Genau
Topic test · A1

Numbers · time · date test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

What number is siebenundsechzig?

67. The unit is said first: sieben (7) und sechzig (60).

Es ist halb neun. What time is it?

08:30. halb neun = half the way to nine. Take the hour one lower than the number you hear, plus 30 minutes.

14:45 — how do you say it in everyday speech?

Viertel vor drei. It is a quarter before three. nach means past, vor means before.

Which one is spelled correctly?

dreißig. 30 is the only spelling exception: -ßig, not -zig.

My birthday is on 3 May.

am dritten Mai. Days and dates take am; because am = an dem is dative, the ordinal takes -en. im is only for months, seasons and years.

It’s one o’clock.

ein Uhr — not “eins”

Es ist ein Uhr. The number one loses its s before a noun. Said alone it becomes Es ist eins.

What does 1.500,50 mean?

One thousand five hundred euros fifty cents. In German the full stop separates thousands and the comma separates decimals — the exact reverse of English.

How do you say 21?

German builds numbers BACKWARDS: units first, then tens — ein·und·zwanzig (one-and-twenty).

How do you say “on 1 May”?

Dates use an ordinal and am: am ersten Mai · am dritten Mai. eins → erste is irregular.

How do the full stop and comma work in German numbers?

The opposite of English: 1.500,50 € = one thousand five hundred euros fifty cents. A lifesaver when you read prices.

“halb acht” means 08:30.

False. German time looks forward. halb acht is half the way to eight, so 07:30.

Heute ist der Mai. (1)

Today is 1 May.

erste. The ordinal for eins is irregular and takes the ending -e in the nominative.

Build the sentence: My birthday is on 3 May.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

To give a date, use am, and the ordinal takes -en.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. Numbers are built backwards

    21 = einundzwanzig (one-and-twenty). 67 = siebenundsechzig. Units first, then tens.

    einundzwanzig = 21

  2. halb looks FORWARD

    halb neun = 8:30 — half of nine, NOT half past nine. Viertel vor/nach is the quarter you already know.

    halb neun = 8:30

  3. Dates use ordinals

    am ersten Mai · am dritten Oktober. 1st, 3rd, 7th and 8th are irregular: erste · dritte · siebte · achte.

    am dritten Mai

  4. Full stop and comma are swapped

    1.500,50 € — full stop for thousands, comma for decimals. dreißig is written with ß.

    1.500,50 €

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • halb neun = 9:30

    halb neun = 8:30

    The English “half nine” reflex turns it around; halb looks at the coming hour.

  • zwanzigeins

    einundzwanzig

    The unit is said first.

  • dreisig

    dreißig

    30 is written with ß (except in Switzerland).

  • am drei Mai

    am dritten Mai

    A date needs an ordinal; drei → dritte is irregular.