Free A2 German course: pre-intermediate

A2 is where German grammar comes together, with two-way prepositions, adjective endings, subordinate clauses with weil and dass, reflexive verbs, and a first look at the genitive and the Konjunktiv II for polite requests.

26 grammar lessons, 5 graded stories, flashcards and an AI conversation partner, all free. Plan on roughly 100 hours of study for this level (180 in total from zero, by an approximate CEFR estimate that isn't specific to German).

What you'll be able to do

• Listening: I can understand the main point of short, clear announcements at a station (Der Zug hat zehn Minuten Verspätung).
• Listening: I can follow everyday conversations about familiar topics if people speak clearly.
• Reading: I can find specific information in adverts, timetables and short articles.
• Reading: I can understand short personal emails and letters.
• Speaking: I can say what I did today, last week or as a child (Ich habe… gemacht, Ich bin… gefahren, Als ich klein war…).
• Speaking: I can handle simple exchanges at the doctor's, at the pharmacy, in a hotel and in shops.
• Writing: I can write a short email about what I did at the weekend.
• Writing: I can write simple notes and messages about everyday needs.

What you'll learn

Learning A2 German with AI

At A2 the AI partner asks about your weekend or your last trip, so you practise the Perfekt and subordinate clauses in real answers, with corrections only when you ask. The AI also explains any wrong answer in a lesson, in plain English. It's included free, with a daily allowance; like any AI it can make mistakes, so the lessons remain the reference. More about learning German with AI.

All 26 A2 grammar lessons

Free to read here. In the app, each one is taught in short steps with audio, practised, and brought back for review.

1. Two-way prepositions: wo? or wohin?
2. Putting and being: stellen, stehen, legen, liegen
3. Adjective endings after der, die, das
4. Adjective endings after ein, kein, mein
5. Adjectives with no article: frischer Kaffee, kaltes Wasser
6. weil and dass: the verb goes to the end
7. wenn or als? Saying 'when'
8. Indirect questions: Weißt du, ob…? Wissen Sie, wo…?
9. Reflexive verbs: sich freuen, sich waschen
10. Reflexive pronouns in the dative: Ich wasche mir die Hände
11. Modal verbs in the past: konnte, musste, wollte
12. Telling what happened: the Perfekt in conversation
13. The superlative: am schnellsten, der schnellste
14. Comparatives and superlatives before a noun
15. Verbs with fixed prepositions
16. darauf, worauf, damit, womit
17. The genitive: des Mannes, der Frau, Annas Auto
18. zu + infinitive
19. um … zu and damit: saying why
20. The future: werden, and the present for plans
21. Polite requests: Könnten Sie…?, Ich hätte gern…, Würden Sie…?
22. Masculine weak nouns: der Student, den Studenten
23. man, jemand, niemand, etwas, nichts, alle, einige
24. Time prepositions: vor, nach, seit, in, ab, bis, während
25. At the doctor's
26. Travelling by train

Reading at A2

• Die Geschichte von Frau Krüger: Over tea and apple cake, Frau Krüger tells Lena about Karl Albrecht, the clockmaker who left for Leipzig in 1989 and never came back.
• Die Sommer bei meiner Oma: A father remembers the summers he spent as a child on his grandmother's farm in the Black Forest: cows, an ice-cold lake, cherry gateau, and why Grandma always won at cards.
• Die Standuhr: Lena, Jonas and Frau Krüger open the grandfather clock. Inside is a box with a ring, a letter from 1989 and an address in Leipzig.
• Das verlorene Handy: The narrator leaves her phone on a tram in Cologne the evening before a job interview, and spends a long evening waiting for news.
• Krank in Wien: Tom falls ill on a winter holiday in Vienna. Austrian words in the story: Jänner (January), Servus (hello) and Ordination (a doctor's practice).

Questions