ÖSD Zertifikat A1 exam (Grundstufe Deutsch 1) and online mock test

1. 1. d) Gebrauchtmöbel Huber — The situation has two conditions: getting rid of the old sofa ('Das alte Sofa muss weg') and having no car ('kein Auto'). Ad 'a' also mentions sofas, but it sells NEW ones ('Neue Sofas und Betten – jetzt 20 Prozent billiger'): the right topic with the wrong purpose, which makes it the distractor. Ad 'd' collects old furniture from your home for free: 'Wir holen alte Möbel kostenlos bei Ihnen ab'. A sofa is furniture (Möbel), and since they come to you, you need no car. 'abholen' (to collect) is a separable verb, so in the sentence it appears as 'holen … ab'.
2. 2. b) Café am Stadtpark — Two ads offer breakfast. In the furniture store's restaurant (ad 'a') it is served 'von Montag bis Samstag', so not on Sunday. Ad 'b' says 'Jeden Sonntag gibt es bei uns ein großes Frühstück'. The word for breakfast appears in both ads, so the day decides. In A1 ads, always check what a range with 'von … bis' leaves out.
3. 3. e) Hausgeräte-Service Wimmer — Ads 'c' and 'e' both seem to be about washing machines. Ad 'c' is a launderette (Waschsalon): you wash your clothes there yourself, nobody repairs your machine. Ad 'e' is a repair service: 'Waschmaschine, Herd oder Kühlschrank kaputt? Unser Techniker kommt schnell zu Ihnen nach Hause.' The word 'Reparatur' from the situation never appears in the ad; 'kaputt' and 'Techniker' carry the same meaning. Even at A1, the situation and the ad often use different words.
4. 4. c) Waschsalon „Blitzblank“ — This time the machine is not broken, there isn't one at all: 'gibt es noch keine Waschmaschine'. Ad 'e' repairs broken machines, but there is nothing to repair, so the previous answer is the distractor here. Ad 'c' says 'Waschen und trocknen in nur einer Stunde!' and 'Jeden Tag von 6 bis 22 Uhr geöffnet': the washing can be done today. Ad 'a' is the extra ad: it fits no situation, but it acts as a distractor in both the sofa and the breakfast question.

In the real exam this part has five situations and six ads; one ad is extra and matches no situation. Each correct match is worth 2 points (10 in total). Read the situation first and pick out the conditions (what exactly? when? under what condition?), then look for all of them in the ad. The extra ad usually shares a topic with one or two situations; here 'a' tempts you with both sofas and breakfast. The reading section takes 25 minutes and is worth 30 points; its other two tasks are yes/no questions on ads (6 items) and matching short texts to pictures (5 items). At ÖSD you must score at least 6 points in reading: below that, the written module fails however well the other sections went.

1. 1. Jacke — Two items are mentioned: 'eine Tasche und eine Jacke'. Straight after comes 'Die Tasche haben wir leider nicht': the bag was not found, so it is the distractor. What is waiting at the lost-property office is the jacket: 'Aber Ihre Jacke ist jetzt hier bei uns.' When two things are listed, listen for the signals that follow, such as 'leider nicht' and 'aber'; they tell you which one counts.
2. 2. Mittwoch — Three days are mentioned: 'von Montag bis Freitag' (when the office is open), 'bis Mittwoch' (the last day to collect the jacket) and 'Ab Donnerstag' (the jacket is no longer there). The note asks for the deadline: Mittwoch. Writing 'Freitag' is the most likely mistake: that is the last opening day of the week, not the last day the jacket waits for you. When a message contains several days or times, work out what each one refers to.
3. 3. Pichler — The surname is spelled out letter by letter: P – I – C – H – L – E – R. Under ÖSD's official rule, information that is spelled out must be written exactly; 'Pihler' or 'Pichla' earns nothing. Practise the German letter names beforehand: C is 'tseh' (Z is 'tset'), H is 'hah', E is 'eh', R is 'err', I is 'ee'. Mixing up C and Z is a common slip.
4. 4. 0316 41 93 27 — The number starts digit by digit ('null drei eins sechs' = 0316) and then comes in pairs. In German two-digit numbers the unit comes first: 'einundvierzig' = one-and-forty = 41, 'dreiundneunzig' = 93, 'siebenundzwanzig' = 27. Writing the digits in the order you hear them (14, 39, 72) is the classic mistake. At ÖSD a phone number must be exactly right; a partly correct number earns nothing. Spaces don't matter, the order of the digits does.

