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BetaGermanA1 listeningAug 9, 2026

German A1.10 Listening Practice: Negate A Present Action

German A1 listening practice with audio, transcript, key phrases, and a speaking challenge for negate a present action.

Podcast listening is in beta while creation and discussion tools are refined. This published chapter includes its complete segmented audio and transcript.

Level

A1.10

Audio

Segmented audio

Transcript

13 segments

Lesson guide

What to notice while you listen

What you'll understand

Say that a familiar present action is not happening in a bounded time frame.

Add nicht to two familiar lexical-verb frames without changing the known finite verb form.

New pattern

bounded sentence negation with nicht in familiar lexical-verb clauses

Ich lerne. → Ich lerne nicht.Wir wohnen hier. → Wir wohnen nicht hier.

Practice aloud after listening

Ich lerne nicht. Wir wohnen nicht hier.

I am not learning. We do not live here.

Listen firstBeta

A short German listening chapter with transcript.

Use nicht in two controlled action clauses to deny the action or the known location.

Transcript

Read while you listen.

1. Hanna · Teacher

Welcome! I'm Hanna, and today we'll learn how to negate present actions in German using 'nicht'. Let's listen to Felix and Clara in a short dialogue.

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2. Felix · Native Speaker 1

Hallo Clara, lernst du?

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3. Clara · Native Speaker 2

Nein, ich lerne nicht.

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4. Felix · Native Speaker 1

Wohnst du hier?

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5. Clara · Native Speaker 2

Nein, wir wohnen nicht hier.

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6. Felix · Native Speaker 1

Ah, ich verstehe!

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7. Hanna · Teacher

Let's break down the first key sentence. Clara said, 'Nein, ich lerne nicht', which means 'No, I am not studying.' To deny an action, put 'nicht' directly after the action verb.

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8. Lukas · Student

So to turn 'Ich lerne' into a negative, I just put 'nicht' right after the verb?

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9. Hanna · Teacher

Exactly, Lukas! In this simple frame, 'nicht' follows the verb 'lerne'.

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10. Hanna · Teacher

Now for the second key sentence: Clara said, 'Nein, wir wohnen nicht hier', meaning 'No, we do not live here.'

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11. Lukas · Student

Where does 'nicht' go when we include a location word like 'hier'?

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12. Hanna · Teacher

In this specific frame, 'nicht' comes after the verb 'wohnen' and right before the location word 'hier'.

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13. Hanna · Teacher

Great work! Listen to this lesson whenever you need a quick review.

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