tense. Bin is used with verbs of motion or change of state, and hatte is the simple past form of haben - not used in the perfect tense.

Choose the correct word from the three options.

Der Arzt sagt, ich soll im Bett ______________.

Answer:

The correct answer is bleiben. The sentence means: the doctor says I should stay in bed.

After a modal verb (soll), the second verb must be an infinitive. Bleibe is the present tense ich form and geblieben is the past participle - neither can follow a modal verb.

• Before you look at the options, read the full sentence carefully and think about what type of word is missing - a pronoun, an auxiliary verb or a verb form

• This will help you rule out wrong answers quickly

Translate these sentences into German.

1. Since Monday, I have been feeling weak and cannot go to school.

2. In my opinion, it is important to see a doctor when you are ill.

3. Although weak, my brother went to school because he had an important exam.

4. Felix, drink water and stay in bed!

5. He has had a stomachache for three days and must take medication every morning.

6. Felix, drink water and stay in bed!	Felix, trink Wasser und bleib im Bett!
   He has had a stomachache for three days and must take medication every morning.	Er hat seit drei Tagen Bauchschmerzen und muss jeden Morgen ein Medikament nehmen.

Answers:

1. Seit Montag fühle ich mich schwach und kann nicht in die Schule gehen.
   Use seit + present tense. When seit starts the sentence, the verb inverts: fühle ich mich, not ich fühle mich.

2. Meiner Meinung nach ist es wichtig, einen Arzt zu sehen, wenn man krank ist.
   Meiner Meinung nach triggers inversion. The wenn clause sends the verb to the end: wenn man krank ist.

3. Obwohl er schwach war, ging mein Bruder in die Schule, weil er eine wichtige Prüfung hatte.
   Obwohl is a subordinating conjunction, so the verb goes to the end in each case. Weil gives a second subordinate clause.

4. Felix, trink Wasser und bleib im Bett!
   The du imperative uses the verb only - there is no pronoun.

5. Er hat seit drei Tagen Bauchschmerzen und muss jeden Morgen ein Medikament nehmen.
   Use seit + present tense. After the modal muss, the infinitive nehmen goes to the end of the clause. Bauchschmerzen is always plural.

• These sentences are deliberately challenging - do not try to translate them word for word from English

• Instead, work through each sentence step by step: identify the key verb first, then decide what tense it needs, then think about word order

• For example, if a sentence starts with a time phrase like seit or a conjunction like obwohl or meiner Meinung nach, the verb must come immediately after - this is one of the most common errors in the Higher writing paper

• Break each sentence into smaller chunks rather than tackling it as a whole