telc B1 Sprachbausteine: the Grammar It Tests, Worked Through
Sprachbausteine is where telc B1 tests your grammar directly, and it rewards one specific skill: reading a sentence and spotting the single form that fits. This page walks one worked gap text end to end — every option explained, right and wrong — so you can see exactly how the module thinks. It is a real answer key, not a quiz: the reasons are the point.
First skim the grammar scope below so you know what the module can throw at you. Then work the gap text: cover the answer key, choose an option for each gap, and only then read why the right one is right and the other two fail.
What the telc B1 Sprachbausteine module tests
Sprachbausteine is the grammar module of telc Deutsch B1: short texts with gaps, worth 30 of the exam's 225 written points. It never asks you to name a grammar term — it checks whether you can choose the one word that keeps a sentence correct. Every gap belongs to a small, predictable set of structures. Know this scope and you know what to revise.
- Verbs with a fixed preposition, and the case that preposition forces (sich anmelden für + accusative, warten auf + accusative, teilnehmen an + dative).
- Coordinating conjunctions (und, aber, denn) versus subordinating ones (weil, dass, obwohl) — and the different word order each forces.
- Relative pronouns: gender and number from the noun they refer to, case from their role inside the relative clause.
- Word order: the verb second in a main clause, at the end in a subordinate clause, and inversion after a fronted element.
- Cases after two-way prepositions (in, an, auf): accusative for movement, dative for position.
- Indirect questions: ob for a yes/no question, a w-word for the rest, verb at the end.
- Konjunktiv II for polite requests (könnten Sie, ich würde gern) and unreal conditions.
- Connecting adverbs (deshalb, trotzdem, außerdem) — the verb comes straight after them, unlike after a conjunction.
The worked gap text
How to work this: read the email once, then for each numbered gap pick the option you would choose before you look at the answer key. Reveal the reasoning only after you have committed — guessing and then checking is what makes the rule stick.
Marek is writing to a friend about a German course. Five words are missing — each with three options, only one correct.
The answer key, gap by gap
Gap 1 — the preposition after sich anmelden
The verb is sich anmelden, and the fixed preposition for the thing you sign up for is für + accusative — für den Deutschkurs. Learn the verb and its preposition as one unit; you cannot deduce it from the English 'register for'.
- fürCorrect
Correct. sich für etwas anmelden is the fixed combination, and für governs the accusative, which is why the article is den (masculine accusative).
- anWrong
Wrong. an belongs to other verbs (denken an, sich erinnern an), not to sich anmelden, and it would force a different structure (an dem / am).
- aufWrong
Wrong. auf is the preposition for sich freuen auf and warten auf — a natural trap, since ich freue mich … darauf appears two lines down — but anmelden does not take it.
Rule: Many German verbs bind a fixed preposition (sich freuen auf, warten auf, denken an, sich anmelden für). The case comes with it — für is always accusative.
Tip: When a gap sits right after a reflexive verb, ask which preposition that verb 'owns' before you even read the options.
Gap 2 — joining two complete sentences
Both sides are complete main clauses with the verb in second position (beginnt … freue). Linking two main clauses needs a coordinating conjunction, and und is the neutral one. A subordinating conjunction would send the verb to the end — but freue stays second, so it cannot be one.
- undCorrect
Correct. und coordinates the two main clauses and leaves ich freue mich with its verb in second position, exactly as the sentence has it.
- weilWrong
Wrong on word order. weil is subordinating, so it would need …, weil ich mich schon sehr darauf freue with freue at the end. The sentence keeps freue in second position, so weil cannot fit.
- dassWrong
Wrong. dass introduces a content clause after verbs like sagen or glauben and also sends the verb to the end. There is no such verb here, and the word order rules it out.
Rule: Coordinating conjunctions (und, aber, oder, denn, sondern) join two main clauses and change nothing about word order. Subordinating ones (weil, dass, wenn, obwohl) push the verb to the end of their clause.
Tip: Look at where the verb sits after the gap. Verb second → you need a coordinating word. Verb at the very end → a subordinating one.
Gap 3 — the relative pronoun
The pronoun refers back to die Lehrerin (feminine) and is the subject of its own clause — it does the unterrichten — so it takes the nominative. Feminine nominative is die.
- dieCorrect
Correct. Feminine, singular, and nominative because the pronoun is the subject of unterrichtet: die Lehrerin, die uns unterrichtet.
- derWrong
Wrong gender. der is masculine nominative (or feminine dative/genitive). The noun is die Lehrerin, feminine, and the pronoun is a subject, so neither reading fits.
- derenWrong
Wrong. deren is the feminine/plural genitive — 'whose'. It would mean the teacher possesses something in the clause, but here she simply teaches, so the case is nominative, not genitive.
Rule: A relative pronoun takes its gender and number from the noun it refers to, but its case from its job inside the relative clause. Subject → nominative; direct object → accusative; possession → genitive (dessen/deren).
Tip: Find the verb in the relative clause and ask who does it. If the pronoun is the doer, it is nominative — match the gender of the noun and you are done.
Gap 4 — 'because' at the front of the sentence
The clause has its verb at the very end (ich abends arbeite) and the main clause after the comma starts with its verb (gehe ich). That verb-final-then-inversion pattern is the signature of a subordinate clause in first position, and the meaning is causal, so Weil fits.
- WeilCorrect
Correct. It sends arbeite to the end of its clause and triggers the inversion gehe ich in the main clause — both visible in the sentence.
- DennWrong
Wrong. denn is coordinating and cannot open a sentence or send the verb to the end. With denn the order would be Ich gehe …, denn ich arbeite abends, which is not the sentence given.
- TrotzdemWrong
Wrong twice. trotzdem means 'nevertheless', not 'because', and it is an adverb: after it the verb comes straight away (Trotzdem gehe ich), so it cannot be followed by ich abends arbeite.
Rule: When a weil-clause comes first, the whole clause fills position 1, so the main clause must begin with its verb: Weil ich arbeite, gehe ich …. denn can never do this — it only joins two main clauses and cannot open the sentence.
Tip: weil and denn both mean 'because', and Sprachbausteine loves to offer both. Decide with word order, not meaning: verb at the end → weil; two main clauses in normal order → denn.
Gap 5 — the indirect question
The main clause Könntest du mir sagen … hides a yes/no question ('should I bring a dictionary — yes or no?'). An indirect yes/no question is introduced by ob ('whether'), with the verb at the end (mitbringen soll).
- obCorrect
Correct. ob turns a yes/no question into an indirect one and keeps soll at the end: …, ob ich … mitbringen soll.
- dassWrong
Wrong. dass reports a fact ('… that I should bring a dictionary'), but the sentence is asking, not stating. The question mark at the end gives it away.
- wennWrong
Wrong. wenn means 'if/when' as a condition ('if I bring a dictionary, then …'). Nothing here is conditional — you are asking whether to bring one — so ob, not wenn.
Rule: Indirect questions keep the verb at the end. If the direct question would start with a question word (wann, wo, warum), reuse it; if it is a plain yes/no question, use ob. dass is for statements, not questions.
Tip: Turn it back into a direct question. 'Should I bring a dictionary?' has no question word and is answered yes/no → ob. If it can only be answered with information, you need a w-word instead.