GermanB1Lesson 1.1
🇩🇪 German B1 · Lesson 1.1

Als ich klein war — Narrating past memories

Contrast background description and single events to tell a story.

Listen first

A woman describes the summers she spent at her grandparents' farm as a child.

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New vocabulary — tap to hear
die Erinnerungthe memory 🔊
die Kindheitthe childhood 🔊
damalsback then 🔊
der Bauernhofthe farm 🔊
kletternto climb 🔊
die Sommerferienthe summer holidays 🔊

Now say it

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« Als ich klein war, spielte ich oft den ganzen Tag draußen. » 🔊
When I was little, I often played outside all day.
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Pronunciation

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Als ich klein war, verbrachte ich jeden Sommer bei meinen Großeltern auf dem Bauernhof. 🔊When I was little, I spent every summer at my grandparents' farm.
Das klingt schön. Was hast du dort gemacht? 🔊That sounds lovely. What did you do there?
Wir hatten viele Tiere, und morgens half ich immer im Stall. Einmal bin ich vom Apfelbaum gefallen! 🔊We had a lot of animals, and in the mornings I always helped in the barn. Once I fell out of the apple tree!
Oh nein! Hast du dir wehgetan? 🔊Oh no! Did you hurt yourself?
Zum Glück nicht. Meine Oma war zwar streng, aber sie hat mich danach getröstet und mir Kuchen gegeben. 🔊Luckily not. My grandma was strict, but afterwards she comforted me and gave me cake.
Solche Erinnerungen vergisst man nie. 🔊You never forget memories like that.
Grammar in focus · Präteritum vs Perfekt

In spoken German, use the Präteritum for the verbs sein, haben and modals to set the scene (Ich war müde, Wir hatten Zeit, Ich konnte nicht schlafen). For single completed events in conversation, prefer the Perfekt: Ich bin vom Baum gefallen, Sie hat mir Kuchen gegeben. Note the verb-final order in the subordinate clause: 'Als ich klein war, verbrachte ich…'.

Write it yourself

Write 4-5 sentences about a happy memory from your childhood.

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Tip for this task
Gut! Use the Präteritum for description (Es war Sommer, ich hatte…) and the Perfekt for the events themselves: « Eines Tages bin ich mit dem Fahrrad zum See gefahren. »

Quick check

An adaptive quiz confirms you've got it and schedules the right words for review.

1. Which tense is preferred for background description with sein/haben in speech?
2. Which sentence correctly reports a single past event?
3. In 'Als ich klein war, half ich im Stall', where does the verb 'war' go?
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