Trying on a new shirt | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich brauche ein neues Hemd.

   I need a new shirt.

   Ich

   I

   brauche

   need

   neues

   new

   Hemd

   shirt

   More detail

   Ich means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person who needs something. The corresponding object form is mich, as in Sie sehen mich (“They see me”), but the subject form here is Ich. brauche is the present-tense first-person singular form of brauchen (“to need”). The pattern is ich brauche ... = “I need ...”; the verb agrees with the subject Ich. For example, Ich brauche Wasser means “I need water.” neues means “new” here. Its base form is the adjective neu. The ending -es appears because neu describes the neuter noun Hemd in this noun phrase: ein neues Hemd. The adjective changes form with the noun phrase, so compare ein neues Hemd (“a new shirt”) with eine neue Jacke (“a new jacket”), where the feminine noun phrase uses neue. Hemd means “shirt.” It is a neuter noun: das Hemd. In ein neues Hemd, it is the direct object of brauchen, so the noun phrase is in the accusative. For this noun, the form Hemd itself does not change between nominative and accusative; the article and adjective show the relevant form: ein neues Hemd. Together, Ich brauche (“I need”) and ein neues Hemd (“a new shirt”) form the complete meaning: “I need a new shirt.” The speaker is the person who needs the shirt, and ein neues Hemd is the thing needed. The reusable pattern is Ich brauche + [thing], for example, Ich brauche einen Stift = “I need a pen.”

2. Welche Farbe suchen Sie?

   What color are you looking for?

   Welche

   which

   Farbe

   color

   suchen

   look for

   Sie

   you (formal)

   More detail

   Welche means “which” here and belongs with the noun Farbe. In German, welch- changes according to the noun phrase’s grammatical case, gender, and number. Because Farbe is feminine singular and is the direct object of suchen, the form is welche in the accusative. Compare: welche Farbe? — “which color?” and welcher Mann? — “which man?” Farbe is the noun “color”; its base form is die Farbe, and its plural is die Farben. The article shows that this noun is feminine: die Farbe, not because the word refers to a female being, but because German assigns it grammatical gender. suchen is the base form “to look for” or “to seek.” In the sentence, it is the present-tense form used with formal Sie: Sie suchen — “you are looking for.” The present tense can describe an action happening now, as in this question. A useful contrast is finden — “to find”: Sie suchen eine Farbe means “You are looking for a color,” while Sie finden eine Farbe means “You find a color.” Sie is the capitalized formal second-person pronoun, meaning “you.” It is the subject here, and its capitalization distinguishes it from lowercase sie, which can have other pronoun functions. The formal subject Sie takes the same verb form as a plural subject: Sie suchen; this does not mean that the addressee is plural. Together, Welche Farbe asks for a choice of color, suchen expresses looking for that color, and formal Sie identifies the person being addressed. German questions of this type put the finite verb before the subject: Suchen Sie ...? Here the question word and its noun phrase come first, followed by the verb and subject: Welche Farbe suchen Sie? The complete meaning is “What color are you looking for?”

3. Etwas Blaues, wenn Sie es haben.

   Something blue, if you have it.

   Etwas

   something

   Blaues

   blue one/thing

   wenn

   if

   Sie

   you (formal)

   es

   it

   haben

   have

   More detail

   Etwas is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something.” It does not by itself state a numeric count. In this utterance it introduces an unspecified item. Blaues means “blue one” or “blue thing” here. It is the adjective blau used as a noun-like form, so it is capitalized. The ending -es is the neuter singular ending used in this substantivized form after etwas: etwas Blaues. Together, Etwas Blaues means “something blue.” Example: etwas Warmes — “something warm.” wenn introduces a condition and is commonly translated as “if” in this use. It begins the conditional clause wenn Sie es haben. Sie is the capitalized formal second-person pronoun, meaning “you.” It is used for one or more people in formal address; its form here does not show whether the addressee is singular or plural. es is the neuter accusative pronoun “it.” In this fixed meaning, it refers to the unspecified item being sought, without specifying the item more precisely. haben is the verb “to have.” Its base form is also haben, and with formal Sie the present-tense form is Sie haben. In a subordinate clause introduced by wenn, the finite verb moves to the end, producing wenn Sie es haben. The form haben looks identical to the infinitive, but here it is the finite verb agreeing with Sie. Together, Etwas Blaues names the requested kind of item: “something blue.” The conditional clause wenn Sie es haben adds the condition “if you have it,” so the complete utterance means “Something blue, if you have it.”

4. Hier ist eins in Ihrer Größe.

   Here is one in your size.

