German grammar: a learning path with examples and exercises

Practise German grammar with a learning path, examples of word order, verbs, articles and negation, plus five exercises with explained answers.

Prepared by Deutsch Schreiben with AI assistance; original examples and exercises. · 1 November 2026

Where should you start with German grammar?

Start with a short sentence: who does what? Learn the verb form for each pronoun, then its position in the sentence, and learn nouns with their articles and plurals. If you are completely new, first try the German beginner guide. You do not need to memorise every grammar table before writing your first sentence.

Approximate stage	Topics to review	Practice task
A1: foundations	Present tense, pronouns, articles, questions, negation and basic accusative	Write five sentences about yourself, then turn one into a question.
A2: connecting sentences	Perfekt, dative, prepositions and simple subordinate clauses	Describe yesterday and give a reason using weil.
B1: describing ideas	Adjective endings, relative clauses, conditionals and passive voice	Write a letter explaining a situation and suggesting a solution.
B2: varying expression	Paired connectors, reported speech and sentence variety	Write an opinion with a reason, an example and an objection.
C1: precision and style	Nominal style, noun-verb combinations and nuances of meaning	Rewrite a paragraph in a style suitable for a formal letter.

This is a suggested learning order, not an official exam syllabus. A topic may be introduced at one level and revisited in greater depth later; knowing one rule does not determine your overall level.

Five rules to start with

1. The conjugated verb goes in second position

Ich lerne heute Deutsch.
Heute lerne ich Deutsch.

I am learning German today. / Today I am learning German.

In a main-clause statement, the conjugated verb occupies the second position. This means the second sentence element, not always the second word. Starting with Heute moves ich after the verb.

2. Verb endings change with the pronoun

Ich lerne. Du lernst. Wir lernen.

I learn. You learn. We learn.

These are present-tense examples of the regular verb lernen. Do not apply the pattern to every verb: sein has special forms such as ich bin, du bist and wir sind.

3. Learn each noun with its article

der Tisch – die Tische
die Tasche – die Taschen
das Buch – die Bücher

The table, bag and book, with their plural forms.

The article is part of learning a noun. It can change with the case: Ich sehe den Tisch. means “I see the table”. Here der becomes den because the noun is an accusative object. See Akkusativ vs Dativ with exercises.

4. The basic difference between nicht and kein

Das ist kein Buch.
Ich komme heute nicht.

That is not a book. / I am not coming today.

Use kein to negate a noun normally used with an indefinite article or no article. Use nicht to negate a verb, adjective or other sentence element. Its position depends on what is negated, while the ending of kein depends on gender, number and case.

5. The verb ends a subordinate clause with weil

Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich in Berlin wohne.

I am learning German because I live in Berlin.

The conjugated verb wohne goes at the end of the subordinate clause. Compare the main clause, where lerne is in second position.

German grammar exercises with answers

Write one word in each gap. Try before opening the answer. The explanations remain readable without JavaScript, and these exercise answers are not sent to a server.

Heute ___ ich Deutsch. (lernen)

Answer and explanation

lerne — The time expression comes first; the verb stays second, and its ich form is lerne.

Du ___ Deutsch. (lernen)

Answer and explanation

lernst — The regular verb ending with du here is st.

Ich sehe ___ Tisch. (der Tisch)

Answer and explanation

den — Sehen takes an accusative object; der becomes den.

Das ist ___ Buch. (ein Buch; negate)

Answer and explanation

kein — Negate ein Buch with kein Buch; this noun is neuter and nominative here.

Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich in Berlin ___. (wohnen)

Answer and explanation

wohne — Wohne comes at the end of the subordinate clause introduced by weil.

How should you review and choose the next lesson?

First classify the mistake: verb form, word order or noun article? Write the correct sentence, change one detail and write it again from memory. Avoid relying only on memorising an answer.

German adjective endings after reviewing articles and cases.
Obwohl vs trotzdem to connect contrasting ideas.
German writing correction with explanations for an example of reviewing a text.

Is learning grammar enough?

Grammar helps you understand and build sentences, but using them also requires vocabulary, listening, reading and conversation. Try A1 café listening to hear sentences in context, then write similar ones.

Continue practising in the app

Grammar reference

See the grammis definition of Verbzweitsatz from the Leibniz Institute for the German Language for the position of the finite verb. The examples and exercises in this guide were prepared by Deutsch Schreiben and are not copied from that reference.