Wiederholung 2: Praktische Probleme lösen
Chapter Objectives
Chapter 10 is the Unit II assessment. It does not introduce new grammar. Instead, it links the education and work language of Chapter 6, the appointments and service language of Chapter 7, the shopping and complaint language of Chapter 8, and the media and digital-life language of Chapter 9 into a single set of practical problem-solving tasks. Throughout the chapter, you will apply dative pronouns, adjective endings, subordinate clauses, imperatives, and polite request patterns in connected, realistic situations.
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Read and respond to linked practical texts covering work, health, shopping, and digital-life situations.
- Use dative pronouns accurately in requests, complaints, and service interactions.
- Use adjective endings after definite and indefinite articles in descriptions of problems and needs.
- Use subordinate clauses with weil, dass, and wenn to explain reasons, report information, and describe conditions.
- Use imperatives appropriately for du, ihr, and Sie contexts.
- Write and perform polite requests and explanations across service, shopping, and digital-support situations.
Opening Scenario
It has been a busy week. Mia is finishing a short course application while her phone problem from Chapter 9 has resurfaced; Jonas needs to reschedule a doctor's appointment before a work deadline; Anna is dealing with a delayed online order for her new apartment; and Lukas is helping a neighbor understand a confusing repair-shop notice. Four small problems, four familiar people, one connected week — and all of it in German you have already learned.
- Work through the reading, listening, speaking, and writing tasks below. Each one draws only on vocabulary and grammar activated in Chapters 6 through 9.
- Notice how the same systems — dative pronouns, adjective endings, subordinate clauses, imperatives, and polite requests — reappear across very different everyday situations.
- Use the review boxes as a refresher before each task, not as new instruction.
Vocabulary Review — Unit II Domains
Chapter 10 does not add new vocabulary. The tasks below recycle the domains from Chapters 6 through 9. Use this table as a quick refresher before beginning the assessment tasks.
Ausbildung und Beruf (Ch. 6)
- die Bewerbung, die Bewerbungen — the application
- die Erfahrung, die Erfahrungen — the experience
- die Ausbildung, die Ausbildungen — the training
- der Termin, die Termine — the appointment
Gesundheit und Dienstleistungen (Ch. 7)
- der Arzttermin, die Arzttermine — the doctor's appointment
- verschieben — to postpone, reschedule
- sich fühlen — to feel (a certain way)
- die Praxis, die Praxen — the (medical) practice
Kaufen, Tauschen, Reklamieren (Ch. 8)
- die Bestellung, die Bestellungen — the order
- die Verspätung, die Verspätungen — the delay
- reklamieren — to file a complaint
- der Kundendienst — customer service
Medien und digitales Leben (Ch. 9)
- die Störung, die Störungen — the disruption, outage
- herunterladen (trennbar) — to download
- sich ärgern über (+ Akk.) — to be annoyed about
- funktionieren — to work, function
DACH label: workplace, health-system, consumer, and digital norms continue to vary by country and institution; this review recycles general, practical vocabulary rather than country-specific procedures.
Grammar Review — Systems Under Assessment
The five review cards below summarize the systems this chapter assesses. Each system was introduced or developed in Chapters 6 through 9; none of it is new.
Dative Pronouns
- mir, dir, ihm, ihr, uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen
- Used with dative verbs, indirect objects, and many service/request formulas.
- Können Sie mir helfen? — Can you help me?
Adjective Endings
- After definite articles: der neue Termin
- After indefinite articles: ein neuer Termin
- Endings depend on case, gender, and article type.
Subordinate Clauses
- weil — reason: ..., weil der Termin nicht passt.
- dass — reported information: Sie sagt, dass die Bestellung spät kommt.
- wenn — condition/repeated time: ..., wenn ich Zeit habe.
- All three send the finite verb to the end of their clause.
Imperatives by Address Level
- du: Ruf mich an!
- ihr: Ruft mich an!
- Sie: Rufen Sie mich an!
Chapters 6 through 9 developed several ways to make a polite request: modal questions such as Könnten Sie...?, conditional softening, and direct but polite imperatives with bitte. This chapter does not add new request forms; it asks you to choose the appropriate one for each situation.
- Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen? — Could you please help me? (formal, softened)
- Rufen Sie mich bitte zurück. — Please call me back. (formal, direct)
- Kannst du mir bitte helfen? — Can you please help me? (informal)
Choosing correctly depends on the relationship, setting, and urgency of the situation, not only on grammatical correctness.
Diagnostic Review
- Fill in the correct dative pronoun: Können Sie ___ (mir/mich) bitte helfen?
