You don't need perfect grammar to pass TELC B1. You need to control the specific structures that actually appear in the exam. Here are the 10 that matter most — nothing more, nothing less.
1. Konjunktiv II — The Most Tested Structure
Konjunktiv II (the subjunctive) shows up in the Sprachbausteine, writing, and reading sections. It expresses wishes, hypothetical situations, polite requests, and indirect speech. If you've ever written Ich würde mich freuen, wenn... in a letter, you've used it.
The key forms:
| Verb | Konjunktiv II |
|---|---|
| sein | wäre |
| haben | hätte |
| werden | würde |
| können | könnte |
| müssen | müsste |
| dürfen | dürfte |
| sollen | sollte |
| wollen | wollte |
Most common uses in TELC B1:
- Polite requests: Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen? (Could you please help me?)
- Suggestions: Wir könnten morgen treffen. (We could meet tomorrow.)
- Wishes: Ich wünschte, ich hätte mehr Zeit. (I wish I had more time.)
- Writing tasks: Ich würde mich freuen, wenn... (I would be pleased if...)
2. Passive Voice (Passiv)
The passive appears regularly in reading texts — especially in formal and informational contexts. Think: official notices, instructions, process descriptions.
Formation: werden + past participle
- Present: Das Formular wird ausgefüllt. (The form is being filled in.)
- Past: Das Formular wurde ausgefüllt. (The form was filled in.)
- With modal: Das Formular muss ausgefüllt werden. (The form must be filled in.)
Recognising passive constructions helps you understand who is doing what — critical for accurate comprehension in reading texts about processes and official information.
3. Relative Clauses (Relativsätze)
Relative clauses describe nouns and appear in both reading texts and the writing section.
Key rule: the relative pronoun (der, die, das, den, dem, etc.) matches the gender and case of the noun it refers to.
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative |
|---|---|---|
| der (m) | den | dem |
| die (f) | die | der |
| das (n) | das | dem |
| die (pl) | die | denen |
Examples:
- Der Mann, der hier wohnt, heißt Klaus. (The man who lives here is called Klaus.) — nominative
- Das Buch, das ich lese, ist interessant. (The book that I'm reading is interesting.) — accusative
- Die Frau, der ich geholfen habe, ist Ärztin. (The woman I helped is a doctor.) — dative
4. Two-Way Prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen)
These prepositions take the accusative for movement/direction and dative for location/rest. The question to ask yourself: is something moving somewhere, or is it already there?
The 9 two-way prepositions: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen
| Movement (Wohin?) → Accusative | Location (Wo?) → Dative |
|---|---|
| Ich gehe in die Stadt. | Ich bin in der Stadt. |
| Er stellt das Buch auf den Tisch. | Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. |
5. Infinitive Constructions with zu
Formation: zu + infinitive at the end of a clause
Es ist wichtig, täglich zu üben. (It is important to practise daily.) Ich habe vergessen, die Tür zu schließen. (I forgot to close the door.) Es macht mir Spaß, Deutsch zu lernen. (I enjoy learning German.)
With separable verbs: zu goes between the prefix and the stem. Es ist schwer, früh aufzustehen. (It's hard to get up early.)
6. um...zu and damit Constructions
Both express purpose — "in order to". The choice between them depends on whether the subject changes.
um...zu — when the subject of both clauses is the same: Ich lerne Deutsch, um in Deutschland zu arbeiten. (I'm learning German in order to work in Germany.)
damit — when the subjects are different (or when a modal verb is involved): Ich spreche langsam, damit du mich verstehst. (I speak slowly so that you can understand me.)
7. Adjective Endings (Adjektivdeklination)
Adjective endings depend on gender, case, and whether a definite or indefinite article precedes the adjective.
After definite article (der, die, das):
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | -e | -en | -en |
| Feminine | -e | -e | -en |
| Neuter | -e | -e | -en |
After indefinite article (ein, eine):
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | -er | -en | -en |
| Feminine | -e | -e | -en |
| Neuter | -es | -es | -en |
Der alte Mann (the old man) vs Ein alter Mann (an old man). The distinction matters in writing and shows up in reading texts constantly.
8. Indirect Questions (Indirekte Fragen)
Indirect questions appear in formal writing and polite speech. The verb moves to the end — the same word-order rule as subordinate clauses.
Direct: Wann fährt der Zug ab? (When does the train leave?) Indirect: Können Sie mir sagen, wann der Zug abfährt? (Can you tell me when the train leaves?)
With yes/no questions, use ob: Ich weiß nicht, ob er kommt. (I don't know whether he's coming.)
9. seit + Present Tense (Duration)
In German, ongoing actions use the present tense with seit, not the present perfect as in English. This is a classic source of errors for English speakers.
Ich lerne seit drei Jahren Deutsch. (I have been learning German for three years.) Sie wohnt seit 2018 in Berlin. (She has been living in Berlin since 2018.)
Writing Ich habe... gelernt here is wrong in German, even though it maps to the English present perfect. Train yourself out of this one early.
10. Modal Verbs in the Past (Modalverben im Perfekt)
In spoken German, the past of modal verbs uses the double infinitive construction in the Perfekt.
Ich habe das machen müssen. (I had to do that.) Er hat nicht kommen können. (He wasn't able to come.)
Note: in written German — which is what the exam uses — the Präteritum of modals is far more common and sounds more natural: Ich musste das machen. / Er konnte nicht kommen.
When writing your exam letter, use Präteritum for modals. It's correct and it reads naturally.
Practise All 10 in Context
Grammar rules memorised in isolation don't stick. The most effective way to consolidate these structures is to encounter them in exam-format texts — reading sections, listening transcripts, writing tasks. Every TELC B1 mock exam on LanguagePrep tests all 10 of these structures in their natural context.