Hurrying to the Train Platform | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Die Straße ist heute wirklich voll.

   The road is really busy today.

   Straße

   road/street

   heute

   today

   wirklich

   really

   voll

   full; busy

   More detail

   Straße means “road” or “street.” Its base form is die Straße; the noun is feminine, so this sentence uses the feminine definite article die. The plural is die Straßen. The article reflects gender and number, not a numerical meaning by itself. heute means “today” and places the situation in the current day. It can be moved for emphasis: Heute ist die Straße wirklich voll. — “Today the road is really busy.” wirklich means “really” and strengthens the description. It can also modify other adjectives: Das Essen ist wirklich gut. — “The food is really good.” voll literally means “full.” Here, describing a road, it means “busy” or crowded with traffic. It is the adjective’s base form. After the linking verb ist, German uses the predicate adjective without an adjective ending: Die Straße ist voll. — “The road is busy.” By contrast, before a noun, the adjective normally has an ending: eine volle Straße — “a busy road.” The pattern Die Straße ist ... means “The road is ...”: die Straße is the subject, and ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). heute gives the time, wirklich intensifies the description, and voll supplies the description. Together, Die Straße ist heute wirklich voll. means “The road is really busy today.”

2. Die Hauptverkehrszeit hat begonnen.

   Rush hour has started.

   Hauptverkehrszeit

   rush hour

   hat begonnen

   has started

   More detail

   Hauptverkehrszeit means “rush hour” here. It is a compound noun: Hauptverkehrszeit = the period when traffic is at its peak. German nouns are capitalized, and this noun is feminine, which is why the sentence uses die. A useful related contrast is Nebenverkehrszeit, “off-peak time.” hat begonnen expresses “has started.” The verb is beginnen; begonnen is its irregular past participle, not a form of a different verb. With the auxiliary haben, it forms the perfect tense: hat begonnen = “has begun/has started.” The auxiliary agrees with the singular subject: die Hauptverkehrszeit hat, while the participle remains begonnen. Example: Der Unterricht hat begonnen. — “The lesson has started.” Together, Die Hauptverkehrszeit hat begonnen. means “Rush hour has started.” The definite article die and the singular verb show that Hauptverkehrszeit is being treated as one specific period; the perfect construction presents its beginning as completed and relevant now.

3. Schaffen wir noch den nächsten Zug?

   Can we still catch the next train?

   Schaffen

   manage; make it

   noch

   still

   nächsten

   next

   Zug

   train

   More detail

   Schaffen is the present-tense form of schaffen used with wir (“we”). Here it means “manage to make/catch,” as in reaching transport before it leaves; it does not mean “create” in this context. A useful pattern is Schaffen wir ...? = “Can we manage to ...?” noch means “still” here. It indicates that catching the train remains possible at this point. Its position between the verb and the noun phrase helps give the question the meaning “still catch the next train?” nächsten is the inflected form of the adjective nächst-, meaning “next.” It describes Zug. In den nächsten Zug, the masculine noun phrase is in the accusative case, so the adjective has the ending -en. Compare: der nächste Zug (“the next train”) and den nächsten Zug (“the next train” as the object of the action). Zug is a masculine noun meaning “train.” Its plural is Züge. In this utterance it refers to the next available train in the situation, not to a general type of train. Together, Schaffen wir asks whether “we” can manage something, while noch says that it is still possible. den nächsten Zug is the object: the next train that they want to catch. Thus Schaffen wir noch den nächsten Zug? means “Can we still catch the next train?”

4. Das sollten wir. Der Bahnhof ist gleich da vorne.

   We should. The station is just ahead.

