My Personal World - Family, Friends and the Case System

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 these words for the family and friends theme: - **die Familie** = family - **der Freund / die Freundin** = a friend (male / female) - **allein** = alone - **anders** = different - **sich interessieren für** = to be interested in.

Match each German word to its meaning

Two German habits 🔠

Two things to get right straight away: - In German, **every noun is capitalised**: der **Bruder** (brother), die **Schwester** (sister), die **Eltern** (parents). - To make a word for a **female** person, you add **-in**: der Freund becomes die **Freundin**, der Lehrer becomes die **Lehrerin**.

Match each male word to its female form

Make it female

How do you make "der Lehrer" (male teacher) into the female form (a female teacher)?

• die Lehrerin (add -in)
• 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 (meine Schwester)
• mein
• meinen
• der

The case system ⚙️

German has **cases** that show a noun's job in the sentence. The three productive ones are: - **Nominative**: the subject (the one doing the action). - **Accusative**: the direct object (the thing acted on). - **Dative**: the indirect object (often the person something is given to). Words like mein change their ending with the case. In the accusative, masculine **mein** becomes **meinen**.

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 (Ich sehe meinen Bruder)
• 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

An interactive activity.

Spot the correct German

Select ALL THREE sentences that are CORRECT German.

• meine Schwester (my sister)
• die Freundin (the female friend)
• Ich heiße Tom (My name is Tom)
• mein Schwester
• der Freundin (as a subject)
• Ich heißen Tom

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).