Learn German A2 Grammar in 3 weeks for free

This is a step-by-step free German A2 course that you can follow at your own pace. It covers 17 essential grammar rules and principles that you need to reach B1 level. The course meets the requirements of such elite schools as Goethe Institute.

How this works

Course structure

This course is a collection of free resources, such as YouTube videos, blogs, and teacher portals, organized as a self-paced course. The course consists of 17 essential grammar rules and concepts you must master to reach the B1 level. We recommend resting for at least one rest day between each lesson. You’ll learn more effectively and complete the course in less than 30 days.

All grammar topics are organized in the recommended sequence, but if you are already familiar with some topics and have trouble with the others, you can skip back and forth.

Lesson structure

Every lesson consists of 2 items: theory and practice.

The first task is to watch a youtube video or read a blog post that clarifies the rule(s). We usually provide a few sources that cover the same topic, often slightly differently. If you have time, we recommend watching all the videos to ensure you understand the topic well. If you are pressed for time, you can watch only one of them.

The second task is about practice. It’s a collection of links to exercises that reinforce what you just learned. Our teachers put together the practice part with a chronological order in mind. However, if you feel some exercises are too easy, feel free to skip them.

Tips for stronger progress

Keep in mind: just reading about grammar, even doing grammar exercises, is not the same as fully wrapping your head around it and internalizing it. Turning grammar into automated knowledge takes time. That’s why it’s best not to rush. Rest between sessions, and review the same topics multiple times.

What also helps is doing your own research and creating your own examples. You can just say them out loud and correct your mistakes on the fly. Or you could write them down. That helps with finding mistakes, as well as gaining more confidence.

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Day 1

Topic: Präteritum (the simple past tense)

Short description: The simple past describes an event that happened in the past, and that is completed. It’s often used in stories and books to describe past events. However, it’s not uncommon for German speakers to use it in everyday life as well.

Theory:

Videos

Blog posts

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Practice:

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Day 2

Topic: Wechselpräpositionen or the two-way prepositions

Short description: This topic might be confusing at first, but with a bit of practice you’ll definitely wrap your head around it. The two-way prepositions can take either the accusative or the dative case. They take the accusative when they describe movement from one place to another. They take the dative when the object is still and there is no movement.

Theory:

Videos

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Practice:

Day 3

Topic: Dativ-Verben or verbs that take the dative case

Short description: There are German verbs that always take the dative case. For example, helfen or geben. Many of them are used as frequently as it gets and it’s important that you review and memorize them.

Theory:

Videos

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Practice:

Day 4

Topic: Präpositionen/prepositions (Akkusativ, Dativ)

Short description: Mastering prepositions is key to speaking confidence. German prepositions can be tricky, as you already know, but most follow a similar logic as in English. All you need is 10-15 most frequently used prepositions to get by.

Theory:

Videos

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Practice:

Day 5

Topic: Possessivartikel/German Possessive Pronouns

Short description: possessive pronouns are words that show who or what something belongs to; that is they indicate possession. In German, these pronouns (mein, dein, etc.) follow the same grammatical pattern as definite articles. Unlike in English, German possessive pronouns change frequently depending on the case.

Theory:

Videos

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Day 6

Topic: Adjektivdeklination or how German adjectives change their endings

Short description: Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns and add more information about them. In German, adjectives in front of a noun have to have an ending (,,Adjektivdeklination“), which depends on several factors, including gender (der, die, das), case (nominative, accusative, dative), and the type of declension (“strong”, “mixed” or “weak”).

Theory:

Videos

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Day 7

Topic: Perfekt (the perfect tense/present perfect tense)

Short description: German speakers often use Perfekt to speak about events that happened in the past. It’s more common than Präteritum in everyday life. As you know from the first day, just like in English, German verbs can be regular (weak) or irregular (strong). That means that verbs might change their shape uniquely when you use the past simple or present perfect tense. There are some patterns, and we recommend learning the most common verbs by heart.

