Deutsche Grammatik

How German Sentences Work

A1–B1 · Grammar

German grammar has a reputation it does not deserve. It is not a pile of exceptions to be memorised. It is a small number of ideas, each of which explains a great deal, and this book introduces them one at a time, in the order that makes each one easy. Nothing is presented before you have a reason to want it.

The road runs in five stages. First the verb and the sentence bracket, then the noun, then the case system turned into one table, then the middle of the sentence with the past, comparison and adjective endings, and finally the softer registers, the passive, joined clauses and the genitive. Every chapter opens with a German scene, distils itself into a green paradigm card, warns you about the mistakes learners actually make, and ends with exercises whose answers are at the back.

Every chapter carries a level chip, A1, A2 or B1, so you can stop wherever your goal is. Every German sentence in the book carries its English underneath, so you are never guessing.

Inside the book

• 36 chapters, one grammatical idea at a time, in the order that makes each easy
• A German scene with an English mirror opening every chapter
• Green paradigm cards that hold a whole chapter in one picture
• Amber Watch out panels collecting the mistakes learners actually make
• Level chips on every chapter, so you can stop at your goal
• Exercises in every chapter, with answers at the back

Choose your edition

Practising alongside? The companion volume Das Arbeitsbuch drills every chapter of this book under the same number and the same title.