German B1 exam grammar: core review checklist
This is a focused review of core grammar topics, not an official syllabus or a complete exam simulation. Exam providers also assess reading, listening, writing and speaking; use their current sample papers alongside this practice.
Reviewed against official exam-provider information on July 30, 2026.
Goethe-Zertifikat B1, telc Deutsch B1 and the DTZ (Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer) are three common B1 routes. This page reviews five core areas in KasusKnacker's B1 grammar track: cases, prepositions, adjective endings, pronouns and verb forms. Use it for focused practice alongside the current official model test for your chosen exam.
Where grammar appears at B1
The three major exam families test the same grammar in different places. telc Deutsch B1 is the most explicit: its Sprachbausteine section contains two gap texts — one multiple-choice cloze and one where you fill gaps from a word bank — that test grammar and vocabulary head-on. You have roughly 15 minutes for both.
In Goethe-Zertifikat B1 and the DTZ, grammar supports performance across reading, writing and speaking tasks rather than acting as a complete syllabus of its own. Focused grammar drilling can improve accuracy, but it should sit beside practice in every skill and with the official task formats.
The five topics below are KasusKnacker's core B1 review set. They are selected for practical value, not presented as an exhaustive provider specification.
The B1 core grammar checklist
These are the five core topics in KasusKnacker's focused B1 review track. Each links to a grammar guide with tables and examples.
Using all four cases confidently
Read the Using all four cases confidently guideTwo-way and fixed prepositions
Read the Two-way and fixed prepositions guideAdjective declension
Read the Adjective declension guideRelative and demonstrative pronouns
Read the Relative and demonstrative pronouns guidePast tenses and Konjunktiv II
Read the Past tenses and Konjunktiv II guideAll four cases. B1 is where the genitive joins nominative, accusative and dative, and where examiners expect you to pick the right case automatically — after verbs, after prepositions, in time expressions. A sentence like „Ich helfe dem Sohn meiner Nachbarin" combines a dative verb and a genitive attribute in seven words; that density is normal B1 material.
Two-way and fixed prepositions. The Wechselpräpositionen (an, auf, in, über, unter…) take accusative for movement and dative for location — „Ich gehe ins Kino" vs. „Ich bin im Kino". Both telc gap texts love this distinction, and fixed-case prepositions (mit + Dativ, für + Akkusativ) are the easiest exam points to lose carelessly.
Adjective declension. The ending of an adjective before a noun depends on gender, case and which article precedes it: „der kleine Hund", „ein kleiner Hund", „mit einem kleinen Hund". B1 writing is scored on getting these right in your own sentences, not just recognizing them.
Relative and demonstrative pronouns. Relative clauses are the classic B1 structure: „Das ist der Mann, der nebenan wohnt" — where the pronoun's case comes from its role inside the clause, not from the noun it refers to. That trap appears in nearly every B1 grammar test.
Past tenses and Konjunktiv II. B1 expects the Perfekt for spoken past, the Präteritum for sein, haben and the modals, and Konjunktiv II in its everyday forms: „Wenn ich Zeit hätte, würde ich mitkommen." Polite requests with könnten and würden are expected in the speaking module.
The four exercise formats, with examples
KasusKnacker's B1 track uses four exercise formats modeled on how exams present grammar. Here is each one, with a real B1-level example — try it before revealing the answer.
Gap texts (cloze)
Short everyday texts with gaps — the format used in the telc grammar section.
Example
Er hängt das Bild an ___ Wand. Jetzt hängt das Bild an ___ Wand.
Show answer
an die Wand (movement → accusative), an der Wand (location → dative)
Word-bank texts
Fill the gaps from a shared word bank — the second telc grammar format.
Example
Word bank: deren · dem · der
Die Frau, ___ Auto vor ___ Haus steht, wohnt neben ___ Bäckerei.
Show answer
deren (genitive relative pronoun) · dem (vor + location → dative) · der (neben + location → dative, feminine)
Spot the error
One part of each sentence is wrong — find it and correct it.
Example
Der Mann, den mir geholfen hat, wohnt nebenan.
Show answer
The error is den — it should be der. The relative pronoun is the subject of its clause (it does the helping), so it takes the nominative, regardless of the main clause.
Transformations
Rewrite a sentence in a new form — tense, case or structure.
Example
Ich habe keine Zeit, deshalb komme ich nicht mit. → Wenn ich Zeit ___, ___ ich mitkommen.
Show answer
hätte / würde — the unreal condition takes Konjunktiv II in both clauses.
Coming from A2, heading to B2
If two-way prepositions and adjective endings feel shaky, it may pay to consolidate A2 exam grammar first — B1 builds on the dative and the Perfekt. If this checklist already feels comfortable, B2 exam grammar adds more formal use of the genitive, Nominalstil and verbs with fixed prepositions.
Official exam information
Use these provider sources for the current exam structure, scoring rules and official practice materials.
The B1 readiness test
20 questions · 20 minutes
12 multiple choice · 1 gap text · 1 word-bank text · 3 spot-the-error · 3 transformations
Your first test at this level is free. Retakes are part of Premium.
Start the B1 track