Basic routines and family | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich gehe ins Bett.

   I am going to bed.

   Ich

   I

   gehe

   go

   ins

   into the

   Bett

   bed

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here: the first-person singular pronoun for the speaker. It does not identify the speaker by itself. Compare ich with du (“you,” singular) when addressing one person. gehe is the first-person singular present form of gehen, “to go.” The present form can describe movement happening now or an immediate plan, so Ich gehe ... can correspond to “I am going ...” in this sentence. Useful forms include ich gehe (“I go/am going”) and du gehst (“you go/are going”). ins is the contracted form of in das: in plus the neuter definite article das. With a destination or movement into a place, in takes the accusative, giving in das → ins. This contraction is common in ordinary German. For example, Ich gehe ins Kino. means “I am going to the cinema.” Bett is the noun “bed.” Its base form is das Bett; the noun is neuter, which is why the definite article in in das Bett is das. In the contraction ins Bett, the noun remains Bett; the accusative marking is carried by the article, not by a change to the noun. im Bett means “in the bed” and describes location rather than movement toward it: Ich bin im Bett. means “I am in bed.” Together, Ich gehe expresses the speaker’s movement, and ins Bett gives the destination, literally “into the bed.” The complete utterance means “I am going to bed.”

2. Ich wache früh auf.

   I wake up early.

   Ich

   I

   wache … auf

   wake up

   früh

   early

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here: the speaker is the person who wakes. German uses ich for a first-person singular subject. For example: Ich arbeite. — “I work.” wache ... auf comes from the separable verb aufwachen, “to wake up.” In the present tense, the first-person singular form is ich wache auf: the finite form wache stays with the subject, while the separable prefix auf moves to the end of the clause. For example: Ich wache um sieben auf. — “I wake up at seven.” The form wache is the present-tense form used with ich for aufwachen; it is not from a different verb. früh means “early” in this sentence and describes when the waking happens. It is an adverb here, so it does not change form. Compare Ich wache spät auf. — “I wake up late.” Together, Ich + wache ... auf + früh produces Ich wache früh auf. — “I wake up early.” The separable prefix is at the end because this is a main clause in the present tense.

3. Ich gehe zur Arbeit.

   I go to work.

   Ich

   I

   gehe

   go

   zur

   to the

   Arbeit

   work

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here: it is the first-person singular pronoun and the subject of the sentence. The same form is used regardless of the speaker’s gender. For example: Ich lerne. — “I am learning.” gehe is the first-person singular present form of gehen (“to go”): ich gehe. The present form can describe movement now or a regular/planned activity, depending on context. For example: Ich gehe nach Hause. — “I am going home.” zur is the contracted form of zu der. Here it marks movement to a destination and combines with the feminine article der in the dative: zu der Arbeit → zur Arbeit. The contraction is a fixed spelling, not a separate verb form. Arbeit is the feminine noun “work.” German nouns are capitalized. In zur Arbeit, the noun is in the dative because the preposition zu requires the dative; the feminine singular article is der, producing zur through contraction. Schule in zur Schule follows the same pattern, but it refers to school rather than work. Together, Ich gehe (“I go / I am going”) and zur Arbeit (“to work”) produce the complete meaning: “I go to work.”

4. Ich gehe zur Schule.

   I go to school.

   Ich

   I

   gehe

   go

   zur

   to the

   Schule

   school

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here, the first-person singular subject. German subject pronouns include ich “I,” du “you” (singular), and er/sie/es “he/she/it.” The verb form must match the subject: ich gehe is “I go,” while du gehst is “you go.” gehe is the first-person singular present form of gehen (“to go”): gehen → ich gehe, du gehst, er/sie/es geht. German present tense can describe a regular activity or a current movement; the fixed translation supports the general meaning “go” here. zur is the contraction of zu der. zu expresses movement toward a destination, and der is the dative feminine singular form of the definite article. The contraction is used before a feminine noun: zu der Schule becomes zur Schule. For example, Ich gehe zur Arbeit. means “I go to work.” Schule means “school.” It is a feminine noun, so its definite article is die in the basic form, but after zu the required dative form is der: zu der Schule → zur Schule. The noun is capitalized because German nouns are capitalized. Together, Ich gehe gives “I go,” and zur Schule gives “to school.” The complete utterance is therefore “I go to school.”

5. Ich bin bei meiner Familie.

   I am with my family.

   Ich bin

   I am

   bei

   with

   meiner

   my

   Familie

   family

   More detail

   Ich bin means “I am.” Ich is the first-person singular pronoun, and bin is the first-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. Example: Ich bin müde. — “I am tired.” bei means “with” here, in the sense of being in someone’s company or at someone’s place. It is a preposition that requires the dative case. Example: Ich bin bei meinem Freund. — “I am with my friend.” meiner means “my” here. It is the dative feminine singular form of the possessive determiner mein; its ending reflects the grammatical requirements of bei and the feminine singular noun Familie. Compare meine Familie (“my family”) in the nominative or accusative with bei meiner Familie (“with my family”) after bei. Familie means “family.” It is a feminine noun: die Familie. In this utterance it is singular, referring to the family as one group. Example: Meine Familie ist groß. — “My family is large.” Together, Ich bin + bei meiner Familie produces “I am with my family.” The reusable pattern is Ich bin bei + dative person or group: Ich bin bei meiner Familie.

6. Das ist mein Freund.

   This is my friend.

   Das

   this

   ist

   is

   mein

   my

   Freund

   friend

   More detail

   Das means “this” here and functions as a demonstrative pronoun. It points to an understood person or thing; the sentence itself does not specify what is being pointed to. Compare the reusable pattern Das ist ... (“This is ...”). ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. It links the demonstrative with the identification that follows. Example: Das ist Anna. — “This is Anna.” mein means “my” here. It is the possessive determiner belonging to ich (“I”), and its form agrees with the noun it determines. With the masculine singular nominative noun Freund, it is mein; compare meine Freundin (“my female friend”) and meine Freunde (“my friends”). Freund is a masculine noun meaning “friend” here. Its plural is Freunde. The related feminine noun Freundin means “female friend” or “girlfriend” depending on context, but the fixed sentence uses masculine Freund and does not specify that extra relationship meaning. Together, Das ist gives the pattern “This is”, and mein Freund identifies the person as the speaker’s friend. The complete utterance therefore means “This is my friend.”