telc B1 Sprachbausteine: Teil 1 and 2 – Grammar, Traps, Practice

How are the Sprachbausteine at telc B1 structured?

The Sprachbausteine are a separate subtest of the written exam. You do them in the same block as reading (Leseverstehen): 90 minutes for both together, without a break. Both parts are letters with gaps – in the practice test a personal letter in Teil 1 and a written enquiry to a guesthouse (Pension) in Teil 2.

The Sprachbausteine count for 10 % of the exam. In numbers, one gap gives 1.5 points, while one task in reading Teil 1 gives 5. So it is not worth thinking about a single gap for a long time. The Sprachbausteine have no separate minimum score; what counts is the total of the written exam (135 of 225). The guide telc B1 exam shows the whole procedure.

Which grammar comes up in Sprachbausteine Teil 1?

Teil 1 tests grammar in context. In the practice test, for example, connectors, articles and pronouns in the right case, the auxiliary verb in the perfect tense (Perfekt), a relative pronoun with a preposition, prepositions and words like „sehr“ (very) or „zu“ (too) are missing. The table shows how you recognise the answer.

The form must also fit the way the whole letter addresses the reader. How the greeting, set phrases and closing go together is explained in the guide Writing a letter at B1.

How do I rule out wrong options in Teil 1?

Often the three answers for a gap are words of the same kind: three connectors, three article forms, three verb forms. That is why the meaning alone often does not help. You find the answer faster if you check each option against a rule.

1. First find the conjugated verb of the sentence and mark it. Its position shows whether the gap needs a connector, an adverb or another part of the sentence.
2. Ask what decides the form: a verb (helfen + dative), a preposition (mit + dative) or the noun before it (gender and number).
3. Try each of the three options in the gap and cross out whatever breaks one of these rules.
4. Read the sentence with the remaining option half aloud. Does it sound like a normal sentence from a letter?

Example (our own exercise): „Liebe Mara, seit dem Umzug backe ich jeden Samstag Brot für die Nachbarn. Ich stehe dafür schon um fünf Uhr auf, (21) ___ der Teig lange gehen muss. Die ersten Versuche waren eine Katastrophe, (22) ___ inzwischen gelingt mir fast jedes Brot. Die Wohnung, (23) ___ wir seit März leben, hat zum Glück einen großen Ofen. Letzten Samstag (24) ___ ich sogar eine Torte gebacken.“ (21) a) weil b) denn c) deshalb (22) a) obwohl b) aber c) trotzdem (23) a) in der b) in die c) in dem (24) a) habe b) bin c) hat

Answers: (21) a – „muss“ is at the end, so it is a subordinate clause; after „denn“ you would have „der Teig muss …“, after „deshalb“ the verb straight away. (22) b – after the gap comes a normal main clause; „trotzdem“ would need the verb directly after it, „obwohl“ the verb at the end. (23) a – you live in a flat (Wo? → dative), and „Wohnung“ is feminine: „in der“. „In die“ asks Wohin?, „in dem“ would be masculine or neuter. (24) a – „backen“ forms the Perfekt with „haben“, and the subject is „ich“.

What traps are there in Sprachbausteine Teil 1?

You can avoid most mistakes with a few questions that you ask at every gap:

• What comes after the gap? If the verb comes straight away, an adverb like „trotzdem“ fits; if it is at the end of the sentence, a connector like „obwohl“; if a normal main clause follows, „aber“ or „denn“. Three words with a similar meaning, three different sentence patterns.
• What controls the ending? After „mit“ (dative) it always changes („mit meinem Bruder“, „mit einer Freundin“), after „für“ (accusative) only in the masculine („für meinen Bruder“, but „für mein Kind“).
• Which preposition goes with the verb? Man erinnert sich an etwas, nimmt an einem Kurs teil und bewirbt sich um eine Stelle. Learn verb and preposition as a pair.
• Perfekt with haben or sein? With verbs of movement like „fahren“, without an accusative object it is „Ich bin nach Berlin gefahren“, with an object „Ich habe das Auto in die Garage gefahren“.
• als, wenn or wann? „als“ for a single event in the past; „wenn“ for repeated events, for the present and future and for conditions; „wann“ for direct and indirect questions about time („Ich weiß nicht, wann der Kurs beginnt.“).
• Where does the case in the relative clause come from? The noun before it gives gender and number, the verb or the preposition in the relative clause gives the case.
• Does the form fit the greeting in the first sentence? If you write „Liebe Mara“, you stay with „du“, „dir“, „dein“; an answer with „Ihnen“ is then wrong, even if the case is right.

