subject: Techniques To Learn German Grammar [print this page] Techniques To Learn German Grammar Techniques To Learn German Grammar
Grammar is the most feared aspect of learning any language. On the other hand, since learning the grammar rules is guaranteed to improve your language skills faster than
anything else, language students should learn to love it! By systematically learning each core concept, you will quickly understand how the German language works, and be
able to put it to use straight away.
At the beginning, the most daunting aspect of learning grammar is always the fact that you don't know what you don't know! If you're like most students, the thought of
learning lots of technical rules is quite overwhelming. The good news, however, is that it doesn't have to be. If you take it one step at a time, you will be able to learn
grammar quickly. Let's look at how to do it...
Focus on 1 Topic per day
When you have a big goal like learning the entire German grammar, you need to break this down. Take it one step at a time. Look at only one topic, and give this your
complete focus. If your goal for the day is to learn one single topic, it becomes much easier.
For German, you should break it up into the following:
The 3 noun genders (masculine, feminine and neuter)Definite articles (der, die, das), and indefinite articles (ein, eine, ein)The four German cases (nominative, accusative, genitive and dative)Adjective endingsComparative and superlative adjectivesAdverbsPersonal pronounsPossessive pronounsOther pronouns (indefinite, relative, demonstrative, reflexive)Verbs (weak, strong and mixed)Verb tenses (present, perfect, imperfect, future, conditional, pluperfect and subjunctive)Imperative verbsPrepositionsSome of these topics will take longer than others. For instance, the four German cases, adjective endings and verbs in particular are the most difficult to learn. Break these
down further into smaller chunks and learn each main point one at a time.
Memorize 1 Example for Each Topic
One of the main areas that students struggle with when learning German grammar is remembering all of the various word endings. The best way to get around this is to
memorize one example for each topic. For example, adjective endings change depending on the gender of the noun, the case, and whether an article precedes the noun.
There are 48 possible endings! Not all of these endings are different, but they do present a challenge. By breaking this up into the different groupings, and learning one
simple example for each, you will soon find that you do understand and remember them all. Furthermore, since you've memorized those examples, you'll easily be able to
apply the same logic to other words in the same case and gender.
Revise and Continue with the Next Topic
The following day, prior to starting your next grammar topic, spend 5-10 minutes revising the key points and examples from the previous day. This short amount of revision
will make a huge difference in your ability to understand and remember these grammar topics going forward.
In summary, it is possible to learn German grammar in a short amount of time when you break it up into single topics and focus your attention on one at a time. Memorize
one example in each situation and then you'll be able to apply this logic to other words in the same position. In this article we talked about one topic per day, but this doesn't
have to be the case. Take one topic per week if you like; whatever works best for you. German grammar is a challenge, but remember that once you understand the key
points, you will be able to speak much better German much sooner. Good luck, and have fun learning this wonderful language!
