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A1 Speaking Teil 3: Turn the Picture Into a Request — Don't Just Name It

GetGermanReady••5 min readA1SpeakingExam tips

Here's a moment that catches out almost everyone in the A1 speaking exam. The examiner places a small picture card in front of you — a clock, a window, a book. Your brain reaches for the word, you say „die Uhr“, and you feel good… until you realise the examiner wanted a whole sentence. In Sprechen Teil 3 of Start Deutsch 1 / Goethe A1, naming the picture is the one thing that doesn't earn the point.

Teil 3 is officially called „Bitten formulieren und darauf reagieren“ — formulate requests and respond to them. It's not a vocabulary test. It's a tiny role-play: the picture is a prompt to ask another person to do something, politely. Get that one idea and this part becomes the easiest points in the whole exam.

The whole task in one line
Picture → polite request. Don't name the object — ask someone to do something with it.

How Teil 3 actually works

You and your partner each get a few picture cards (Bildkarten) showing everyday objects. You take turns: you draw a card and make a request to your partner, then your partner reacts — and when they draw a card, you react to theirs. So there are really two jobs: make a clear request, and respond politely when one is made to you.

  • Draw a card — say, a picture of a window.
  • Formulate a request: „Können Sie bitte das Fenster öffnen?“
  • Your partner reacts: „Ja, gerne.“
  • When your partner makes a request to you, you react too: „Natürlich.“ / „Einen Moment, bitte.“

The one rule: picture → request

Compare the two answers to the same clock card. One loses the point; one wins it:

  • ❌ „Die Uhr.“ — that's just naming it. No request, no point.
  • ✅ „Können Sie mir bitte die Uhrzeit sagen?“ — Could you please tell me the time? That's a request — point won. (The card shows die Uhr, the clock; the natural request asks for die Uhrzeit, the time it shows.)

Your request toolkit (memorise these four)

You don't need fancy grammar — you need a few reliable openers you can drop almost any object into. Always slip in bitte. Both Sie (formal) and du (informal) are accepted in the exam — „Können Sie …?“ and „Kannst du …?“ are equally correct; just stay consistent within one conversation:

  • Können Sie bitte … ? — Could you please … ? (the workhorse: „Können Sie bitte die Tür schließen?“)
  • Kann ich bitte … ? — Can I please … ? („Kann ich bitte das Telefon benutzen?“)
  • Haben Sie … ? — Do you have … ? („Haben Sie einen Stift für mich?“)
  • Geben Sie mir bitte … . — Please give me … . (a polite imperative: „Geben Sie mir bitte das Buch.“)
Watch the case after the verb
The thing you ask for (the direct object) goes in the accusative. For der-words that changes the article: der Stuhl → „Können Sie mir bitte den Stuhl bringen?“ (die and das words don't change: die Tür → die Tür, das Buch → das Buch). With geben / bringen there's also a person — that's the dative mir (“to me”).

Worked examples — the cards you'll actually see

Everyday objects come up again and again. Here are six typical cards with a ready-made request (gender shown so you pick the right article):

  • 🪟 das Fenster → „Können Sie bitte das Fenster öffnen?“ (open the window)
  • 🚪 die Tür → „Können Sie bitte die Tür schließen?“ (close the door)
  • 📖 das Buch → „Kannst du mir bitte das Buch geben?“ (give me the book)
  • 💡 das Licht → „Können Sie bitte das Licht anmachen?“ (turn on the light)
  • 🪑 der Stuhl → „Können Sie mir bitte den Stuhl bringen?“ (bring the chair — note den)
  • 📞 das Telefon → „Kann ich bitte das Telefon benutzen?“ (use the phone)

Don't forget the second half: reacting

Half of Teil 3 is responding when your partner makes a request. A one-word grunt isn't enough — give a short, friendly reply. Keep two or three of these ready:

  • Ja, gerne. — Yes, gladly.
  • Ja, natürlich. — Yes, of course.
  • Hier, bitte. — Here you go.
  • Einen Moment, bitte. — One moment, please.

The mistakes that quietly cost points

  • Just naming the object („das Fenster“) instead of asking — the number-one Teil 3 error.
  • Making a statement („Das Fenster ist offen.“) instead of a request.
  • Forgetting bitte*** — your sentence is understood, but politeness is part of the task.
  • Going silent when it's your turn to react — always answer your partner's request.
  • Wrong article in the accusative — der → den („den Stuhl“).

Try it yourself

Cover the answers. For each card, build a polite request before you reveal ours:

Card: a pen (der Stift). Make a request.
e.g. „Können Sie mir bitte den Stift geben?“ — note the accusative den (der → den). „Haben Sie einen Stift für mich?“ also works.
Card: a window, and the room is hot (das Fenster).
„Können Sie bitte das Fenster öffnen?“ — das doesn't change in the accusative, so it stays „das Fenster“.
Your partner asks: „Können Sie bitte die Tür schließen?“ — react.
Any friendly reply: „Ja, gerne.“ / „Natürlich.“ / „Einen Moment, bitte.“ Reacting is half the task.

The takeaway

Teil 3 rewards a reflex, not vocabulary: the second you see a picture, your mind should jump to „Können Sie bitte … ?“ and fit the object in — never to the bare noun. Learn four openers, a couple of friendly replies, and the der → den tweak, and a whole part of the speaking exam turns into free points.

The fastest way to build that reflex is to say the requests out loud, again and again, until they're automatic. You can practise speaking German aloud — with instant feedback — right here: