Übersetzen ins Englische — Translating German into English
🔄 Übersetzen ins Englische — Translating German into English
In a weil / dass / wenn clause the verb goes to the END in German — but in English it comes right after the subject: Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin. → "I stay at home because I am ill." Reorder the clause: subject → verb → rest. Do not carry the German end-position into English.
Earn the mark scheme marks
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- Read the whole German sentence before you start writing — this prevents absurd word-for-word translations.
- Reorder weil/dass/wenn clauses into natural English word order (subject → verb).
- Keep the tense: if German uses the perfect tense (Ich habe gespielt), use an English past tense ("I played" / "I have played").
- Check you have translated every key element — do not drop a noun, adjective or time phrase to make it "easier".
- Re-read your English aloud in your head: if a native English speaker would not say it, rephrase.
❌ Common error: Translating Ich habe das Buch gelesen as "I have the book read."
✓ Correct: "I read the book." / "I have read the book." — keep the verb bracket together and use natural English word order.
Why it costs marks: In the German perfect tense the past participle (gelesen) goes to the end of the clause — but in English it sits directly after the auxiliary ("have read"). Translating word-for-word produces unnatural English ("I have the book read") and loses the mark. Always reorder into natural English.