Theory:

Videos

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Practice:

Day 8

Topic: Verben mit Präpositionen or German verbs that take specific prepositions

Short description: In German, as in English, certain verbs are always accompanied by prepositions, forming what are known as verbal phrases. For example, in English we use the preposition ‘for’ with the verb ‘wait’, or ‘in’ with the verb ‘believe’. It’s quite similar in German. The only difference you need to pay attention to is that prepositions in German might require a specific case.

Theory:

Videos

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Day 9

Topic: Präpositionaladverbien or Prepositional adverbs (also called Pronominaladverbien)

Short description: In German, you can ask questions with and without prepositions depending on the verb and if it requires a preposition (see previous lesson). When the question requires a preposition, then there are a few very unique rules in German that you should practice and internalize. This lecture is a bit extensive and we recommend spending a few days on it and not blitzing through it.

Theory:

Videos

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Day 10

Topic: Komparativ + Superlativ (comparative and superlative adjectives)

Short description:

We use comparative or superlative forms of adjectives to compare things. The three forms of adjectives in German are called Positiv (gut), Komparative (besser), Superlative (am besten).

Theory:

Videos

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Practice:

Day 11

Topic: Konjunktionen und Konnektoren or German conjunctions

Short description: Today you’ll learn/review five German conjunctions - little words that connect sentences: weil, deshalb, wenn, dass, als. When learning and practicing them, pay close attention to the word order. This is usually one of the German grammar areas where German learners make tons of mistakes. But we believe in you, you got this.

Theory:

Videos

weil: video
dass: video
deshalb: video
wenn & als: video
All conjunctions explained in a single video

Blog posts

An extensive resource for learning about and practicing conjunctions (actually many grammar topics) by University of Michigan

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Day 12

Topic: Relativpronomen or relative pronouns

Short description: We use relative pronouns to link two sentences that have the same noun or subject. Relative pronouns are used to replace the noun or subject (for example, not to use the name twice). In English, relative pronouns are: who, whose, which, that, whom, and where. And in German, well, you’re about to find out.

Theory:

Videos

Blog posts

Relativpronomen: A Quick and Easy Guide to German Relative Pronouns on MyDailyGemran

Practice:

Day 13

Topic: Konjunktiv II im Präsens or the general subjunctive

Short description: The name of this topic might sound intimidating, but worry not, it’s not as scary as it might look at first. The general subjunctive, or Konjunktiv II is mostly used to express a few things listed below. Most importantly, we have English language equivalents that might make it easier for you to better understand how to use this rule:

Hypothetical situations (I wish something happened..)
To ask someone to do something or for something politely (Would you be so kind to…)
Recommendations and suggestions (If I were you, I’d do …)

Theory:

Videos

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Day 14

Topic: Indirekte Fragen or indirect questions

Short description: Germans are direct, but very polite. That’s why in most (formal) situations, they use indirect question forms. Learn how to ask and express your questions politely as well.

Theory:

Videos

Blog posts

Indirekte Fragen on easy Deutsch

Practice:

Day 15

Topic: Passiv Präsens or the passive voice

Short description: We use the passive voice when the thing receiving an action is more important than who or what is causing it. Here are examples in English:

Active sentence: I am learning German.
Passive sentence: German was learned by me.

The last example is a bit silly, but it shows how passive voice changes perspective.

Theory:

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Day 16

Topic: Reflexive Verben or reflexive verbs

Short description: We use reflexive verbs to describe what we do to ourselves. In English, reflexive verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun such as myself, yourself and herself, for example, I washed myself; He shaved himself. In German, the rules are a bit more different, including usage of cases. Also, in German we use reflexive verbs way more often than in English.

Theory:

Videos

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Day 17

Topic: the verb „lassen“

Short description: This is a very important verb in German. It has many meanings and is used in various situations. In one of the contexts, it’s similar to the English “let’s”, but it’s much more than that. We use to express such ideas as leaving something as is or getting something done, for something being possible or suggesting something.

Theory:

Videos

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Practice:

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