Make a decision based on simple job descriptions & sum-up: all dative and accusative prepositions and their contractions. Paul discovers for himself that he wants to be an author. So today he plans to write 20 applications and tell his mother about it. But the chances to become an author are slim, because he doesn't have a degree in German Studies …

Understand an article in a tabloid newspaper & fusion of prepositions and articles: am, beim, im, vom, zum, zur, ins. Paul checks the Whatsapp group to learn about Fritz. He thinks Meili might find something on Fritz' Facebook. He reads on a news app about an accident at the Oktoberfest. A lot of police are needed there. Laura explains that that's …

Career planning, interest-based words & question word: welch-. Paul thinks about which job he wants and finds help in the job book he got from Anna. It was her present for Pauls birthday which she had angrily slammed on the table at the buffet in Berlin. He wants to do "something with writing, texts and words". He starts enthusiastically, but quick…

Talk about social problem areas and career choices, tip the waitress & subordinate clause with accusative (der Mann, den ich sehe). Paul is out with Laura when she tells him that Fritz always dreamed of owning a holiday home by the beach, maybe on the North Sea or Baltic Sea. Laura asks about Paul's job. Since he's jobless, he lies, saying he's a l…

Compare things, talk about the past & comparative and superlative. Paul sets up the date with Laura. Grandpa is still going on about former times. He starts talking about books that were banned in the GDR, former East Germany. That's when he remembers THE book. Paul lies again: he says the book is at home. He had lied to his mother about his job ch…

Explain economics and politics in very simple words & temporal prepositions: ab; von ... bis; zwischen. Everyone thinks that the sticker on Fritz's garage door opener is in the shape of a lake. Therefore, Paul looks for it on the internet. But he cannot find such a lake in all of Germany. He thinks there is little hope because Fritz is certainly ab…

Tell a story about the past, make conclusions & temporal prepositions: vor, nach, seit. Paul's mom feels guilty because he got fired and so she transferred € 500 to his account. He pretends to know what kind of job he wants and says he'll tell her next time. So he is spared from having to tell his friends that they have to pay themselves, even thou…

Emphasize the negative aspects of a person, make a friendly suggestion & Substituite forms for the imperative: Nicht so viel trinken! / Lass uns das nehmen! Paul writes his mother that he wants to borrow 500 € from her. He lies and says it’s for new clothes for a job interview - not for treating his friends to the Oktoberfest directly after a shopp…

Make suggestions and give commands & Imperative with Sie: kommen Sie / suggestion with wir: gehen wir. Paul is buying new clothes to be prepared in case he is invited to a job interview. He doesn't have a lot of money, so he doesn't want to buy much. But he gets too excited and ends up on a shopping frenzy. Meili is happy because her problems are g…

Ask for a favor, express uncertainty, evade questions & imperative with ihr: geht / seid. Paul's parents are in the dance club. They talk to their friend, the head of the university and ask him to help Meili. He says he might be able to help her. Meanwhile, Paul texts Laura: He writes he doesn't like Fritz either. But then he playfully bypasses her…

Give commands and instructions & imperative with du: sei / iss / sag / antworte / öffne / fahr / geh. Paul writes Anna to ask her for some clothing store recommendations and learns about Meili's problems. Then he visits his parents for coffee and cake. Now they are very friendly to him because they have a guilty conscience: Paul has lost his job wh…

Joke about a singing performance, talk about TV and university & dative and prepositions: zu der Frau / zum Glück / von der Hose / vom Mann. Anna and Meili are watching a talent show. Anna needs to break it to Meili that she missed a deadline at the university. She obviously had no clue and is devastated. It means that she can no longer take course…

Analyze your social circle, express solutions for problems & dative and prepositions: mit dem Garagenöffner / nach dem Fußballspiel and n-declension in the dative. Anna and Tim aren't mad at Paul anymore. But Meili still is. And Fritz is gone. Paul has to get Meili to forgive him. Only then can he invite all of his friends to the Oktoberfest, resto…

Talk about football (soccer), make arrangements & dative and prepositions: aus der Ecke / bei dem Foul. Paul and Tim were at a football (soccer) game - Paul had invited him and paid for the tickets. As a thank you, Tim calls Fritz's landlord and pretends to be Fritz: He wants to get him to arrange for the garage door to be repaired, so that Paul ca…

Internet related words & dative with plural and indefinite articles: einem Mann / keiner Frau. Paul is sitting in bed with his laptop, researching surf spots in Germany. Unfortunately, there are far too many of them. He needs more information before he can go on with his search. He finds Laura's e-mail in the spam folder: She saw him yesterday and …

Address related words for sending letters & the dative case (dem, der, dem). Paul is near his apartment and opens Fritz's letter. It's two weeks old and it has the cell phone number of Fritz's landlord. Paul wants to call him and have the garage door repaired in Fritz's name. That way, he'll be able to open it afterwards, and sniff around inside. H…

Use cool words like a teenager & temporal prepositions: im, am, um. Paul is at Fritz's apartment. He finds a letter from his landlord and a garage door opener with a broken sticker. He recognizes that it belongs to Fritz. The opener works, but the garage door won't open. The door may be broken. Suddenly strangers from Fritz's apartment talk to him …

