German AP Summer Work

During the summer, in order to keep your language skills from regressing too far, there are activities that
students entering AP German must complete. Please do not wait until the week/day before school begins to
start the work! It is best to spread the work out over the entire summer break.

The activities are:

1. Write an essay about one interesting thing you did this summer. This should be more than a choppy list
of activities! It should use transition words between sentences and paragraphs. Highlight one activity
and expand on it. You can explain how you felt, what you thought, compare it with something else, etc.
The composition should be a minimum of 200 words and be grammatically correct. Please use
dictionaries carefully! You will present this activity to the class orally when school starts. You may
not simply read the essay out loud! Visuals must be used (i.e. PowerPoints, brochures etc…) Make
sure we know what you’re talking about! If you are somewhere that offers a brochure in German, make
sure to grab a copy.

2. Find 6 articles online about a current event in Germany, Switzerland or Austria. Each of the articles
should follow one of the themes: Global Challenges, Beauty and Aesthetics, Science and
Technology, Families and Communities, Personal and Public Identities, and Contemporary Life.
News links can be found at:
• http://german.about.com/od/newsnachrichten/News_Nachrichten.htm,
• http://www.ard.de/
• www.zdf.de
• http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,265,00.html
• http://www.sueddeutsche.de/
• http://www.orf.at/ -- Austrian
• http://diepresse.com/ -- Austrian
• http://www.italysoft.com/news/tages-anzeiger.html -- Swiss

• Print out the article. (Make sure I know where you got it from!)
• Write a Zusammenfassung auf Deutsch—use your own words!
• Make a list of vocabulary that is useful for understanding the article (German and English)
• Write at least 3 comprehension questions for the article.

3. Find a short video online (3 – 10 minutes) fitting with the one of the over arching themes (auf deutsch
natürlich).
• www.kindernachrichten.de
• www.swr.de
• www.dw.de
• www.youtube.com
Write a Zusammenfassung auf deutsch – a paragraph long.

4. Complete the worksheets regarding Passiv

• Have these work sheets printed out and completed by hand.

5. From the website childrenslibrary.org

• Select two stories
• http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/ResultByWorld?area=4&start=0&pgct=12&ilangcode=en&
ilang=English&view=cover&sort=title&type=0&country=country32
• Pull out 10 Vocabulary words and write 5 comprehension questions per story.
Other useful activities:
• Listen to German news or radio online!
Listening practice:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2925601,00.html (langsam gesprochene Nachrichten)
http://www.multilingualbooks.com/online-radio-german.html (German Radio)
http://www.listenlive.eu/germany.html (Radio)
• Play German games online! If you go to www.yahoo.de you can click on “Spiele” and play lots
of games auf Deutsch. I personally recommend Text Express—very useful for vocab review!
• Enter any topic you think you might want to practice into Google! (For example, “German
Adjective Endings”) You will find a ton of activities, many of which are games!
These are not required, but will help you keep up on your German!

Important:
Everything turned in should be auf Deutsch! Your essay and summaries must be typed and double-spaced.
Your book questions and grammar exercises may be handwritten NEATLY in the packets you print out.
Make sure that the individual assignments are clearly separated.

The work must be turned in at the beginning of the school year.

The work is worth 100 points and will count toward the first semester assessment grade.

Please feel free to contact me at elizabeth_hagen@ipsd.org with any questions you may have!

VIEL SPASS UND GENIESST DEN SOMMER! 

 RUBRIC

ESSAY
Point Content Comprehensibility Language Control Vocabulary Usage
Value and Fluency (Mechanics and Spelling)
A Superior Completion, Requires no Excellent control of Language Rich variety of
18.5-20 included all required interpretation on the Structures. Minimal errors in vocabulary, uses
elements. Ideas are part of the reader, spelling, punctuation and other effective word choice.
well-developed and complete and cohesive grammar concepts.
organized sentences. Transitions
well and supports main
ideas.
B Adequate Completion, Requires minimal Adequate control of Language Adequate and mostly
16.5-18 included most required interpretation on the Structures. Mostly accurate accurate use of
elements. Ideas are part of the reader, uses spelling, punctuation and other vocabulary.
adequately developed mostly complete and grammar concepts.
and organized cohesive sentences.
Transitions/main ideas
are evident
C Partial Completion of Requires interpretation Some control of Language Somewhat
14.5-16 Task. Content mostly on the part of the Structures. Frequent mistakes inadequate/inaccurate
appropriate, ideas not reader, some complete in spelling, punctuation and use of vocabulary.
well-developed or and cohesive sentences. other grammar concepts.
organized. Little or no evidence of
transitions/main ideas
D/F Minimal or Lack of Text barely Inadequate/inaccurate use of Inadequate/inaccurate
0-14 Completion of Task. comprehensible. Little language structures. use of vocabulary.
Content frequently to no attempt at Inaccurate spelling,
inappropriate, ideas no complete/cohesive punctuation, and other
development or sentences. Lack of grammar points.
organization transitions.
ORAL PRESENTATION
F-0-12 D-13-14 C-14.5-16 B-16.5-18 A-18.5-20
Breakdown of oral Too much reliance on Too much reliance on Too much reliance on Conversational,
presentation or not text and problems text and problems text or problems with mostly correct
given with language and with language or language or visual language; visual aids
visual aid visual aid aids neat and appropriate,
visual aides
incorporated into
report