   Hier ist

   here is

   eins

   one

   Ihrer

   your (formal)

   Größe

   size

   More detail

   Hier ist means “here is” and introduces something being presented. Hier means “here,” while ist is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for er/sie/es and for a singular subject. German commonly places a location such as Hier first, followed by the verb: Hier ist .... eins means “one” here: one item of the kind being discussed. As a standalone form, it is useful when the noun is understood and therefore omitted. Compare the form used before a noun: ein Kleid (“a dress”); standing alone, eins can mean “one [item].” This sentence does not specify the item’s noun or grammatical gender. Ihrer means formal “your” in this phrase. The formal address form is based on Sie; it can refer to one person or to more than one person, so the form alone does not establish the number of people addressed. Here Ihrer is the possessive determiner agreeing with Größe, not with eins. Größe means “size.” Its base form is die Größe, a feminine noun. After in when the phrase describes a stationary situation or state—“in a size”—German uses the dative here: in Ihrer Größe. The feminine dative form of the possessive determiner is Ihrer; compare Ihre Größe for a nominative or accusative context. Together, Hier ist eins in Ihrer Größe presents one item and specifies that it is in the addressee’s size: “Here is one in your size.”

5. Kann ich es anprobieren?

   Can I try it on?

   Kann ich

   Can I…?

   es

   it

   anprobieren

   try on

   More detail

   Kann ich is the question frame “Can I …?” Here, kann is the present-tense form of können for ich; it expresses ability or permission in this request. German yes/no questions place the conjugated verb before the subject: Kann ich ...? Compare the statement Ich kann ... (“I can ...”). After a modal verb such as können, the other verb remains in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause. es means “it” here and refers to the item the speaker wants to try on. It is the accusative form of the neuter personal pronoun; the verb anprobieren takes the item as its object. The form also appears as es in nominative and accusative, so its shape alone does not show the case. anprobieren means “to try on,” especially clothing or another wearable item. It is a separable verb: in a finite clause, the prefix separates, as in Ich probiere es an. (“I try it on.”) After kann, however, the complete infinitive stays together at the end: Ich kann es anprobieren. Together, Kann ich es anprobieren? asks for permission to try the item on. The question structure is Kann ich + object es + infinitive anprobieren.

6. Die Umkleidekabine ist gleich hier.

   The changing room is just over here.

   Umkleidekabine

   changing room

   ist

   is

   gleich hier

   just over here

   More detail

   Umkleidekabine means “changing room” here. It is a feminine noun: die Umkleidekabine (singular), with plural die Umkleidekabinen. The ending -kabine is part of the compound, not a separate form of the noun in this sentence. ist is the present-tense third-person singular form of sein (“to be”). The singular subject Die Umkleidekabine therefore combines with ist; for example, Die Tür ist offen. means “The door is open.” gleich hier is a location expression meaning “just over here.” In this use, gleich adds the idea that the place is nearby, while hier means “here.” The same word gleich can have other uses, such as “immediately,” but that is not its meaning in this location expression. Together, Die Umkleidekabine ist gleich hier. says that the changing room is located just over here. The noun phrase is the subject, ist links it to the location, and gleich hier gives that location.

7. Es passt sehr gut.

   It fits really well.

   Es

   it

   passt

   fits

   sehr

   very; really

   gut

   well

   More detail

   Es is a third-person singular pronoun functioning as the subject here. Its specific referent is understood from the situation, but the supplied sentence does not identify it more precisely. German es can refer to a neuter singular noun or serve other grammatical functions; here it corresponds to “it.” passt is the present-tense third-person singular form of passen. In this sentence, passen means “to fit,” and the form agrees with singular es. Useful forms are passen (base form), ich passe (“I fit”), and es passt (“it fits”). The same verb can also mean that something suits or is appropriate, depending on context. sehr is an intensifier meaning “very” or, with a positive evaluation such as sehr gut, naturally “really.” It strengthens the following description rather than naming a separate action. gut means “well” here because it describes how the fitting occurs. German uses the same form gut as an adjective and as an adverb in this kind of construction. Its comparison is gut (“good/well”), besser (“better”), and am besten (“best”). Together, Es passt means “It fits,” while sehr gut intensifies the manner or degree: “really well.” The complete utterance is therefore “It fits really well.”

8. Es steht Ihnen gut.

   It looks nice on you.

   Es

   it

   steht Ihnen gut

   looks good on you

   More detail

   Es is the neuter nominative pronoun “it” here, referring to the item being discussed. Its specific referent is not named in this sentence. In this pattern, the item is the grammatical subject. steht Ihnen gut uses stehen in the present tense: steht is the third-person singular form of stehen. In the pattern etwas steht jemandem gut, the item is the subject, the person who wears or has it is marked by the dative, and gut means that the item has a favorable appearance on that person. Ihnen is the formal dative form of “you”; it can address one person formally or more than one person. The informal singular dative form is dir. The adjective gut means “good” here in the sense of looking good or being flattering. It is not an inflected form in this sentence. A related contrast is schlecht (“bad”): Das steht dir gut. — “That looks good on you.” Das steht dir schlecht. — “That looks bad on you.” Together, Es supplies the item being evaluated, and steht Ihnen gut says that this item looks good on the addressed person. The whole utterance therefore means “It looks nice on you.”