From isolated facts to a story
Am Anfang war vieles neu.
Tell a personal experience with a setting, a difficulty, a response and a result.
A connected account helps the listener understand why events matter. Begin with time and place, describe a difficulty, explain your response and finish with a result or reflection. In conversation, Perfekt is common for events; war and hatte often describe the background. Zuerst, danach and schließlich organize the sequence. When danach begins a main clause, the conjugated verb stays second: Danach habe ich Hilfe gesucht. The first element can contain several words. A story can show progress without claiming that every problem disappeared.
Vor einem Jahr bin ich nach Bonn gezogen.
A year ago I moved to Bonn.
Am Anfang hatte ich kaum Kontakte.
At first I had hardly any contacts.
Zuerst habe ich einen Sprachkurs gesucht.
First I looked for a language course.
Danach habe ich meine Nachbarn kennengelernt.
After that I got to know my neighbours.
Schließlich habe ich mich sicherer gefühlt.
Finally I felt more confident.
Heute würde ich früher um Hilfe bitten.
Today I would ask for help sooner.
A connected account helps the listener understand why events matter. Begin with time and place, describe a difficulty, explain your response and finish with a result or reflection. In conversation, Perfekt is common for events; war and hatte often describe the background. Zuerst, danach and schließlich organize the sequence. When danach begins a main clause, the conjugated verb stays second: Danach habe ich Hilfe gesucht. The first element can contain several words. A story can show progress without claiming that every problem disappeared.
Tell a personal experience with a setting, a difficulty, a response and a result.
Danach ich habe … puts the finite verb too late. Use Danach habe ich … .
Time or sequence phrase + conjugated verb + subject: Danach habe ich Hilfe gesucht.
Write 80–100 words about a fictional first week in a new place. Include setting, difficulty, response and result. Retell it in one minute without reading; check the timeline and verb position.