Choosing a shorter checkout line | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Brauchen wir noch etwas?

   Do we need anything else?

   Brauchen

   need

   wir

   we

   noch etwas

   anything else

   More detail

   Brauchen is the verb brauchen, “to need.” Here it is in the present tense, first-person plural form: wir brauchen = “we need.” In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first: Brauchen wir ...? Compare the reusable statement Wir brauchen Wasser. — “We need water.” wir means “we” and is the subject form used for the speaker together with at least one other person. It is the form used with the first-person plural verb form brauchen; it does not itself identify exactly who the other people are. noch etwas combines noch, “still/additionally,” with etwas, an indefinite pronoun meaning “something.” In this question, the combination asks about anything additional that may be needed, giving the intended meaning “anything else?” Etwas can also be used outside a question: Ich brauche etwas. — “I need something.” The whole utterance follows the reusable yes/no-question pattern finite verb + subject + remaining information: Brauchen + wir + noch etwas? The result is “Do we need anything else?” The following statement that everything is covered fits noch etwas as a question about an additional need.

2. Ich glaube, das ist alles.

   I think that's everything.

   Ich glaube

   I think

   das

   that

   ist

   is

   alles

   everything

   More detail

   Ich glaube means “I think” here. glaube is the first-person singular present form of glauben (“to believe; to think”): ich glaube, du glaubst, er/sie glaubt. German commonly uses it before a comma to introduce an opinion or assessment. Example: Ich glaube, das ist richtig. — “I think that is correct.” das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” in this sentence. Its neuter singular form points to the situation or content under discussion; the exact object being referred to is not named by the sentence itself. Do not confuse this pronoun with the relative or subordinating conjunction dass, as in Ich glaube, dass das alles ist. — “I think that that is everything.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The form agrees with the singular subject das: ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. Example: Das ist neu. — “That is new.” alles is the indefinite pronoun “everything” or “all of it.” It refers broadly to the relevant set or situation rather than naming its individual parts. Example: Alles ist bereit. — “Everything is ready.” Together, Ich glaube introduces the speaker’s assessment, and das ist alles says that the thing or situation being pointed to is complete: “I think that’s everything.” In the supplied context, this naturally evaluates whether anything more is needed before going to the checkout.

3. Dann gehen wir zur Kasse.

   Then let's go to the checkout.

   Dann

   then

   gehen

   go

   wir

   we

   zur

   to the

   Kasse

   checkout

   More detail

   Dann means “then” and places this action after the preceding thought or event. It is also useful in sequences: Dann esse ich. means “Then I eat.” gehen means “to go.” In the sentence, it is the present-tense form used with wir; for this verb, the first-person plural form is wir gehen, while the infinitive is also gehen. Example: Wir gehen nach Hause. — “We are going home.” wir means “we,” the first-person plural subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker together with at least one other person, without specifying the group’s size. The verb agrees with it in wir gehen. zur is the contracted form of zu der: zu (“to”) plus the feminine article der in the dative case. It introduces the destination here. The contraction is common in ordinary German; compare zur Schule (“to school”) and zu dem contracted as zum before a masculine or neuter noun. Kasse means “checkout” or “cash register.” In this sentence, die Kasse refers to the checkout destination. It is a feminine noun, so after zu, the phrase is zu der Kasse, normally shortened to zur Kasse. Together, Dann gehen wir means “Then we go” or, in this suggestion context, “Then let’s go.” zur Kasse supplies the destination, “to the checkout.” The complete utterance is therefore “Then let’s go to the checkout.”

4. Die Schlange ist lang.

   The line is long.

   Schlange

   line; queue

   ist

   is

   lang

   long

   More detail

   Schlange means “line” or “queue” here. It is a feminine noun, shown by die Schlange; its plural is Schlangen. The word can also mean “snake” in another context, but the fixed translation and checkout context establish the queue meaning here. Example: Die Schlange ist kurz. — “The line is short.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. It links the subject to a description. Example: Die Kasse ist dort. — “The checkout is there.” lang means “long.” As an adjective after sein, it describes the subject without changing its form in this sentence. Its comparative form is länger (“longer”); the context’s kürzer is the comparative of kurz (“short”), used to compare another line. Example: Der Weg ist lang. — “The way is long.” Together, Die Schlange is the subject, ist means “is,” and lang describes the subject. The complete utterance means: “The line is long.”

5. Dort drüben ist die Schlange an der Kasse kürzer.

   The register over there has a shorter line.

   Dort drüben

   over there

   ist

   is

   Schlange

   line

   Kasse

   register

   kürzer

   shorter

   More detail

   Dort drüben means “over there” and points to a place away from the speaker. dort means “there,” while drüben adds the sense of “over there” or “on the other side.” Example: Der Laden ist dort drüben. — “The shop is over there.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). It is the copula here: Die Schlange ist ... means “The line is ...”. The relevant present-tense forms include ich bin, du bist, and er/sie/es ist. Schlange means “line” or “queue” in this utterance. It is a feminine noun: die Schlange, with plural die Schlangen. The same noun can also mean “snake” in another context, so the surrounding words identify the intended meaning here. Example: Die Schlange ist lang. — “The line is long.” Kasse means “register” or “checkout.” In the phrase an der Kasse, it appears with an der because this describes a stationary location: “at the register.” Kasse is feminine, so the definite article is die Kasse in the basic form and der Kasse here, the dative singular form after this use of an. Example: Wir warten an der Kasse. — “We are waiting at the checkout.” kürzer is the comparative form of the adjective kurz (“short”). kurz → kürzer (“shorter”) → am kürzesten (“shortest”). Because kürzer is used after ist as a predicate, it has no adjective ending here. The comparison says that this line is shorter than another relevant line, with the comparison understood from the situation. Example: Diese Schlange ist kürzer. — “This line is shorter.” Together, die Schlange an der Kasse means “the line at the register,” and ist kürzer says that it is shorter than the comparison line. Dort drüben locates that register and line over there. Thus the whole utterance means: “The register over there has a shorter line,” or more literally, “The line at the register over there is shorter.”

6. Stellen wir uns dort an.

   Let's line up there.

   Stellen … uns … an

   let’s line up

   dort

   there

   More detail

   Stellen ... uns ... an is the separated form of sich anstellen, meaning “to line up” here. The parts are separated because anstellen is a separable verb: the finite part stellen comes first, while an goes to the end. With wir, the form is stellen; uns is the reflexive form referring back to the same group as wir. In “Stellen wir uns an!”, this verb-first pattern expresses a suggestion or instruction for “let’s …”. dort means “there,” referring to the place indicated in the situation; the preceding context supports the location over there. It does not itself mean “line” or add a direction beyond that location. Together, Stellen wir uns dort an. means “Let’s line up there.” The sentence uses the separable reflexive verb sich anstellen, the first-person-plural suggestion pattern Stellen wir ..., and dort to specify where the group should queue.