Grammar Exercises: ________/20 points

Essay: _________/20 points
ALT-codes
Article Zusammenfassung, vocab, questions: _______/20 points ä = ALT + 132
Video Zusammenfassung vocab, questions: __________/20 points ö = ALT + 148
ü = ALT + 129
Oral Presentation: _______/20 points ß = ALT + 225

Total: _________/100 Ä = ALT + 142

Ü = ALT + 154
Ö = ALT = 153
* You may also type “ä”
as “ae”, etc.
 The Passive Voice in English
Like German, English has both an active and a passive voice. In the normal active voice, the subject of the
sentence acts upon or interacts with an object: She sees him. Both German and English offer an alternative verb
structure, the passive voice, in which the subject of the sentence receives the action: He is seen by her. To
transform the active to the passive, we turn the direct object "him" into the grammatical subject "he" and place
it in the customary first position. The active verb ("sees") becomes the past participle ("seen"), and - in English -
"to be" is inserted as the auxiliary verb: thus She sees him becomes He is seen.

One purpose of the passive voice is avoid identifying the active subject - Mistakes were made - but if we do
want to retain that information, we put it into a prepositional phrase: Mistakes were made by the leaders.

The Passive Voice in German

German uses a very similar structure for the passive: the important difference is that instead of 'is' (to be) as the
auxiliary verb, German forms the passive with werden. Like in English, the accusative direct object of an
active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence (him becomes he, ihn becomes er). The past
participle ('seen' in our examples above) is the past participle in German as well.

Sie sieht ihn. Er wird gesehen.

If we still want to identify the agent (he is seen by her), we put the information into a prepositional phrase,
usually with von -- which of course takes the dative case: Er wird von ihr gesehen.

Note: The preposition durch can be used when the active subject is an instrument (a thing or cause)
of the action, rather than an initiator (person): Berlin wird durch eine Mauer geteilt. Of course durch
takes the accusative, as always. And like the English "with," mit can be used to indicate a tool used
to carry out the action: Die Tür wird mit einem Schlüssel geöffnet. The most common sentences,
though, and the ones we will be practicing most, are those with a von-agent.

The Passive Voice with Verbs That Take the Dative Case
Verbs that take the dative case, even when a direct action is implied, require a different structure than normal
accusative verbs. This structure doesn't have an English equivalent -- which means you'll need to watch out for
dative verbs, since your instinct won't tell you to do anything differently. Remember that with normal verbs we
move the direct object into the subject position and make it nominative. Since dative verbs do not have
accusative direct objects, there is nothing to move to the subject position! We must keep the dative object in
the dative case, but carry on making a passive sentence with werden + past participle. There are two equally
common structures for the passive with dative verbs:

Sie hilft mir. Mir wird (von ihr) geholfen.

(oder:) Es wird mir (von ihr) geholfen.

Note that even in the first variant, mir is not the grammatical subject; there is an understood es that functions as
a dummy subject. With dative verbs, even when the object is plural, the verb will always be singular (in other
words, the subject is always es, even when es is not explicitly stated):

Sie hilft den Leuten. Den Leuten wird geholfen.

(oder:) Es wird den Leuten geholfen.
 Tenses in the Passive Voice
In English, we change tenses in the passive by changing the auxiliary verb "to be" -- he is seen, he was seen,
he will be seen, etc. The same is true in German: to change tenses, simply change the verb werden. The only
unusual element comes in the past participle in the perfect tense: instead of the expected "geworden", we use
just "worden". (We will be practicing this tense later, so don't worry too much about it for now.) The most
common passive tenses, and the ones you need to be very comfortable with, are the present and simple past.

