Mini-Lesson

Sounds and exam technique

The final piece: saying and spelling German correctly, and working the papers. You'll master the umlauts and ß, the ei/ie split, tricky letters like w, v, z, ch, sch, and pick up concrete tactics for the photo card, role-play, translation and listening/reading.

Work through each screen and answer the questions as you go. Collect ⭐ stars and press Start.

The umlauts

ä, ö, ü — and why the dots matter

The two dots change both the sound and the word. They are proper letters, not decoration:

ä	like "e" in bed	Mädchen, spät
ö	lips rounded, like "ur"	schön, hören
ü	say "ee" with rounded lips	über, müde

Spelling rule: keep the umlaut. schön is not schoen, über is not ueber. In an exam, a missing umlaut can change or spoil the word.

Quick check

Spell it right

?Which is the correct spelling of "beautiful"?

Type it

Your turn — an ö word

1Type the German for "beautiful / nice" — it has an ö.

Hint: sch + ö + n.

The letter ß

ß — the "sharp s" (Eszett)

ß is a single letter that sounds like a sharp "ss". It follows a long vowel or a diphthong:

heißen (to be called), Straße (street), groß (big), weiß (white).
After a short vowel you write ss instead: Wasser, muss, Fluss.

Don't swap it for "ss" or "b": Straße is not Strasse in standard spelling, and never Strabe. Write the ß.

Quick check

ß or ss?

?Which is the correct spelling of "to be called"?

The famous vowel pair

ei vs ie — say the second letter

An easy trick: pronounce the name of the second letter:

ei = English "eye" · ie = English "ee"mein = "mine" · vier = "feer"

ei → mein, drei, Eis, weiß, Zeit (all with the "eye" sound).
ie → vier, sieben, Liebe, spielen, die (all with the "ee" sound).

This one small rule fixes a huge share of reading-aloud mistakes. Second letter = the sound.

Quick check

How does "ei" sound?

?In mein and drei, how is ei pronounced?

Sort it

Which sound?

Type it

Your turn — a ß word

2Type the German for "to be called" — it has an ß.

Hint: hei + ß + en.

Tricky consonants

w, v, z, ch, sch, j

w	= English v	Wasser ≈ "Vasser"
v	= English f	Vater ≈ "Fater"
z	= ts	Zeit ≈ "tseit"
j	= English y	ja ≈ "ya"
sch	= English sh	Schule ≈ "shoole"
ch	soft "h"/throaty	ich, Buch

The big one: w = v and v = f. So wie viel sounds like "vee feel".

Quick check

The letter "w"

?How is German w pronounced (as in Wasser)?

Sort it

ei or ie?

Sort each word by its vowel sound: "eye" (ei) or "ee" (ie)?

Sounds like "eye" (ei)

Sounds like "ee" (ie)

Type it

Your turn — an "st" word

3Type the German for "city / town" — it starts with St- (said "sht").

Hint: St + a + dt — five letters, capital S (it's a noun).

Word edges

st-, sp- and final -er

Initial st- and sp- are said "sht" and "shp": Stadt ≈ "shtat", Sport ≈ "shport", spielen ≈ "shpeelen".
Final -er softens to a quiet "-uh": Vater ≈ "Fah-tuh", Bruder ≈ "Broo-duh".
Final -d/-b/-g harden: Hund ≈ "Hunt", Tag ≈ "Tak".

These edge-sounds are exactly what examiners listen for in the read-aloud and photo card. Nail the "sht/shp" start and you sound instantly more German.

The four papers

How AQA 8662 is assessed

Four equally-weighted papers (25% each):

paper	watch out for
Listening	distractors; note negatives & numbers
Speaking	photo card, role-play, conversation
Reading	incl. translation into English
Writing	incl. translation into German

Grammar earns marks everywhere: genders, cases, verb endings and word order are exactly what lifts writing and speaking into the top bands.

Speaking

Photo card & role-play

Photo card: start with Auf dem Foto sehe ich… ("in the photo I see…"), then say where, who, what they're doing and your opinion. Use a past and a future sentence to show tense range.
Role-play: read the prompts carefully — one needs a question (Wann…? Wie viel…?) and one is often unexpected. Keep answers short and correct.

Bank three "upgrade" phrases: meiner Meinung nach…, weil es … ist, and ich würde gern…. Drop one into every answer.

Quick check

Translating into German

?When you translate a "weil" (because) clause into German, where does the verb go?

Translation & reading/listening

Working the receptive papers

Into German: check gender + case, verb ending, and word order (verb second; verb to the end after weil/dass). Translate the meaning, not word-for-word.
Into English: write natural English; watch tenses (Perfekt = simple past) and don't leave gaps.
Listening/Reading: beware distractors and negatives (nicht, kein, nie) — they flip the meaning. Note numbers and times carefully.

Golden rule: attempt every mark. A sensible guess beats a blank, and partial answers still score.

Game · Match

Match the sound to an example

Tap a letter/sound on the left, then tap a word that contains it on the right.

SOUND

ä

ö

ü

ei

ie

ß

EXAMPLE

mein

Mädchen

heißen

über

vier

schön

Type it

Your turn — a ü word

4Type the German for "over / above / about" — it has a ü.

Hint: ü + b + er.

Type it

Your turn — an ä plural

5Type the plural of der Apfel ("apples") — the a becomes ä.

Hint: Apfel → Äpfel — umlaut on the first vowel, capital Ä.

Recap

Your sounds & exam toolkit

Umlauts: ä ("bed"), ö ("ur"), ü ("ee" with round lips) — always keep the dots (schön, über).

ß after long vowels/diphthongs (heißen, Straße); ss after short vowels (muss).

ei = "eye", ie = "ee" — say the second letter (mein vs vier).

Consonants: w = v, v = f, z = ts, j = y, sch = sh; initial st-/sp- = "sht/shp"; final -er = soft "-uh".

Exam: photo card + role-play formulas, translate for meaning, watch negatives/distractors, and attempt every mark.

That completes the ten-lesson grammar spine. Press Finish to see your score.

🏆

Mini-Lektion geschafft!

⭐⭐⭐

You've finished the AQA GCSE German grammar spine — all ten lessons. 🎉

Your stars: 0 / 0

That's the whole spine complete — from building blocks to Higher-tier structures and exam technique. Now lock it all in with the Evaluate confidence quizzes.

📣 Nailed it? Share your score

Challenge a mate to beat your stars, or show a parent how you got on.

→ Back to the grammar spine