Visiting friends
Freunde besuchen
- Invite and receive your friends at home.
- Organize a dinner party, game night, or other activity.
- Know common evening activities in your new country.
This lesson on "Visiting Friends" focuses on practical vocabulary and phrases for inviting friends (einladen), organizing dinners (Abendessen), and planning game or movie nights (Spiele- und Filmnacht). Key verbs include vorbeikommen (to drop by), sich unterhalten (to chat), aufräumen (to tidy up), and schenken (to give as a gift).
Vocabulary (11) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Übung 1: Conversation exercise
Anleitung:
- Do you see your friends often? What kind of activities do you like to do together? (Do you see your friends often? What kind of activities do you like to do together?)
- Do you prefer going to parties or doing board game night together? ( Do you prefer going to parties or doing board game night together?)
- Have you ever been on a trip with your friends? Tell us about it! (Have you ever been on a trip with your friends? Tell us about it!)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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Ich treffe meine Freunde jede Woche. Wir treffen uns normalerweise auf einen Kaffee und reden. I see my friends every week. We usually meet for coffee and talk. |
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Ich treffe meine Freunde nur ein- oder zweimal im Monat. Dann essen wir normalerweise zusammen zu Abend und spielen Spiele. I only see my friends once or twice a month. Then we usually have dinner and play games together. |
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Ich gehe lieber aus, wenn ich meine Freunde treffe. I prefer going out when I see my friends. |
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Ich spiele gerne Brettspiele, also spielen wir immer Ludo, wenn ich meine Freunde treffe. I love playing board games, so whenever I see my friends we play ludo together. |
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Mit meinem Freund Juán spiele ich immer Schach. With my friend Juán I always play chess. |
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Letztes Jahr machte ich mit zwei Freunden einen Ausflug nach Innsbruck. Wir gingen wandern und besuchten die Stadt. Das Wetter war wunderbar! Last year I went on a trip to Insbruck with two of my friends. We went hiking and visited the city. The weather was wonderful! |
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Exercise 2: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Morgen ______ mein Freund vorbei, um das Abendessen zu genießen.
(Tomorrow ______ my friend is coming by to enjoy dinner.)2. Wir haben uns gestern lange ______ und viel Spaß gehabt.
(We talked for a long time ______ yesterday and had a lot of fun.)3. Meine Freunde sind gestern Abend ______ , um Karten zu spielen.
(My friends came by ______ last night to play cards.)4. Wir haben das Geschirr ______ , bevor die Gäste angekommen sind.
(We cleaned up the dishes ______ before the guests arrived.)Exercise 4: Visiting Friends and Planning the Evening
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Sich unterhalten - To talk
Perfekt
- ich habe mich unterhalten
- du hast dich unterhalten
- er/sie/es hat sich unterhalten
- wir haben uns unterhalten
- ihr habt euch unterhalten
- sie/Sie haben sich unterhalten
Vorbeikommen - To drop by
Präsens
- ich komme vorbei
- du kommst vorbei
- er/sie/es kommt vorbei
- wir kommen vorbei
- ihr kommt vorbei
- sie/Sie kommen vorbei
Vorbeikommen - To drop by
Perfekt
- ich bin vorbeigekommen
- du bist vorbeigekommen
- er/sie/es ist vorbeigekommen
- wir sind vorbeigekommen
- ihr seid vorbeigekommen
- sie/Sie sind vorbeigekommen
Aufräumen - To tidy up
Präsens
- ich räume auf
- du räumst auf
- er/sie/es räumt auf
- wir räumen auf
- ihr räumt auf
- sie/Sie räumen auf
Schenken - To give as a gift
Präsens (Futur I)
- ich werde schenken
- du wirst schenken
- er/sie/es wird schenken
- wir werden schenken
- ihr werdet schenken
- sie/Sie werden schenken
Karten spielen - To play cards
Präsens
- ich spiele Karten
- du spielst Karten
- er/sie/es spielt Karten
- wir spielen Karten
- ihr spielt Karten
- sie/Sie spielen Karten
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Visiting Friends: Planning and Inviting in German
This lesson focuses on everyday conversations about inviting friends over, planning dinners, and organizing game or movie nights in German. It's ideal for A2 level learners who want to improve their practical speaking skills for social gatherings.
Key Topics Covered
- Inviting friends: How to invite, confirm, and prepare invitations for social events.
- Organizing dinners: Discussing food choices, timing, and roles in preparing meals.
- Game and movie nights: Planning entertainment activities and arranging snacks and drinks.
Useful Vocabulary and Expressions
The lesson includes common verbs and phrases essential for socializing:
- einladen (to invite)
- vorbeikommen (to come by/stop by)
- kochen (to cook)
- mitbringen (to bring along)
- aufräumen (to tidy up)
- Spieleabend (game night)
- Filmabend (movie night)
Highlighted Conversations
Examples include confirming what guests should bring, suggesting and agreeing upon times, and expressing enthusiasm for the evening.
Verb Usage and Conjugation
This lesson also teaches important verb forms related to social situations, such as:
- Present and perfect tense forms of vorbeikommen (kommen vorbei): e.g., ich komme vorbei, ich bin vorbeigekommen.
- Present tense of sich unterhalten (to have a conversation): e.g., wir haben uns unterhalten.
- Using future tense (Futur I) to talk about future plans, e.g., ich werde schenken (I will give).
Short Story for Context
The included short story depicts friends coming over for dinner, preparing together, and enjoying games, providing contextualized examples of the vocabulary and grammar points.
Important Differences and Useful Tips
German separates separable prefix verbs like aufräumen (to tidy up) into parts depending on the sentence tense and structure, e.g., ich räume auf. Understanding word order is crucial: in subordinate clauses and perfect tense, verbs often move to the end. Unlike English, German expresses the future tense clearly with werden plus the infinitive, e.g., ich werde schenken. Useful phrases include greetings and polite invitations like Hallo, möchtest du am Samstag zu mir kommen? (Hello, would you like to come to my place on Saturday?) and responses to invitations, helping learners to engage naturally in everyday social conversations.
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