Präsens (present): Du wirst gesehen. You are seen / You are being
seen.
Präteritum (simple past): Du wurdest gesehen. You were seen / You were being
seen.
Perfekt (present perfect): Du bist gesehen worden. You have been seen.
Futur (future): Du wirst gesehen werden. You will be seen.
Präsens mit Modalverb (present with modal): Du kannst You can be seen.
gesehen werden.
Präteritum mit Modalverb (past with modal Du konntest You could be seen.
verb): gesehen werden.

Passive in three easy steps:

1. The accusative object of the original active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence -- and
changes to the nominative case accordingly. The original subject of the active sentence (the agent) doesn't
need to be stated in the passive version (often, that's the point of the passive), but if you need to, you can state
it by inserting von + dative. All other nouns and pronouns remain unchanged: in particular, dative objects
remain dative. If there is no accusative object, you can use a dummy "es" as the subject, or simply leave the
subject slot empty (filling it with an object or adverb).

2. Change the main verb into the past participle (ge- form)! Doing otherwise makes a completely different
sentence with a very different meaning. Every passive sentence in every tense in German (and English) has a
past participle of the main verb.

3. Use the correct form of werden as the auxiliary (conjugated) verb, and decide on which tense of werden to
use.

Aspects of the Passive Unique to German

Occasionally, German uses the passive voice in ways that English cannot. Since these don't translate directly
into English, they may be hard for you to grasp, but rest assured that we will practice these idiosyncrasies in
class.

The introductory es
Es is often used to begin a passive main clause, even when it is not the subject.
 Es werden heute viele Häuser aus Holz gebaut. Many houses are built of wood today.

Note that viele Häuser is the actual subject of that sentence (and thus werden agrees with that plural subject). Es
is merely a placeholder, and plays no grammatical role. If any other element is moved to the first position, the
es disappears:

Heute werden viele Häuser aus Holz gebaut. Today many houses are built of wood.

This introductory es is particularly common when verbs that take the dative are used, as discussed above.

Es wird mir geholfen. I am being helped.

Es wurde ihm noch eine Chance gegeben. He was given another chance.

The impersonal passive

UNLIKE ENGLISH, German can take an intransitive verb -- a verb that has no direct object at all -- and turn it
into a passive sentence. There is absolutely no way of doing this in English. If you have the sentence "We
walked to the store" you cannot put it into the passive in English ('to the store was walked' doesn't make any
sense). In German, you can, and you do -- often. You merely use the dummy es as the subject, and the rest of
the rules for passive constructions apply:

Wir liefen zum Markt. Es wurde zum Markt gelaufen.

We walked to the store. (no direct translation!)

This use of the passive (called the impersonal passive, since there's no 'person' specified) is very common in
German, and is used to denote general activity. To indicate that "There is dancing going on at the party" for
instance, Germans will say:

Man tanzt auf der Party. Es wird auf der Party getanzt.

Other common examples of the impersonal passive:

Es wird geklatscht. People are chatting; there is chatting going on.

Bei uns zu Hause wird viel gelacht. At our house there's a lot of laughing.
Hier wird oft geraucht. There's often smoking done here; people smoke a lot here.

From: www.nthuleen.com
Arbeitsblatt: Passiv Präsens und Präteritum vom www.nthuleen.com/teach/grammar

A. Klischees. Bilden Sie Sätze im Passiv Präsens.

BEISPIEL: Schottland - Whisky - trinken In Schottland wird Whisky getrunken.

1. Italien - Pizza - essen

___________________________________________________________________________

2. Deutschland - Bier - trinken

___________________________________________________________________________

3. Bayern - Lederhosen (pl.) - tragen

___________________________________________________________________________

4. Brasilien - Fußball - spielen

___________________________________________________________________________

5. Wien - Walzer (pl.) - tanzen

___________________________________________________________________________

B. Was wird heute gemacht? Transformieren Sie die aktiven Sätze ins Passiv Präsens, mit Agenten.

BEISPIEL: Die Mutter kocht das Essen. Das Essen wird von der Mutter gekocht.

1. Der Koch serviert das Essen.

___________________________________________________________________________

2. Meine Schwester schreibt viele Briefe.

___________________________________________________________________________

3. Der Lehrer spielt Klavier.

___________________________________________________________________________

4. Mein Bruder macht die Fenster (pl.) sauber.

___________________________________________________________________________

5. Die Kinder räumen das Zimmer auf.

___________________________________________________________________________
C. Probleme im Hotel. Schreiben Sie die Sätze im Passiv Präteritum. Passen Sie auf: manche Sätze sind
schwer oder haben irgendein ‘Trick.’

BEISPIEL: Die Gäste bezahlten die Rechnung nicht. Die Rechnung wurde von den Gästen
nicht bezahlt.

