Eco vocabulary: problem, cause, solution
Examiners reward an answer naming a problem, a cause and a solution together, not isolated words. Learn each noun with its gender: die Umweltverschmutzung (pollution), der Klimawandel (climate change), die Erderwärmung (global warming), der Müll (rubbish); solutions recyceln, Energie sparen, Bäume pflanzen. Nouns in -ung are feminine; der Klimawandel, der Müll, der Welthunger are masculine. Full table in the note.
Opinion phrases; man stays singular
Stock phrases carry marks in Writing Q3 and Speaking. Opinions: meiner Meinung nach, ...; ich finde/denke, dass + verb-final clause. Solutions: man muss + infinitive, man sollte + infinitive, es ist wichtig, ... zu + infinitive, wir sollten + infinitive. Justify with weil/denn or um ... zu + infinitive. The trap: man always takes the 3rd-person-singular verb (man sollte, never man sollten), while wir sollten is plural.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Comparative uses -er, not mehr
German forms most comparatives by adding -er to the adjective, not by putting mehr in front. mehr umweltfreundlich -> umweltfreundlicher; mehr wichtig -> wichtiger. It bites because umweltfreundlich is core topic vocabulary — candidates who know the word still misform its comparative. mehr is used only before a noun (mehr Energie).
Anglicised comparative mehr umweltfreundlich/wichtig instead of umweltfreundlicher/wichtiger (s23 42(a) Task 4).
haben not sein with fahren (Perfekt)
fahren is a movement verb, so its Perfekt auxiliary is sein, not haben. Ich habe mit dem Rad gefahren -> Ich bin mit dem Rad gefahren. This is exactly the sentence an environmental answer needs (what did you do to help?), so the choice matters every time a movement verb (fahren, gehen, laufen) describes an eco-friendly action.
Wrong auxiliary haben for sein with fahren/travel (w22 42 Q3(b); s23 42 Accuracy).
Present tense for a future-obligation bullet
Environmental tasks mix time frames: Was hast du getan? (past, Perfekt) versus Was sollte man tun? (future obligation, modal sollte). Answering every bullet in the present caps Task Completion even with accurate vocabulary. Past: Ich habe den Müll getrennt; habit: Ich trenne den Müll; obligation: Man sollte mehr recyceln. Check each bullet's time frame first.
Task Completion capped by tense mismatch, every sitting (s22 42/43; w22 42; s23 42/43; w23 42).
das Recycling is neuter, not guessed
das Recycling is a neuter loanword (like das Handy, das Hobby) — do not guess a different gender from its English root or from the verb recyceln. Say das Recycling ist wichtig, and decline after a preposition: mit dem Recycling (dative neuter). Learn eco-loanwords with their article; the gender is not predictable from the English word.
(general FL trap)
vermeiden is strong: past part. vermieden
vermeiden (to avoid) is a strong irregular verb, not weak: its past participle is vermieden, never vermeidet. Ich habe Plastik vermeidet -> Ich habe Plastik vermieden. It is inseparable (ver-), so no ge- prefix. Useful in eco answers (Müll/Plastik vermeiden), so learn the whole form, not the regular weak rule.
(general FL trap)
Nominative after wegen/trotz, not genitive
wegen (because of) and trotz (despite) take the genitive, not the nominative or accusative. wegen der Klimawandel / trotz die Umweltverschmutzung -> wegen des Klimawandels (masculine genitive des + noun -s) and trotz der Umweltverschmutzung (feminine genitive der). Handy for a cause: Wegen des Klimawandels steigt der Meeresspiegel.
(general FL trap)
Comparatives are not mehr + adjective
A common misconception is that German comparatives work like English more + adjective, so more environmentally friendly becomes mehr umweltfreundlich instead of adding -er: umweltfreundlicher. Test: if the adjective is being compared, add -er to it; mehr goes only before a noun (mehr Energie), never before an adjective.
Anglicised comparative mehr umweltfreundlich/wichtig instead of umweltfreundlicher/wichtiger (s23 42(a) Task 4).
Build answers: problem + cause + solution
Structure every answer as problem -> cause -> solution: name the problem with its gender (der Klimawandel), add a cause with weil or wegen, report the action in the right tense, then justify with um ... zu — hitting Task Completion, Range and Accuracy together.
Vary connectors to reach the Range band
Weaker answers use only weil and und. To climb the Writing Range band, add trotzdem, außerdem, obwohl and deshalb. Front an adverbial and invert (Nächste Woche werde ich...), and keep the comparative umweltfreundlicher, never mehr umweltfreundlich.
Answer every bullet in its own tense
A minority each sitting answer fewer bullets than asked, or put them all in one tense — both cap Task Completion. Work through the bullets in order and match each to its time frame (past, habit, obligation). Short on-task sentences beat long general ones.
This topic covers the vocabulary and structures for talking about environmental problems, global issues such as poverty and natural disasters, and what individuals, schools and governments should do to help.
The environment:
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