1.13.1 Verbs with objects

Table of Contents

Using Verbs with Objects in Simple German Sentences

In this chapter you learn how very common German verbs combine with a person or a thing as an object. This will help you build many useful sentences about hobbies and free time.

What is an Object with a Verb?

In German, many verbs need a “something” or “someone” to complete the meaning. That “something” or “someone” is called the object.

English:
“I read a book.”
Verb: “read”
Object: “a book”

German:
“Ich lese ein Buch.”
Verb: “lese”
Object: “ein Buch”

You already know how a basic main clause looks. Here we focus only on how verbs and objects go together and on very common verbs for leisure and hobbies.

Important:
A verb that usually needs an object is called a transitive verb.
In simple hobby sentences you often have:
Subject + conjugated verb + object
Example: Ich spiele Fußball.

Typical Hobby Verbs with Objects

Here are some very frequent verbs for free time that normally take an object. You will meet many of them in simple A1 texts.

German infinitive	English meaning	Example (German)	English meaning
spielen	to play	Ich spiele Gitarre.	I play guitar.
machen	to do, to make	Wir machen Hausaufgaben.	We do homework.
lesen	to read	Er liest ein Buch.	He reads a book.
schreiben	to write	Sie schreibt eine E-Mail.	She writes an email.
hören	to listen to, hear	Ich höre Musik.	I listen to music.
sehen	to see, watch	Wir sehen einen Film.	We watch a film.
treffen	to meet	Ich treffe meine Freunde.	I meet my friends.
fotografieren	to take photos	Er fotografiert die Stadt.	He takes photos of the city.
sammeln	to collect	Sie sammelt Briefmarken.	She collects stamps.
kochen	to cook	Wir kochen das Abendessen.	We cook dinner.
trinken	to drink	Ich trinke einen Kaffee.	I drink a coffee.
essen	to eat	Er isst einen Apfel.	He eats an apple.
spielen (Sport)	to play (a sport)	Sie spielt Tennis.	She plays tennis.
malen	to paint, draw	Ich male ein Bild.	I paint a picture.
üben	to practice	Ich übe Klavier.	I practice piano.

Some verbs are often used about hobbies without an object, for example “tanzen” or “joggen”, but in this chapter we focus on verbs that usually take an object.

Object as a Thing

Very often hobbies involve things. Here the object is a noun such as “Buch” or “Musik”.

Ich lese ein Buch.
Ich höre Musik.
Wir sehen einen Film.
Er spielt Computerspiele.
Sie kocht eine Suppe.

You can combine very basic hobby words with these verbs to make many sentences. Notice that the object usually comes directly after the verb.

Pattern for simple hobby sentences with a thing:
Subject + verb + object (thing)
Example: Ich höre Musik.

Object as a Person

Sometimes the object is a person or people. This is also very common in leisure contexts, for example when you talk about meeting or calling someone.

Ich treffe meine Freunde.
Wir besuchen unsere Eltern.
Er ruft seinen Bruder an.
Sie sieht ihren Freund jeden Tag.

You do not need to worry here about the cases or the possessive articles. At this stage you only need to notice that the person is the object of the verb.

Remember:
If you say who you meet, who you see, or who you visit, that “who” is the object.
Example: Ich treffe meine Freunde.
“meine Freunde” is the object.

Common Hobby Combinations

Here are some very natural combinations of verbs and objects in the context of leisure and hobbies.

Ich spiele Fußball.
Ich spiele Gitarre.
Ich spiele ein Computerspiel.

Ich lese ein Buch.
Ich lese Comics.
Ich lese eine Zeitschrift.

Ich höre Musik.
Ich höre ein Hörbuch.
Ich höre den Lehrer.

Ich sehe einen Film.
Ich sehe eine Serie.
Ich sehe ein Video.

Ich mache Fotos.
Ich mache Sport.
Ich mache Yoga.

Ich schreibe eine E-Mail.
Ich schreibe einen Brief.
Ich schreibe Nachrichten.

Try to notice which nouns fit well with which verbs. This feeling for natural combinations will grow with practice.

Talking about Likes with Verbs and Objects

You already know how to say that you like something in a simple way. Here we add how this works together with hobby verbs and their objects.

Ich mag Musik.
Ich mag Fußball.
Ich mag Bücher.

Very often in daily German you also say that you like “doing” something. At A1 level this is often done with “gern”.

Ich spiele gern Fußball.
Ich lese gern Bücher.
Ich höre gern Musik.
Wir sehen gern Filme.

Here the verb still has its object, but the word “gern” shows that you enjoy the activity.

Structure with “gern”:
Subject + verb + object + gern or
Subject + verb + gern + object
Examples:
Ich höre gern Musik.
Ich lese gern Bücher.

Both positions for “gern” are common and correct at this level.

Short Dialogues with Verbs and Objects

You can now understand and build simple dialogues about hobbies.

A: Was machst du heute Abend
B: Ich sehe einen Film.

A: Spielst du Fußball
B: Nein, ich spiele Gitarre.

A: Liest du gern Bücher
B: Ja, ich lese sehr gern Bücher.

A: Was hörst du
B: Ich höre Musik.

Each answer uses a verb with an object. This is the standard way to speak about free time in German.

New Vocabulary in this Chapter

German	English
spielen	to play
machen	to do, to make
lesen	to read
schreiben	to write
hören	to listen to, to hear
sehen	to see, to watch
treffen	to meet
fotografieren	to take photos
sammeln	to collect
kochen	to cook
trinken	to drink
essen	to eat
malen	to paint, to draw
üben	to practice
Computerspiele	computer games
Musik	music
Film	film, movie
Serie	series
Buch	book
Comic	comic
Zeitschrift	magazine
Hörbuch	audio book
Foto	photo
Sport	sport
Yoga	yoga
Brief	letter
Nachricht	message
Freund / Freundin	friend (male / female)
Eltern	parents
Bruder	brother
heute Abend	this evening
gern	with pleasure, like doing sth.

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