Why One Question Is Not Enough: The Two-Question Method That Makes German Grammar Click

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The Trap of “What?” — One Question Leads Nowhere

You ask a student:

“What’s the object in this sentence?”

They hesitate.
Because what? can mean many things in German:

• Was? — Is it nominative? Accusative?
• Wen? — Whom exactly?
• Wessen? — Whose?

One question alone leaves you guessing.
It doesn’t reveal how the sentence really works.

Grammar Is Not About Forms — It’s About Relationships

Words don’t stand alone.
They connect.
They depend on each other — just like people in real life.

To know how a word behaves — its case, its form, its place — you need to understand:

• What it relates to
• What role it plays
• What comes before and after

And to do that, you need more than one question.

The Two-Question Method

Let’s take a simple sentence:

Der Junge gibt dem Hund den Ball.
The boy gives the ball to the dog.

Now ask:

1. Who gives? → Der Junge → Nominative
2. Gives what? → den Ball → Accusative
3. Gives to whom? → dem Hund → Dative

That’s how it clicks.
One link leads to another.
One question clarifies — the next confirms.

From Cases to Meaning: Hero, Object, Receiver

Forget case labels for a moment.
Think in roles:

• Who is acting? → 英雄
• What is being given or moved? → 对象
• Who receives or benefits? → Receiver

When you think this way, grammar becomes intuitive.
You’re not memorizing — you’re understanding.

That’s how language was meant to be learned.

How We Teach Grammar That Actually Works

At Levitin Language School, we use the Two-Question Method every day.
It helps students stop guessing and start thinking like speakers — not textbook solvers.

We don’t train memory.
We train awareness.

Meet our German instructors
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Written by Tymur Levitin — founder, director, and lead instructor at Levitin Language School / Start Language School by Tymur Levitin.

We teach language through meaning — not memorization.
Because every sentence has a logic worth discovering.

© Tymur Levitin
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