In the real exam this part has one message, and you fill in five gaps on the note sheet (10 points). In this task the recording is played twice, and before it starts you have 30 seconds to read the note sheet; use them to work out what each line asks for (a day, a name, a number). In the other two listening tasks (matching texts to photos and people being asked questions) the recordings are played only once. In the official marking grammar and spelling mistakes are ignored, but spelled-out information and phone numbers must be exactly right. The listening section takes about 10 minutes and is worth 30 points; you need at least 6, or the whole written module fails. In Level Exams' full mock exams the audio cannot be paused and plays the set number of times, as in the real exam; the player on this page can be replayed freely.

In the real exam the writing section takes 20 minutes and has two tasks: first a form (10 fields, 5 points), then this e-mail (10 points). Answer each of the three questions in the e-mail and finish with a greeting; the instruction asks for about 30 words. The model text has 35 words including the greeting and the name, and answers the three questions in order: the flowers (yes), the time (Friday from 5 p.m.), the present (coffee). If your friend writes with 'du', answer with 'du' and a salutation like 'Liebe …'; starting with 'Sie' and switching to 'du' costs points for communicative form. Long sentences are not needed: 'ja, ich gieße gern deine Blumen' is a full-marks answer at A1. ÖSD does not publish detailed marking criteria for this task; the safest approach is to answer all three questions and finish with a greeting. Writing has no minimum of its own, but its points count towards the written module (at least 38 of 75). On Level Exams your e-mail is scored by AI.

• Sprachen „Meine Muttersprache ist Türkisch. Englisch habe ich in der Schule gelernt, aber ich spreche es nicht so gut. Deutsch lerne ich seit sechs Monaten.“ — 'seit' takes the present tense: 'Ich lerne seit sechs Monaten Deutsch' (I have been learning for six months); no Perfekt here. For something finished at school, Perfekt is right: 'Englisch habe ich in der Schule gelernt.'
• Hobbys „In meiner Freizeit fotografiere ich gern. Am Wochenende gehe ich oft in den Wald und mache Fotos. Abends lese ich gern Krimis.“ — If you start with a time expression, the verb still comes second and the subject follows it: 'Am Wochenende gehe ich …', 'Abends lese ich …'. Saying 'Am Wochenende ich gehe' is one of the most common A1 mistakes. 'gern' comes after the verb: 'Ich lese gern.'
• Sport „Ich spiele zweimal pro Woche Volleyball. Im Sommer schwimme ich auch gern im See. Fußball sehe ich nur im Fernsehen.“ — Ball games go with 'spielen': 'Ich spiele Volleyball / Fußball / Tennis'. Other sports usually have their own verb: 'Ich schwimme', 'Ich laufe', 'Ich fahre Rad'. If you don't do sport, that is a valid answer too: 'Ich mache nicht viel Sport, aber ich gehe jeden Tag spazieren.'
• Familie „Ich bin verheiratet und habe eine Tochter. Sie ist vier Jahre alt. Meine Eltern und mein Bruder wohnen in Izmir.“ — 'haben' takes the accusative: 'Ich habe einen Bruder / eine Schwester / ein Kind'; masculine nouns get 'einen'. Introduce family members with a possessive: 'mein Bruder', 'meine Eltern'. The examiner may ask something like 'Was macht Ihre Tochter gern?'; a short sentence is enough.
• Beruf „Ich bin Friseurin von Beruf. Ich arbeite in einem kleinen Salon in der Stadt. Die Arbeit macht mir Spaß, aber ich stehe den ganzen Tag.“ — Jobs take no article: 'Ich bin Friseurin', 'Ich bin Mechaniker'. For women the job title usually adds '-in': Friseur → Friseurin. If you are not working, an honest answer is fine: 'Ich bin Hausfrau', 'Ich suche gerade Arbeit', 'Ich studiere'.
• Lieblingsessen „Mein Lieblingsessen ist Linsensuppe. Meine Mutter kocht sie sehr gut. Ich esse gern Fisch, aber ich mag keine Pilze.“ — 'Mein Lieblingsessen ist …' gives you the first sentence on its own. Say what you don't like with 'kein': 'Ich mag keine Pilze', 'Ich esse kein Fleisch'. If you know an Austrian dish (Kaiserschmarrn, for example), mentioning it is a natural extra detail, but not required.

At ÖSD A1 speaking is a separate module and an individual exam: you talk to the examiner, not to another candidate. You first get 10 minutes of preparation time; the exam takes about 10 minutes and is worth 25 points. To pass the oral module you need at least 12. In Teil 1 the card shows six themes; you pick four and say a few sentences about each (8 points). Prepare two or three short sentences per theme instead of single words, and use the preparation time to choose the four themes you are most comfortable with; the examiner may ask follow-up questions. In the next two parts you choose one of three pictures and describe it with guiding questions (8 points), then act out the same situation with the examiner (9 points). On Level Exams an AI takes the examiner's role. ÖSD does not publish detailed marking criteria for this part.