Travel and Tourism - Vocabulary and the Perfect Tense
Talk about your past holidays in German. Build your Travel and Tourism vocabulary and master the perfect tense (das Perfekt) - choosing haben or sein and sending the participle to the end.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
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Willkommen im Urlaub!
Examiners love hearing about your holidays - especially in the past. This module builds your German Travel and Tourism vocabulary and teaches das Perfekt, the tense you need to say what you DID on holiday. (A native speaker should review this module before launch.)
Der Wortschatz: Reisen
Learn these travel words with their articles - German nouns are always capitalised.
Match the German to the English
- das Hotel
- der Strand
- die Berge
- der Koffer
- the hotel
- the beach
- the mountains
- the suitcase
Das richtige Wort
Which German word means 'the beach'?
- der Strand
- das Hotel
- der Koffer
- die Berge
Das Perfekt: die Regel
To talk about the past, German uses das Perfekt - two parts: - an auxiliary (haben or sein), and - a past participle sent to the END of the clause. Most verbs take haben: Ich habe ein Hotel gebucht. Verbs of movement take sein: Ich bin nach Spanien geflogen. The participle always goes last.
haben oder sein?
Complete: 'Ich ___ nach Spanien geflogen.' The verb fliegen (to fly) is a verb of movement. Which auxiliary?
- bin
- habe
- hat
- war
haben vs sein
The whole trick with das Perfekt is choosing the right auxiliary.
Verben mit sein
Select the TWO verbs of movement that form the perfect tense with 'sein'. (fahren, fliegen, buchen and spielen mean to travel, to fly, to book and to play.)
- fahren
- fliegen
- buchen
- spielen
Ergänze die Sätze
In den _____ bin ich an den _____ gefahren. Ich habe in einem _____ gewohnt. Ich musste einen _____ packen und ein Zimmer _____.
Match the infinitive to its participle
- fahren
- fliegen
- buchen
- spielen
- gefahren
- geflogen
- gebucht
- gespielt
Das Perfekt bilden
To form the perfect tense, use haben or sein plus a participle. Movement verbs take _____: Ich _____ nach Italien geflogen. Most verbs take _____: Ich _____ ein Hotel gebucht. The participle always goes to the _____ of the clause.
Bau den Satz
Put the words in order to make: 'Last year I flew to Italy'. (German sends the participle to the end.)
- Letztes Jahr
- bin
- ich
- nach Italien
- geflogen
Der letzte Urlaub
You are describing your last holiday in German. Choose the correct sentence each time.
- You want to say 'I flew to Spain.' Which is correct?
- You want to say 'I booked a hotel.' Which is correct?
- You want to say 'We travelled by train.' Which is correct?
Pick the right auxiliary
Three things earn the top marks with das Perfekt. First, pick the right auxiliary: verbs of movement (fahren, fliegen, gehen) take sein, while most others take haben. Second, form the participle correctly - weak verbs are ge-...-t (gebucht, gespielt), strong verbs are ge-...-en (gefahren, geflogen). Third, send the participle to the END: "Ich bin nach Spanien geflogen." Right auxiliary, right participle, right place.