Lesson 20 · A2–B1

Online exercises for Lesson 20: Place and direction adverbs, substantivization, and compound nouns

These 7 practice blocks cover the lesson's main grammar points. Every entry is checked immediately, while progress is stored only in your browser. Practise answers to wo, wohin, and woher, forms with hin and her, substantivized words, and the formation of compound nouns.

What you will practise on this page

  1. Wo? Describing location: Insert the location adverb indicated by the meaning cue.
  2. Wohin? Describing direction: Insert the appropriate direction adverb.
  3. Woher? Describing origin: Insert the appropriate expression for the starting point.
  4. hin or her?: Insert the appropriate direction adverb. her indicates movement toward the speaker; hin indicates movement away or toward a goal.
  5. Substantivized adjectives and participles: Insert the substantivized form and capitalize it.
  6. Substantivizing numbers and infinitives: Supply the article and the substantivized form. Capitalize the noun.
  7. Compound nouns: Form the compound and give its article. The final word determines the gender; include any required linking element.

How to use the exercises

Read the instruction and example first, then enter only the requested German form or complete sentence. Extra spaces, dash variants, and missing final punctuation are normalised; capitalisation still matters for isolated German nouns.

Open the grammar explanation for this lesson

All tasks and answers at a glance

All 7 practice blocks of this lesson with 38 tasks to read through – handy for revision without typing and for printing. The answers stay collapsed until you open them.

20.1 · Wo? Describing location

Insert the location adverb indicated by the meaning cue.

  1. The book is lying here: Das Buch liegt _____.
  2. The children are playing outside: Die Kinder spielen _____.
  3. The teacher is standing at the front: Der Lehrer steht _____.
  4. The cellar is downstairs: Der Keller ist _____.
  5. The key is somewhere in the room: Der Schlüssel ist _____ im Zimmer.
  6. I cannot find my ID anywhere: Ich finde meinen Ausweis _____.
Show answers
  1. hier
  2. draußen
  3. vorn
  4. unten
  5. irgendwo
  6. nirgendwo

20.2 · Wohin? Describing direction

Insert the appropriate direction adverb.

  1. We are going to the left: Wir gehen _____.
  2. The dog runs outside: Der Hund läuft _____.
  3. I put the lamp there: Ich stelle die Lampe _____.
  4. The lift is going upward: Der Aufzug fährt _____.
  5. He does not want to go anywhere today: Er möchte heute _____ gehen.
Show answers
  1. nach links
  2. nach draußen
  3. dorthin
  4. nach oben
  5. nirgendwohin

20.3 · Woher? Describing origin

Insert the appropriate expression for the starting point.

  1. The noise comes from above: Das Geräusch kommt _____.
  2. He comes from outside: Er kommt _____.
  3. The voice comes from behind: Die Stimme kommt _____.
  4. The light comes from the left: Das Licht kommt _____.
  5. I heard this expression somewhere: Ich habe diesen Ausdruck _____ gehört.
Show answers
  1. von oben
  2. von draußen
  3. von hinten
  4. von links
  5. irgendwoher

20.4 · hin or her?

Insert the appropriate direction adverb. her indicates movement toward the speaker; hin indicates movement away or toward a goal.

  1. Please come in toward the speaker: Komm bitte _____.
  2. He goes out into the garden: Er geht in den Garten _____.
  3. We go up the stairs: Wir gehen die Treppe _____.
  4. Come over to this side: Komm _____.
  5. She goes down the stairs away from the speaker: Sie geht die Treppe _____.
Show answers
  1. herein
  2. hinaus
  3. hinauf
  4. herüber
  5. hinunter

20.5 · Substantivized adjectives and participles

Insert the substantivized form and capitalize it.

  1. The male acquaintance is coming today: Der _____ kommt heute. (bekannt)
  2. The rich live in this area: Die _____ wohnen in dieser Gegend. (reich, plural)
  3. I heard something new: Ich habe etwas _____ gehört. (neu)
  4. There is nothing interesting there: Dort gibt es nichts _____. (interessant)
  5. We wish you all the best: Wir wünschen dir alles _____. (gut)
  6. I am meeting the acquaintances today: Ich treffe heute die _____. (bekannt, plural)
Show answers
  1. Bekannte
  2. Reichen
  3. Neues
  4. Interessantes
  5. Gute
  6. Bekannten

20.6 · Substantivizing numbers and infinitives

Supply the article and the substantivized form. Capitalize the noun.

  1. essen — to eat [object Object] · [object Object]
  2. lesen — to read [object Object] · [object Object]
  3. wissen — to know [object Object] · [object Object]
  4. The number 7 used as a noun [object Object] · [object Object]
  5. The number 1000 used as a noun [object Object] · [object Object]
Show answers
  1. [object Object] — das [object Object] — Essen
  2. [object Object] — das [object Object] — Lesen
  3. [object Object] — das [object Object] — Wissen
  4. [object Object] — die [object Object] — Sieben
  5. [object Object] — das [object Object] — Tausend

20.7 · Compound nouns

Form the compound and give its article. The final word determines the gender; include any required linking element.

  1. Apfel + Strudel — apple strudel [object Object] · [object Object]
  2. neu + Mond — new moon [object Object] · [object Object]
  3. selbst + Analyse — self-analysis [object Object] · [object Object]
  4. sechs + Eck — hexagon [object Object] · [object Object]
  5. Frühjahr + Anfang — beginning of spring [object Object] · [object Object]
  6. Abfahrt + Datum — departure date [object Object] · [object Object]
Show answers
  1. [object Object] — der [object Object] — Apfelstrudel
  2. [object Object] — der [object Object] — Neumond
  3. [object Object] — die [object Object] — Selbstanalyse
  4. [object Object] — das [object Object] — Sechseck
  5. [object Object] — der [object Object] — Frühjahrsanfang
  6. [object Object] — das [object Object] — Abfahrtsdatum