- Complete the adjective ending: Ich brauche ein___ neu___ Termin.
- Combine with weil: Jonas verschiebt den Termin. Er hat ein Meeting. →
- Give the Sie-imperative for anrufen: ___ mich bitte ___!
- Complete with dass: Anna schreibt, ___ die Bestellung noch nicht ___ (ankommen).
Listening Assessment
Ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the following script at a natural pace. Listen once for the general picture, then again for the details.
Jonas ruft die Arztpraxis an (Listening Script)
Empfang: Praxis Dr. Berger, guten Tag. Jonas: Guten Tag, hier ist Jonas Berger. Ich habe morgen einen Termin, aber ich kann leider nicht kommen, weil ich ein wichtiges Meeting bei der Arbeit habe. Empfang: Das ist kein Problem. Wann hätten Sie denn Zeit? Jonas: Könnten wir den Termin auf nächste Woche verschieben? Am Mittwoch würde es gut passen. Empfang: Gut, ich trage Sie für Mittwoch um zehn Uhr ein. Ist das in Ordnung? Jonas: Ja, das passt sehr gut. Vielen Dank für Ihre Hilfe!
Verständnisfragen
1. Warum kann Jonas den Termin morgen nicht wahrnehmen?
2. Worum bittet Jonas den Empfang?
3. Wann ist der neue Termin?
4. Find the weil-clause and one polite request in the script.
Speaking Assessment
Aktivität: Vier Probleme, ein Nachmittag (Four Problems, One Afternoon)
Work with a partner. Choose two of the four scenario cards below. Partner A explains the situation and makes a polite request; Partner B responds, asks a clarifying question, and offers a solution using an imperative. Then switch roles and choose two more cards.
Beruf
Explain that you need to postpone a job-application deadline because of a personal reason. Request an extension.
Gesundheit
Explain that you cannot attend an appointment because of a schedule conflict. Request a new date.
Einkaufen
Explain that an online order has not arrived. Request information and a solution.
Digitales
Explain that an app is not working properly. Request help or a troubleshooting step.
Bewertungshinweise — Speaking Criteria
- Comprehensible explanation of the problem and a clear request.
- At least one correctly used dative pronoun.
- At least one correct subordinate clause with weil, dass, or wenn.
- At least one correctly formed imperative matching the address level.
- Register appropriate to the setting (informal versus formal).
Solo alternative: Record yourself explaining two of the four situations and proposing a solution for each, using only forms activated in Chapters 6 through 9.
Reading Assessment
Read Anna's short exchange with an online shop's customer service about her delayed order, then answer the questions that follow.
Kundendienst-Chat — Verspätete Bestellung
Anna: Guten Tag. Meine Bestellung ist noch nicht angekommen, obwohl die Lieferung schon vor drei Tagen versprochen wurde. Können Sie mir bitte sagen, wo sie ist? Kundendienst: Das tut uns leid. Ich sehe, dass es eine Verspätung bei der neuen Lieferfirma gibt. Wir informieren Sie, sobald das Paket unterwegs ist. Anna: Das ist ärgerlich, weil ich die Möbel für meine neue Wohnung dringend brauche. Könnten Sie mir wenigstens ein Lieferdatum nennen? Kundendienst: Natürlich. Laut unserem System sollte das Paket in zwei Tagen ankommen. Wir entschuldigen uns für die Verzögerung.
Verständnisfragen
1. Warum schreibt Anna dem Kundendienst?
2. Warum ist die Bestellung verspätet?
3. Worum bittet Anna am Ende?
4. Finde ein Beispiel für einen weil-Satz und ein Beispiel für eine höfliche Bitte im Text.
Writing Assessment — A Linked Practical Exchange
This task asks you to write a short message-and-response exchange that links two of the four Unit II domains (education/work, health/appointments, shopping/complaints, media/digital life). Draw on dative pronouns, adjective endings, subordinate clauses, imperatives, and polite request patterns.
- Choose two linked problems. For example, a delayed order (Chapter 8) that you now need help returning because of a digital glitch in the shop's app (Chapter 9).
- Write your message. Explain both problems in two to four sentences, using at least one subordinate clause to give a reason or report information.
- Make a polite request. Ask for a specific solution, using a request pattern appropriate to the setting.
- Write the response. Write two to three sentences of a reasonable reply, including at least one imperative or suggested next step.
- Revise using the checklist below.
Checkliste — Editing Checklist:
- Dative pronouns are used correctly in requests and references.
- Adjective endings match the case, gender, and article type of each noun phrase.
