Lesson 45: Review: Time, Plans, Routines, and Appointments

In this lesson, you’ll review the main ideas from this module. You’ll practice talking about months, dates, time, daily routines, simple plans, frequency words, and appointments.

This lesson does not introduce a lot of new grammar. The goal is to check what you understand and connect the pieces together.

What you’ll review

• months and dates
• telling time
• daily routine word order
• frequency words
• making simple plans
• making an appointment by phone
• nominative and accusative article changes
• short A1 reading comprehension

Part 1: Months, dates, and time

You learned that German uses different words for different kinds of time.

This is one of the most useful patterns in the module.

Quick review

im März = in March
am Montag = on Monday
am fünften März = on March 5th
um 10 Uhr = at 10 o’clock
um halb acht = at 7:30

Remember: halb acht means 7:30, not 8:30. German counts halfway to the next hour.

Practice

Part 2: Daily routine word order

You learned that German sentences can start with ich or with a time phrase.

Pattern 1: Start with ich

Ich + verb + time phrase

Examples:

Ich lerne am Abend.
I study in the evening.

Ich arbeite am Montag.
I work on Monday.

Pattern 2: Start with time

time phrase + verb + subject

Examples:

Am Abend lerne ich.
In the evening, I study.

Am Montag arbeite ich.
On Monday, I work.

The important rule:

The verb comes in the second position.

That does not always mean the second word. It means the second sentence part.

In this sentence:

Am Abend lerne ich.

Am Abend counts as one sentence part.
So lerne is in second position.

Separable verbs review

Some verbs split into two parts.

aufstehen = to get up
fernsehen = to watch TV
einkaufen = to go shopping

Examples:

Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
I get up at seven o’clock.

Um sieben Uhr stehe ich auf.
At seven o’clock, I get up.

The main verb comes early. The small separable part goes at the end.

Build the sentence

Part 3: Frequency words

Frequency words help you say how often something happens.

In many simple sentences, the frequency word comes after the verb.

Examples:

Ich lerne oft Deutsch.
I often study German.

Ich trinke manchmal Kaffee.
I sometimes drink coffee.

Ich sehe nie fern.
I never watch TV.

Fill-in-the-blank practice

Part 4: Simple plans

You learned how to make simple plans with möchten and gehen.

The pattern with möchten

When you use möchten with another verb, the second verb usually goes at the end.

Ich möchte Deutsch lernen.
I want to learn German.

Ich möchte Kaffee trinken.
I want to drink coffee.

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

Pattern:

Ich möchte + more information + verb

Movement phrases

You also learned useful movement phrases.

For now, learn these as chunks.

Practice

Part 5: Making an appointment by phone

You learned practical appointment phrases for a phone call.

Key appointment phrases

Ich möchte einen Termin machen.
I want to make an appointment.

Haben Sie einen Termin frei?
Do you have an appointment available?

Einen Moment bitte.
One moment, please.

Ich schaue nach.
I’ll check.

Wann haben Sie Zeit?
When do you have time?

Morgens oder nachmittags?
Morning or afternoon?

Das passt leider nicht.
Unfortunately, that does not work.

Ja, das passt.
Yes, that works.

Auf Wiederhören.
Goodbye on the phone.

Nominative and accusative review

You also learned why German says:

der Termin
but
einen Termin

The simple idea:

Nominative = the subject, or the main thing doing or being something
Accusative = the thing being wanted, had, made, searched for, or used

Examples:

Der Termin ist am Montag.
The appointment is on Monday.

Here, der Termin is the subject.

Ich möchte einen Termin machen.
I want to make an appointment.

Here, einen Termin is the thing you want to make.

Article review

The main beginner rule:

Only masculine articles change in the accusative.

der → den
ein → einen

Choose nominative or accusative