Our tip: if you are still unsure about a gap, choose the option you cannot find a rule against and move on – a guessed answer has a chance, an empty gap has none. You need the same rules for writing: if you know connectors and word order well, you will write the email in the Schriftlicher Ausdruck (written expression) more fluently.

How does Sprachbausteine Teil 2 with 15 words work?

In Teil 2 a letter has ten gaps, and above it there are 15 words a–o, in the practice test in capital letters and in alphabetical order. Each word fits at most once, and five words are left over. In the practice test they are mostly prepositions after verbs and adjectives, connectors like „da“, „damit“, „deshalb“ and „wenn“, adverbs, subjunctive forms (Konjunktiv) for polite requests and an adjective in a fixed expression.

1. Next to each of the 15 words, write its word class: P (preposition), K (connector), A (adverb), V (verb), Adj. (adjective).
2. Then go through the letter and note at each gap which word class the sentence needs.
3. Count: how many gaps need a preposition, how many a connector? Often only two or three candidates are left for each gap.
4. Fixed pairs like „interessiert an“ (interested in) or „dankbar für“ (grateful for) are usually clear quickly – enter them and tick off the words.
5. At the end, check the five words that are left: none of them may fit a gap better than your answer.

Example (our own exercise): „Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, ich habe Ihre Anzeige (31) ___ den Nähkurs für Anfänger gelesen. Den Kurs würde ich gern besuchen, (32) ___ ich eigene Kleidung nähen möchte. (33) ___ Sie mir bitte sagen, ob ich eine Nähmaschine mitbringen muss? Ich arbeite bis 17 Uhr, (34) ___ passt mir nur ein Termin am Abend.“ Words: A DESHALB, B HÄTTEN, C KÖNNTEN, D OBWOHL, E ÜBER, F WEIL

Answers: (31) E – eine Anzeige über etwas (an advert about something). (32) F – „möchte“ is at the end, so it is a subordinate clause; it gives a reason. „Obwohl“ would have the same word order but expresses a contrast – that does not fit the wish to attend the course. (33) C – „Könnten Sie mir bitte sagen …?“ is a polite request; „hätten“ with „sagen“ does not form a request. (34) A – after the gap the verb „passt“ comes straight away, so it is an adverb in position 1. HÄTTEN and OBWOHL are left over; in the exam, five words are left over in the same way. You can practise this in telc B1 Sprachbausteine Teil 2.

Which words should I not mix up in Teil 2?

Our tip: look out for words in the list that are similar. If you mix them up, you can easily lose two gaps – the one you filled wrongly and the one the word really belonged to.

Our tip: if both „könnten“ and „würden“ are in the list, check whether one of them fits another gap – for example „würden“ in „Wir würden gern wissen, …“. If it fits nowhere, it is one of the five extra words.

How do I practise telc B1 Sprachbausteine with LexDeutsch?

On LexDeutsch there are our own letters in the telc format: 37 versions for Teil 1 and 46 for Teil 2. After „Prüfen“ (check) the trainer shows an explanation for each gap and, if you want, the letter in translation. The first three versions of each Teil are free and need no sign-up; more versions are part of VIP access. LexDeutsch writes all letters itself; they are not tasks from the exam.

1. Do the first three versions (the free ones) of each part with a clock – our guide value: 12 minutes each.
2. For every mistake, read the explanation and match it to a topic from the table above.
3. Write down the verb + preposition pairs you did not know and learn them with a sentence of your own.
4. Revise the grammar topics with the most mistakes in the Grammar Quiz B1.
5. Once a week, do reading and Sprachbausteine together in 90 minutes.

DTZ Lesen Teil 5 has a similar format with six gaps; the guide DTZ Lesen B1 explains the grammar for it. For the three reading parts of telc B1, read telc B1 reading; for scoring the official practice test, read telc B1 model test. telc gGmbH offers the Übungstest telc Deutsch B1 (ZIP) as a download free of charge.