5 mistakes almost everyone learning German makes
These mistakes come up in every generation of learners. Once you recognise them, you stop making them and sound noticeably more natural.
After several thousand learners, the mistakes become predictable. These five show up in almost everyone who speaks our language and is learning German, because they all come from the same source: literal translation.
1. The verb in the wrong place
In a German statement the verb is always in second position. Not third, and not wherever sounds natural to us.
- Wrong: Heute ich gehe ins Kino.
- Right: Heute gehe ich ins Kino.
The rule is mechanical: if you start a sentence with something other than the subject, the subject goes right after the verb. Once it's in your ear, it stops being a problem.
2. Forgetting the article
Our language has no articles, so the brain skips them automatically. "Ich habe Auto" instead of "Ich habe ein Auto". The fix isn't to be more careful, it's to learn words together with their article from the start.
3. Wie and als in comparisons
| Use | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Equal | wie | Er ist so groß wie ich. |
| Different (comparative) | als | Er ist größer als ich. |
If there's a comparative (größer, besser, schneller), it's als. If you're comparing like with like, it's wie. There is no third case.
4. Translating prepositions literally
Prepositions don't translate one to one. "I'm waiting for you" is "Ich warte auf dich" not because auf means "for", but because the verb warten requires auf. Learn the preposition with the verb, as a package.
- warten auf + accusative: to wait for someone
- sich freuen auf + accusative: to look forward to something
- denken an + accusative: to think of someone
- helfen + dative: to help someone (no preposition!)
5. The perfect tense with the wrong auxiliary
Most verbs form the perfect with haben. But verbs of movement and change of state take sein: gehen, fahren, kommen, bleiben, werden, aufstehen.
- Wrong: Ich habe nach Berlin gefahren.
- Right: Ich bin nach Berlin gefahren.
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In our courses we go through the whole level like this: with explanations in our language, exercises and corrections.