- Subordinate clauses send the finite verb to the end of the clause.
- Imperatives match the address level of the situation.
- The request is polite and appropriate to the relationship and setting.
- All nouns are capitalized; umlauts and ß are used correctly.
Culture and Communication
Across workplaces, medical offices, shops, and digital support channels in German-speaking communities, asking clarifying questions and confirming details is a normal, expected part of resolving a practical problem. Politeness does not require excessive formality, and directness does not mean rudeness; the appropriate tone depends on the relationship, the institution, and the urgency of the situation, and this varies across the DACH region.
Appointment systems, consumer-complaint procedures, and customer-service norms differ across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and even between individual institutions and companies. This chapter's scenarios model general, practical communication patterns rather than describing any single country's specific procedures; current institutional details should be verified through official and current sources when they matter.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: *Können Sie mich bitte helfen?
Correction: Können Sie mir bitte helfen? Helfen takes the dative, so the pronoun must be mir, not mich.
Error: *Ruf mich zurück! (said to a customer-service representative on formal terms)
Correction: Rufen Sie mich bitte zurück! A formal, unfamiliar context calls for the Sie-imperative, not the du-form.
Error: *Sie schreibt, dass kommt die Bestellung nicht an.
Correction: Sie schreibt, dass die Bestellung nicht ankommt. After dass, weil, and wenn, the finite verb always moves to the end of its own clause.
Chapter Summary
Chapter 10 reviewed and integrated the education/work, health/appointments, shopping/complaints, and media/digital-life domains from Chapters 6 through 9. No new grammar was introduced. Instead, you applied dative pronouns, adjective endings, subordinate clauses with weil, dass, and wenn, imperatives across address levels, and polite request patterns to a connected set of realistic problems. This consolidation prepares you for Unit III, which shifts toward narration, advice, spatial description, and step-by-step instructions.
Unit II Performance Task
Kapitel 10 — Unit II Assessment Task
Ein praktisches Problem lösen — Solving a Practical Problem
Complete an integrated scenario that draws on at least two of the four Unit II domains, demonstrating the systems assessed in this chapter.
Component 1 — Reading: Read the customer-service chat in the Reading Assessment section (or a similar text your instructor provides) and identify the problem, the reason given, and the request made.
Component 2 — Written exchange: Complete the Writing Assessment task, producing a linked message and response.
Component 3 — Spoken exchange: Perform a short spoken exchange from the Speaking Assessment activity, either with a partner or as a recorded solo message.
| Criterion | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Task completion | Response clearly explains at least two linked practical problems and requests appropriate solutions |
| Dative pronouns | Correct case selection in requests and references |
| Adjective endings | Correct endings after definite and indefinite articles |
| Subordinate clauses | Correct verb-final order with weil, dass, or wenn |
| Imperatives | Correct form matching the address level of the situation |
| Register and politeness | Requests match the relationship and setting |
Answer Key
Diagnostic Review
- Können Sie mir bitte helfen?
- Ich brauche einen neuen Termin.
- Jonas verschiebt den Termin, weil er ein Meeting hat.
- Rufen Sie mich bitte an!
- Anna schreibt, dass die Bestellung noch nicht ankommt.
Listening — Comprehension Questions
- Jonas kann den Termin morgen nicht wahrnehmen, weil er ein wichtiges Meeting bei der Arbeit hat.
- Jonas bittet den Empfang, den Termin auf nächste Woche zu verschieben.
- Der neue Termin ist am Mittwoch um zehn Uhr.
- Sample: weil-clause — "weil ich ein wichtiges Meeting bei der Arbeit habe"; polite request — "Könnten wir den Termin auf nächste Woche verschieben?"
Reading — Comprehension Questions (Kundendienst-Chat)
- Anna schreibt dem Kundendienst, weil ihre Bestellung noch nicht angekommen ist.
- Die Bestellung ist verspätet, weil es eine Verspätung bei der neuen Lieferfirma gibt.
- Anna bittet am Ende um ein Lieferdatum.
- Sample: weil-Satz — "weil ich die Möbel für meine neue Wohnung dringend brauche"; höfliche Bitte — "Könnten Sie mir wenigstens ein Lieferdatum nennen?"
Looking Ahead
Was Sie nach Kapitel 10 können — What you can do after Chapter 10
You can now read, listen to, discuss, and write about linked practical problems across education/work, health/appointments, shopping/complaints, and media/digital-life situations, using dative pronouns, adjective endings, subordinate clauses, imperatives, and polite request patterns with increasing independence. Unit II is complete.