Reading comprehension
Texts of every kind, from adverts to blogs to literary extracts: the gist, the details and what is implied, answered in English.
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Reading comprehension, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the reading paper works
Both boards set reading as Paper 3, in the same shape: 45 minutes at Foundation and an hour at Higher, for 50 marks. Section A (40 marks) is comprehension: texts of every kind, from notices and adverts to emails, websites and articles, with questions in English answered in English or by ticking, choosing or matching. Section B (10 marks) is the translation into English. No dictionary is allowed.
Read the question first, then hunt in the text
The questions tell you what to look for, so read them before the text. Pick out the key word in each (when, why, which two) and scan the text for it. The answers usually come in the same order as the text.
Use cognates and compounds, but watch for false friends
Many words look like their English meaning: das Haus, der Garten, interessant. Long nouns are often two words you know: das Lieblingsfach, die Hausaufgabe, der Bahnhof. Some words only look alike: bekommen means to get, not to become, das Gift is poison and also means so. When a lookalike does not fit the sense, think again.
Work out an unfamiliar word from its context
The paper may include single words from outside the vocabulary list, and you are expected to infer what they mean. Use the words either side, the kind of word it is (a capital means a noun), and any part of it you know: die Bäckerei contains backen, so a shop that bakes is a good guess.
Find the verb, which may be at the end
German sends the participle, the infinitive and, after weil or dass, the whole verb to the end of the clause. Ich habe am Wochenende mit meiner Familie einen Ausflug gemacht only tells you what happened at the end. Read to the end of each clause before you decide what it says.
Read every word that can change the meaning
Negatives (nicht, kein, nie, nicht mehr), time words (früher, jetzt, nächstes Jahr) and tenses decide what a sentence says. Früher habe ich Fußball gespielt, aber jetzt schwimme ich lieber means they used to play football but now prefer swimming.
Weigh positive, negative and mixed opinions, and what is implied
Weigh the whole sentence: Das Hotel war schön, aber das Essen war schrecklich is a mixed view. Some questions ask what a writer means without saying it: Ich komme immer zu spät, weil meine Schwester eine Stunde im Bad ist suggests the sister is annoying. Find the words that support your answer, and add nothing the text does not give.
Recognise the genitive and the passiveHigher only
Higher texts may use forms you only need to understand: the genitive (das Auto meines Vaters, my father's car; wegen des Wetters, because of the weather) and the passive with werden (Das Schloss wurde 1500 gebaut, the castle was built in 1500).
Reading comprehension key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Gist
- The general idea of a text. Skim the whole text first to get it before you look for details.
- Skimming
- Reading quickly for the gist, without stopping on every word.
- Scanning
- Running your eye over a text to find one particular detail, such as a time, a price or a name.
- Compound noun
- A long noun made of words you may know: der Kleiderschrank is a clothes cupboard, a wardrobe.
- False friend
- A word that looks like an English word but means something else: bekommen means to get and also means so.
- Inference
- Working out something a text suggests but does not say, or the meaning of an unknown word from the words around it.
- Mixed opinion
- A view that is partly positive and partly negative, often joined by aber, obwohl or jedoch.
- GenitiveHigher only
- The case of possession, to recognise at Higher: das Haus meiner Tante, my aunt's house.
Common mistakes in Reading comprehension
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Answering in German, or copying a phrase from the text, where English is asked.
Questions in English need answers in English. Put the detail you found into clear English.
Trusting a word that looks like English, such as reading bekommen as become.
Check that a lookalike fits the sense. Bekommen means to get; to become is werden.
Deciding what a sentence says before reaching the verb at the end.
German often saves the participle or the verb for the end. Read each clause to its end before you answer.
Missing a negative or a time word and giving the opposite answer.
Underline nicht, kein, nie, nicht mehr and time words such as früher and jetzt as you read.
Leaving a question blank because one word in the text is unfamiliar.
Read around the word, split a long noun into the parts you know, and make a sensible guess.