1. Die Putzfrau machte das Zimmer nicht sauber.

___________________________________________________________________________

2. Die laute Musik ärgerte die Hotelgäste.

___________________________________________________________________________

3. Das Hotel gab den Gästen keine Handtücher.

___________________________________________________________________________

4. Bis zwei Uhr spielte ein Nachbar laute Musik.

___________________________________________________________________________

5. Der Concierge half den Gästen nicht.

___________________________________________________________________________

D. Auf deutsch! Übersetzen Sie die Sätze ins Deutsche. Alle sind im Passiv: manche stehen im Präsens
(=is being done), andere im Präteritum (=was done).

1. My TV was stolen (=gestohlen).

_________________________________________________________________________________

2. Her car is being repaired by the mechanic.

_________________________________________________________________________________

3. Houses are being built (=gebaut) here.

_________________________________________________________________________________

4. My friends were not invited to the party.

_________________________________________________________________________________

5. The books are being sold by the library.

_________________________________________________________________________________

6. I was helped by an old woman.

_________________________________________________________________________________
Arbeitsblatt: Passiv Perfekt und unpersönliches Passiv

A. Es ist schon gemacht worden. Transformieren Sie die aktiven Sätze ins Passiv Perfekt.

BEISPIEL: Sie hat den Tisch gedeckt. Der Tisch ist (von ihr) gedeckt worden.

1. Die Stadt hat den Reichstag renoviert.

____________________________________________________________________________

2. Susi hat den Brief geschrieben.

____________________________________________________________________________

3. Die Mutter hat die Kinder von der Schule abgeholt.

____________________________________________________________________________

4. Der Arzt hat mir von dem Problem erzählt.

____________________________________________________________________________

5. Ein Geschäftsmann hat den Supermarkt gekauft.

____________________________________________________________________________

B. Alles gemischt! Setzen Sie die aktiven Sätze ins Passiv! Achten Sie auf die Zeitform: Präsens,
Präteritum, oder Perfekt?

1. Mercedes produziert Autos.

____________________________________________________________________________

2. Sie hörte uns nicht.

____________________________________________________________________________

3. Seine Großeltern haben ihn erzogen.

____________________________________________________________________________

4. Der Minister beantwortet alle Fragen.

____________________________________________________________________________

5. Wer hat dich denn angerufen?

____________________________________________________________________________

6. Ein Feuer zerstörte (=destroyed) unser Haus.

____________________________________________________________________________

7. Die Polizei hat den Verbrecher (=criminal) gestern gefunden.

____________________________________________________________________________

8. Der Chef bezahlt die Arbeiter (pl) nicht.

 ____________________________________________________________________________

9. Im Jahre 1492 hat Columbus Amerika entdeckt.

____________________________________________________________________________

10. Der Vater gibt dem Kind ein Geburtstagsgeschenk.

____________________________________________________________________________

C. Was geht hier vor? Bilden Sie Sätze im unpersönlichen Passiv. Passen Sie auf: es gibt kein Subjekt in
den Passivsätzen!

BEISPIEL: Man arbeitet den ganzen Tag. Den ganzen Tag wird gearbeitet.

1. Morgens liest man beim Frühstück.

____________________________________________________________________________

2. Man spricht immer leise.

____________________________________________________________________________

3. Am Wochenende spielt man.

____________________________________________________________________________

4. Abends geht man mit Freunden aus.

____________________________________________________________________________

5. Nachts schläft man in bequemen Betten.

____________________________________________________________________________

D. Vor und während der Party. Was wurde vor der Party gemacht, und was wird während der Party
gemacht? Schreiben Sie mindestens 5 Sätze.
1. Vor der Party wurde eingekauft.

2. Vor der Party ____________________________________________________________________.

3. Vor der Party ____________________________________________________________________.
4. Während der Party wird getanzt.______________________________________________________.
5. Während der Party ________________________________________________________________.
6. Während der Party _________________________________________________________________.
7. _________________________________________________________________________________.