Tell a story, talk about an accident & perfect tense with separable and reflexive verbs. Anna has to empty her basement by herself. Her landlord puts pressure on her, but doesn't help. She drops a box because her shoulder hurts again. That's when Paul arrives. She reluctantly accepts his help. He gives her painkillers, and together they retell thei…

Describe your situation in the past & perfect tense: wir sind gewesen / gelandet. Paul is still with Grandpa while Meili is sending a link from Fritz's Facebook page. Fritz was promoted because he caught the Großkauf thieves. That must be the reason why he is now the new head of the theft department. Anna writes that she has to empty her basement. …

Talk about former times and history & perfect tense: er hat gesehen / vergessen. Paul visits Grandpa. And he asks his friends in the group chat about Fritz. But he kept everything as a secret. So they don't know anything. And they are still angry at Paul. It seems it’s Fritz who has the book. Paul cannot confess to Grandpa that it’s gone because he…

Ask for information about people, talk about smartphones & perfect tense: er hat erzählt / gesagt. Paul wants to visit Fritz at the police station and report the theft, but he is not there. He is the new head of the theft department and is currently on vacation. That seems to be something that Fritz has been hiding. Does he have the book? If so, th…

Facilities and locations in the city & reflexive pronouns and reflexive verbs. Paul is sad and on his way to the police station to file a report. His parents call him. They want to stress him again. Paul counters: They don't help, and they didn't even try to warn him of his mistake. Accidentally sending the message for his boss to his dad has cost …

Restructure the workforce & separable verbs & sentence structure. Paul is getting fired. He wasn’t aware that he didn’t report his illness to his boss. Instead, he accidentally sent the message to his dad - who didn't warn him of his mistake. So he was absent without notice. He clears his desk and calls Grandpa who says there is something Paul does…

Grocery shopping, measurements, weight & sentence structure, subordinate clause. Paul is sick. He’s doing his grocery shopping in the supermarket. After that, he wants to go home, take sleeping pills, and write a message to his boss about his sick leave. Things are not going well at work at the moment. He should work more and play less detective. S…

Name body parts, describe your illness to the doctor & personal pronouns in the accusative: mich / dich / ihn / uns / euch & introduction to the n-declension. Paul is at the doctor’s because he got sick. The caretaker replies to his message: There are no cameras on the outside of Paul’s apartment building. So it is unknown if the book was thrown do…

Describe how things played out, and reasons for it & adjective declensions in the accusative: den großen Busch / einen großen Busch / großen Busch. Paul celebrates his birthday alone at home. He has no more friends. Now Fritz is mad at him, too, because he told Anna that he knows about her criminal record. He could have only got that information fr…

German dinner foods, bring up and disarm arguments & adjective declensions: eine internationale Stadt / ein grüner Tee / ein leckeres Bier / schöne Ecken. Scandal at the dinner buffet! Paul confronts Anna. He followed her and thinks he saw her trying to sell his book. And she was seen on the surveillance video with her bag. He also mentions her cri…

Evaluate options, negotiate, make a decision & adjective declensions: das wertvolle Buch / der alte Verkäufer / die kleine Frau. Paul is just about to walk into the bookstore and confront Anna there. But then he sees that the shopkeeper can't help her and she walks out. He gets a phone call from his parents: They say the book was a present from Gra…

Express astonishment and disbelief, describe people’s actions & accusative with prepositions. Paul is following Anna. He thinks what's covered by a carrier bag inside her handbag is his book. He watches her walk into a bookstore. She takes the book out and negotiates with the shopkeeper. Paul gets angry and wants to run in to catch her red-handed. …

Talk about points of interest, locations, means of transport & the accusative case (den, einen, keinen). In Berlin, Anna, Fritz and Paul want to go to the Brandenburg Gate. Fritz warns them about pickpockets because Anna's handbag won't close. Something square, wrapped in a carrier bag is sticking out. Fritz's mobile phone rings again, and he walks…

Talk about a trip, directions using a map & simple past forms for modal & mixed verbs. Anna arrives on the train at the last second. She couldn’t answer her phone because the battery is dead. Also, her bicycle is broken. That’s why she is late. The train departs and they talk about sights in Berlin. Fritz gets a phone call and talks like he is in l…

Understand announcements in a train station & plural: nouns that get an -er / -¨er ending, simple past forms for irregular and auxiliary verbs. Paul and Fritz are at the train station and want to go to Berlin. While they are buying tickets, they wonder why Anna hasn’t arrived yet. She’s running late. Strangely she’s also not answering phone calls. …

Text: e-mail, use simple past tense for written language & plural: nouns that get no ending but sometimes change to an ä/ö/ü, simple past forms for regular verbs. Fritz reads Paul's invitation email. He cleverly used the information about Anna's criminal record without giving away that he knows about it. He described his own theft as a child and th…

Discuss travel plans and options & plural: nouns that get an -s ending. Paul and Fritz take a look at some nice cars in a showroom. He talks about the trip to Berlin. Fritz is excited and wants to come along. But he doubts Anna would join them. So Paul shows him Anna's answer. It says "Paul, I didn't even know that! I’ll come with you." Fritz is to…

