Learn German A1 – Lesson 3: Learning German

This is lesson 3 of the A1 German series on the OK+ channel, and its subject is Learning German. It is built for someone starting from nothing who wants to use what they learn the same day, rather than collect rules that help neither in the street nor at the office.

The grammar it works on is Artikel (der/die/das) · Negation (kein, nicht). This page carries the rule explained, the fifteen words of the lesson, example sentences and an exercise for today.

Artikel (der/die/das) · Negation (kein, nicht)

Every German noun carries an article: der for masculine, die for feminine, das for neuter. The article is not decoration; it is the part that later changes with case, so whoever neglects it at the start pays for it in the lessons that follow. Negation, in turn, uses two words rather than one: kein negates an indefinite noun or one with no article, while nicht negates verbs, adjectives and definite nouns, and usually stands at the end of the sentence or directly before what it negates.

kein versus nicht

The fifteen words of this lesson

Example sentences

• Ich lerne jeden Tag Deutsch. — I learn German every day.
• Das ist der Lehrer. — That is the teacher.
• Die Grammatik ist nicht leicht. — The grammar is not easy.
• Ich habe keine Aufgabe für heute. — I have no task for today.
• Wiederholst du das Beispiel? — Will you repeat the example?

Today's exercise

Take ten words from the vocabulary table and write, for each, one positive sentence and its negation. Every time you will be forced to choose between kein and nicht, and it is that repeated choice, not the memorised rule, that fixes the difference.

How to study this lesson

• Watch the lesson once end to end without stopping, to get the shape of it
• Watch it again, pausing at every new word and saying it aloud
• Write the fifteen words out by hand — writing fixes them better than reading
• Use three of the sentences the same day, even if only to yourself
• Do not move on until you can recall this vocabulary without looking

Where this lesson sits in the series

The series is twelve lessons in a deliberate order: each builds on the grammar and the vocabulary of the one before it. This is lesson 3 of twelve. Do not skip between them — skipping is the first cause of stalling at A1.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a rule for the article of every noun?
Only partial ones (nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit are feminine, for instance), and they do not suffice. Learn the word together with its article; one colour per article in your notebook helps a great deal.

When do I use kein and when nicht?
kein before an indefinite or article-less noun; nicht for everything else — verbs, adjectives, definite nouns.

Where does nicht stand?
At the end of the sentence when it negates the whole verb, and directly before the word when it negates a particular adjective or adverb.

Should I learn grammar before vocabulary?
Neither before the other. A rule without words cannot be spoken, and words without a rule cannot be built into a sentence.

Watch the video

The video is on the OK+ channel on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDKE16keS78

Also on OK+

• Learn German A1 – Lesson 2: My family and I
• Learn German A1 – Lesson 4: Food and drink
• Fifty German verbs – part one

A tool that shortens the road

The OK Plus DE app gathers German administrative calculators and form templates in one place, free, ad-free, in seven languages. Android and iPhone, from the same page:
Get the OK Plus DE app