E. Bei der Arbeit. Gabi hat eine neue Stelle. Setzen Sie ihre Aussagen ins Passiv. Achten Sie auf die
Zeitform!

1. Man putzt die Fenster jeden Morgen. (Präsens)

_______________________________________________________________________

2. Die Sekretärin beantwortet das Telefon. (Präsens)

_______________________________________________________________________

3. Wir sehen oft informative Videos an. (Präsens)

_______________________________________________________________________

4. Bis zwei Uhr aßen wir in der Mensa. (Präteritum)

_______________________________________________________________________

5. Gestern fand ich ein Geschenk auf meinem Tisch. (Präteritum)

_______________________________________________________________________

6. Bei der Kaffeemaschine redete man mit den Kollegen. (Präteritum)

_______________________________________________________________________

7. Der Trainer half mir mit der neuen Arbeit. (Präteritum)

_______________________________________________________________________

8. Man hat dem Präsidenten viel Geld gegeben. (Perfekt)

_______________________________________________________________________

9. Man hat uns aber nur sehr wenig bezahlt. (Perfekt)

_______________________________________________________________________

10. Wochentags hat man bis 5 Uhr abends gearbeitet. (Perfekt)

_______________________________________________________________________
F. Schwere Sätze. Übersetzen Sie die Sätze ins Deutsche. Benutzen Sie das Passiv!

1. Your car was repaired. (Präteritum)

_______________________________________________________________________

2. The tickets have been reserved for you. (Perfekt)

_______________________________________________________________________

3. We’re being picked up. (Präsens)

_______________________________________________________________________

4. The man was killed by a bomb (=die Bombe). (Präteritum)

_______________________________________________________________________

5. The church has been renovated. (Perfekt)

_______________________________________________________________________

6. They were helped by an old friend. (Präteritum)

_______________________________________________________________________

7. There was a lot of talking going on. (Präteritum) -- (use impersonal passive, no subject)
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________

8. The children were given lots of presents. (Präteritum) -- (tricky: what’s the subject in
German?)
_______________________________________________________________________

G. Eine neue Band. Bilden Sie Sätze im Passiv Präsens, Passiv Pr äteritum, oder Passiv Perfekt. You
can omit the agent (you don’t need the “by the whomever” part).

BEISPIEL: Die Plattenfirma sucht vier Sänger für eine neue Boy-Band. (Präsens)
Vier Sänger werden für eine neue Boy-Band gesucht.

1. Man nennt die neue Band »Außer Sync«. (Präsens) The band is called »Out of Sync«:
_______________________________________________________________________

2. Überall hält die Firma Singproben (=tryouts, pl.). Tryouts are being held everywhere:
(Präsens)
_______________________________________________________________________

3. Im Studio tanzt und singt man. (Präsens) There is singing and dancing in the
studio:
_______________________________________________________________________
 4. Man hat Interviews bei MTV organisiert. (Perfekt) Interviews at MTV have been
organized:
_______________________________________________________________________

5. Man hat schon viele Fotos von der Band genommen. Many photos of the band have been
(Perfekt) taken:
_______________________________________________________________________

6. Ein Trainer half den Sängern mit der Singtechnik. The singers were helped with their
(Präteritum) technique:
_______________________________________________________________________

7. Tausende von Fans schrieben Liebesbriefe an die Love letters were written to the
Jungen. (Präteritum) boys:
_______________________________________________________________________

8. Man sieht die Band jeden Tag im Fernsehen. (Präsens) The band is seen on TV every day:
_______________________________________________________________________

9. Bis nächsten Sommer vergisst man die Band total. By next summer they will be totally
(Präsens) forgotten:
_______________________________________________________________________

H. Gestern im Museum. Rudi hat das Museum besucht, aber hatte da Probleme. Setzen Sie die Sätze
ins Passiv.

BEISPIEL: Ich wollte gestern um 10 ins Zeppelin-Museum, aber was habe ich gesehen, als ich
ankam?
»Man öffnet das Museum sonntags um 12 Uhr.«
Das Museum wird sonntags um 12 Uhr geöffnet.

1. Ich musste also zwei Stunden warten. Ich ging um die Ecke zu einem Café. Was stand aber
an einer Tafel vor der Tür?
»Wir servieren heute nur Abendessen.« (Präsens)
__________________________________________________________________________

2. Endlich machte das Museum auf. Ich wollte mir zuerst die Zeppelin-Modelle ansehen, aber
ich konnte sie nirgends finden, nur eine kleine Karte:
»Zur Zeit reparieren wir die Modelle.« (Präsens)
__________________________________________________________________________

3. Ich wollte einige Fotos von den Modellen der Kabinen machen. Dann las ich:
»Hier fotografiert man nicht.« (Präsens)
__________________________________________________________________________
4. Ich hatte gehört, dass die Ausstellung im dritten Stock besonders interessant sei. Aber was
fand ich dort?
»Wir haben diese Ausstellung nach Amerika geschickt.« (Perfekt)
__________________________________________________________________________

5. Als ich das Museum verließ, sah ich noch ein Schild. Was nun, fragte ich mich? Aber darauf
stand nur:
»Die Stadt unterstützt das Museum finanziell.« (Präsens)
__________________________________________________________________________