Read and understand online reviews & plural: nouns that get an -e / -¨e ending. Paul books a hotel in Berlin and writes Anna a message with an invitation to the trip. Meanwhile, his friends go out without him. Tim stirs up everyone's opinion against Paul. Fritz tries to mediate without success. Meili and Anna get mad at Paul when they hear he accus…

Give and receive information about somebody & plural: nouns that get an -en/-n ending. Fritz sends Paul some information: Anna has a criminal record for theft. Paul also knows she likes to read. Now he suspects her even more but he doesn’t want to risk asking her directly if she is the one who stole his book. So he decides to book a trip to Berlin …

Months & demonstrative pronouns: dieser, dieses, diese. Fritz and Paul are training in the gym. Fritz warns him not to keep upsetting their friends with his messages. Instead, he suggests a party at Paul's place. That way, he would have a chance to work things out in person with everybody. But Paul refuses. He thinks Anna stole the book. Fritz says…

Talk about law and permissions, describe people’s actions & noun-noun composites: Wohnungseingang / Hausflur / Hausmeister. Paul watches the surveillance video in the caretaker’s office. After the party, Meili and Tim didn't visibly carry his book when leaving his apartment. Neither did Anna and Fritz, but they each had a bag. Paul seems to think h…

Talk about hobbies, make small talk, four seasons & possessive pronouns: unser(e), euer/eure. Paul meets Meili "by chance" near the university. He is more clever now: They make small talk about hobbies. He casually asks about Meili's job and apologizes for what he wrote earlier. It turns out that her message was just a misunderstanding: Meili doesn…

Justify actions, reflect on a situation, read the 24-hour clock & possessive pronouns: dein(e), sein(e), ihr(e). Paul tries to find Laura on Facebook. But it’s not easy, and he gives up. Also because this is making him feel like a stalker. Tim calls: He was on vacation. His mobile phone was switched off. Getting accused by Paul makes him angry. He …

Make appointments, read the traditional analog clock (tell the time) & possessive pronouns: mein(e), Ihr(e). Paul had to get out of the apartment to clear his head. He’s walking to Tim's bike repair shop because he wants to ask him about the book. He also needs his bicycle fixed. But he forgot about Fritz who arrives at Pauls apartment to help him.…

Order somebody to do something, express disappointment & determine the gender of nouns by their meanings: car and motorbike brands, gender summary. It's not Fritz who is at the door. Unexpectedly, Paul's parents are standing in front of him. They bring food so that he doesn't stay so skinny. Paul's mother teases his father for boasting about the tw…

Describe a problem, express compassion & determine the gender of nouns by their meanings: weather words. Fritz says he'll be right there to help. Paul wants to ask in the group chat who took the book, but he ends up outright accusing everybody. His friends are outraged, but still somewhat understanding. Nobody admits they took the book, though - so…

Give advice, discuss weekend plans, ask for help, & determine the gender of nouns by their meanings: alcoholic drinks and colors. Paul has no doubt anymore that the book is gone. He thinks it was stolen. He wants to find it and calls Fritz, who knew nothing about its value. He offers to help and says maybe someone just borrowed it. He suggests a pa…

Times of the day, express despair and anger & determine the gender of nouns by their meanings: times of the day/days of the week/months/seasons/points of the compass, modal verb dürfen and modal verb summary. The next morning after the party, Paul realizes that the precious book he got from his parents is gone. They must never find out about it! Th…

Describe and evaluate situations and objects, congratulate & gender of nouns: words with endings -ei / -schaft. At Pauls housewarming party, the book comes up: It is a precious gift from Paul's father. His friends are skeptical about the value. They praise Paul's beautiful wallpaper - but in truth, they find it ugly. Laura doesn't come. Fritz says …

Rooms of an apartment & gender of nouns: words with endings -ung / -heit / -keit. Paul shows you his new apartment before the housewarming party. He is thrilled: His wallpaper is so beautiful! He reveals that Tim is also coming. Apparently he is no longer angry. Maybe he just hadn't read Paul's message? And Fritz says at short notice that he will b…

Colors, materials, and shapes & gender of nouns: words with endings -t and -e. The furniture store apprentice cleans up and wonders who wants to buy such an ugly wallpaper. This is embarrassing because at that moment, Paul comes. He hears this and says he wants to buy the wallpaper. Tim really seems to be angry. Or why does he ignore Paul? Transcri…

Describe objects, furniture, ask for repitition & gender of nouns: words with endings -chen and -lein. Paul buys a little table and chair for his apartment. The message he got is not from Tim. It's from Meili who asks if she should bring music to the party. Paul writes to Tim: 'Are you angry?' Is Tim still mad? Will he not come to the party? Transc…

Furniture, directions, days of the week & gender of nouns: words with endings -er and -ling. Paul is shopping for furniture before the party. He is looking for wallpaper for his new apartment. That's when he gets a message. Is it from Tim? Is he still angry? Will he not come to the party? Transcript, lesson and extras: german-stories.com/20-paul-wi…