There are some interesting topics you will learn in intermediate German courses. From cognates to modal verbs, mastering these concepts will take you all the way from being a solid intermediate German speaker to someone who sounds confident and fluent.
Kognaten (cognates)
One thing is for a fact; English heavily relies on German. So if you are new to the German language, that’s should be a heads up.
Some striking similarities between German and English are that sentence structures, passive voice and other grammar rules are actually the same.
Modalverben (modal verbs)
Example in a sentence, “I must buy something”. In this sentence, “must” is used as a modal verb. The same structure applies in German: Ich muss etwas kaufen. (I must buy something.)
Reflexive Verben (reflexive verbs)
It’s very easy to spot reflexive verbs in English; this is because they’re often accompanied by a pronoun indicating the self.
Passivformen (passive voice)
The passive voice is mostly recognized with people who don’t like to take responsibility for some actions.
Verben mit zugehörigen Präpositionen (Phrasal verbs)
Just like English, German also relies on using prepositions associated with verbs to clarify and sharpen the meaning of a statement. Cleaning up, for example, is very different from cleaning out.
Konjunctiv II (subjunctive)
In English, when we are speaking wishes, we use the subjunctive tense. You can spot this whenever a conditional phrase accompanies it.
Präteritum (imperfect tense)
If you were to listen to how native Germans speak in everyday situations, you are likely to notice that imperfect tense is less often used.
In a newspaper or magazine, it would be surprising if you encounter perfect tense (unless it’s a quote of someone’s actual words). Not that it’s wrong to use the imperfect tense when speaking
