My Personal World - Family, Friends and the Case System
Talk about family and friends in German. Learn the key vocabulary, capitalise your nouns, master mein and meine, and meet the case system.
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Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
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Meine Familie und meine Freunde
Talking about your family and friends is where German begins. You need the vocabulary and a few pieces of grammar, and German has one big difference: the case system. This module teaches the key words, then the words for my (mein, meine), and how they change.
Key vocabulary
Learn each German noun with its article and capital letter. The article is part of the word.
Match each German word to its meaning
- die Familie
- der Freund
- die Freundin
- allein
- anders
- family
- a friend (male)
- a friend (female)
- alone
- different
Two German habits
These two habits make German look German before the sentence even gets difficult.
Match each male word to its female form
- der Freund
- der Lehrer
- der Schüler
- der Student
- die Freundin
- die Lehrerin
- die Schülerin
- die Studentin
Make it female
How do you make "der Lehrer" (male teacher) into the female form (a female teacher)?
- die Lehrerin
- der Lehrers
- die Lehrer
- das Lehrerin
Saying "my": mein and meine
The German for my depends on the noun that follows: - mein before a masculine or neuter noun (mein Bruder, mein Kind). - meine before a feminine or plural noun (meine Schwester, meine Eltern). That is the pattern in the nominative (the subject). Watch what happens with the cases next.
mein or meine?
The noun "Schwester" (sister) is feminine. Which word means "my" before it, as the subject?
- meine
- mein
- meinen
- der
The case system
German cases show the job a noun is doing. Words like mein change their ending with the case.
In the accusative
In "Ich sehe ___ Bruder" (I see my brother), Bruder is masculine and is the direct object. Which form of "my" is correct?
- meinen
- mein
- meine
- meinem
My family
"My brother" as the subject is _____ Bruder. But "I see my brother" is Ich sehe _____ Bruder (accusative). And "my sister" is _____ Schwester.
Reflexive verbs
To say your name and interests you use verbs with an extra pronoun: - heißen (to be called): ich heiße, du heißt, er/sie heißt. - sich interessieren für (to be interested in): ich interessiere mich für... The reflexive pronoun (mich, dich, sich) matches the subject.
Names and interests
Complete the sentences: Ich _____ Anna (My name is Anna). Wie _____ du? (What is your name?) Ich interessiere _____ für Musik (I am interested in music).
Build the sentence
Put these German words in order to mean "I am interested in music".
- Ich
- interessiere
- mich
- für Musik
Choose the German that fits
A sentence can fail because of gender, case or the verb ending. Choose the option that fits each situation.
- You want to say "my sister" as the subject.
- You want to say "I see my brother". Bruder is masculine and the direct object.
- You want to say "I am interested in music".
Grammar summary
In German, all _____ are capitalised. "My" is _____ before masculine and neuter nouns, and _____ before feminine and plural nouns. To make a word for a male person female, you add _____ (Freund becomes Freundin).