Lesson 43: Making Simple Plans

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to make simple plans in German. You’ll use words and grammar you already know, plus a few new phrases for talking about what you want to do, where you want to go, and when you want to do it.

What you’ll learn

• how to say what you want to do
• how to use möchten with another verb
• how to talk about plans with am, um, and heute
• how to use movement phrases like ins Café and zum Supermarkt
• how to make short planning sentences

A useful planning phrase

You already know:

Ich möchte … = I want …

Now you can use ich möchte with another verb.

Examples:

Ich möchte Deutsch lernen.
I want to learn German.

Ich möchte Kaffee trinken.
I want to drink coffee.

Ich möchte einkaufen.
I want to go shopping.

Ich möchte spazieren gehen.
I want to go for a walk.

This is a very useful pattern for making simple plans.

A small grammar point: the second verb goes at the end

When you use ich möchte with another verb, the second verb often goes at the end of the sentence.

Pattern:

Ich möchte + more information + verb

Examples:

Ich möchte Deutsch lernen.
I want to learn German.

Ich möchte Kaffee trinken.
I want to drink coffee.

Ich möchte heute einkaufen.
I want to go shopping today.

Ich möchte am Abend spazieren gehen.
I want to go for a walk in the evening.

For beginners, remember this:

möchte comes early.
The action verb goes at the end.

Verb table: möchten

möchten = to want / would like

For this lesson, focus mainly on:

ich möchte
möchtest du
wir möchten

Talking about where you want to go

German uses different words when you talk about going somewhere.

For this lesson, learn these as useful chunks:

You do not need to master all the grammar behind these forms yet. Just learn the phrases as chunks.

A small grammar point: movement phrases

When you talk about going to a place, German often uses phrases like:

ins …
zum …
zur …
nach Hause

Examples:

Ich gehe ins Café.
I am going to the café.

Ich gehe zum Supermarkt.
I am going to the supermarket.

Ich gehe zur Schule.
I am going to school.

Ich gehe nach Hause.
I am going home.

For now, focus on recognizing the full phrases:

• ins Café
• zum Supermarkt
• zur Schule
• nach Hause

Making plans with gehen

gehen = to go

You can use gehen to talk about simple plans.

Examples:

Ich gehe heute ins Café.
I am going to the café today.

Ich gehe morgen zum Supermarkt.
I am going to the supermarket tomorrow.

Wir gehen am Abend ins Restaurant.
We are going to the restaurant in the evening.

Combining möchten and gehen

You can also combine möchten and gehen.

Pattern:

Ich möchte + place + gehen

Examples:

Ich möchte ins Café gehen.
I want to go to the café.

Ich möchte zum Supermarkt gehen.
I want to go to the supermarket.

Ich möchte nach Hause gehen.
I want to go home.

Notice that gehen goes at the end.

Asking someone about plans

Here are a few useful questions:

Was möchtest du heute machen?
What do you want to do today?

Möchtest du ins Café gehen?
Do you want to go to the café?

Gehst du morgen zum Supermarkt?
Are you going to the supermarket tomorrow?

Wann gehst du nach Hause?
When are you going home?

These questions help you talk about simple plans.

Fill-in-the-blank sentences