   Das

   that

   sollten wir

   we should

   Bahnhof

   station

   ist

   is

   gleich

   just

   da vorne

   ahead

   More detail

   Das is a standalone neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It points to the proposed action in the preceding question, rather than functioning as an article before a noun. Demonstratives can also refer to things or ideas: Das ist gut. — “That is good.” sollten wir expresses “we should.” sollten is the first-person plural form of sollen in the subjunctive form used for a recommendation; wir is the subject “we.” Compare Wir sollen gehen (“We are supposed to leave”) with Wir sollten gehen (“We should leave”). In Das sollten wir, the finite verb comes before the subject because Das occupies the first position of the statement, while the verb remains in the second position. Bahnhof means “station,” specifically a railway station. Its ordinary definite form is der Bahnhof; the noun is masculine, and the article carries that information. Example: Der Bahnhof ist groß. — “The station is large.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein, “to be.” The subject here is der Bahnhof, so German uses singular ist; with plural die Bahnhöfe, it would use sind. gleich means “just” or “right” in the spatial expression used here. It does not mean “equal” in this sentence. It can also refer to time, as in Ich komme gleich. — “I’ll come right away.” da vorne is a spatial expression meaning “ahead there” or “up ahead.” da indicates a place, and vorne means “at the front” or “ahead.” Together with gleich, it gives the natural meaning “just ahead.” The complete utterance combines Das sollten wir (“We should do that”) with Der Bahnhof ist gleich da vorne (“The station is just ahead”). Thus, in this context, the speaker agrees that the proposed action should be taken and locates the station ahead of the speakers.

5. Ich kann jetzt den Eingang sehen.

   I can see the entrance now.

   Ich kann

   I can

   jetzt

   now

   Eingang

   entrance

   sehen

   see

   More detail

   Ich kann combines the pronoun ich (“I”) with kann, the first-person singular present form of können (“can, be able to”). In a main clause, this modal verb is in the second position, while the other verb goes to the end in its infinitive form. Here it expresses present ability or possibility: “I can …” jetzt means “now” and places the seeing in the present moment. It can be moved for emphasis, but here it follows the modal phrase naturally. Eingang means “entrance.” It is a masculine noun, normally used with the article der: der Eingang. Its plural is die Eingänge; the plural changes the vowel to ä and adds -e. German nouns are capitalized. sehen means “see.” This is the infinitive required after kann; the modal carries the finite verb marking, so sehen does not change here. Useful forms include sehen (“see”), sieht (“sees,” third-person singular present), and sah (“saw,” simple past). For example: Ich sehe den Eingang. — “I see the entrance.” Together, Ich kann + jetzt + den Eingang + sehen means “I can see the entrance now.” The object is marked by den, the masculine accusative form of der, and the modal construction places sehen at the end: Ich kann den Eingang sehen.

6. Gehen wir direkt zum Bahnsteig.

   Let's head straight to the platform.

   Gehen wir

   let’s go / let’s head

   direkt

   straight

   zum

   to the

   Bahnsteig

   platform

   More detail

   Gehen wir uses gehen (“go”) with wir (“we”). In this verb-first pattern, German expresses a suggestion addressed to a group including the speaker: “Let’s go” or “Let’s head.” The infinitive is gehen; the same verb has the present forms ich gehe, du gehst, and wir gehen. Example: Gehen wir nach Hause. — “Let’s go home.” direkt is an adverb meaning “straight” here, specifying the route or manner of going. It can also mean “directly” in other contexts. Example: Wir gehen direkt zum Ausgang. — “We’re going straight to the exit.” zum is the contraction of zu dem. The preposition zu takes the dative, and dem is the dative singular form of the definite article for a masculine or neuter noun. Thus zum is a reusable “to the” form before such a noun. It does not itself indicate a numeric quantity. Bahnsteig is a masculine noun meaning “platform,” specifically a train platform. Its definite-article forms include der Bahnsteig (nominative) and dem Bahnsteig (dative); after zu, the latter appears in the contraction zum Bahnsteig. Example: Der Bahnsteig ist dort. — “The platform is over there.” Together, Gehen wir makes a suggestion to go, direkt adds the idea of going straight, and zum Bahnsteig gives the destination. The whole utterance means: “Let’s head straight to the platform.”

7. Der Zug fährt schon ein.

   The train is pulling in already.

   Zug

   train

   fährt … ein

   is pulling in

   schon

   already

   More detail

   Zug means “train” here. Its base form is der Zug; the article shows masculine gender, and in this sentence the noun is the subject in the nominative case. The plural is die Züge. fährt and ein belong together as the separable verb einfahren, “to pull in” or “to enter” (for a train). fährt is the third-person singular present form of fahren; the subject Der Zug is singular. In a main clause, the prefix ein moves to the end: Der Zug fährt ein. With a different subject, the verb changes accordingly, for example: Die Züge fahren ein. — “The trains are pulling in.” schon means “already” here. It places the event earlier than expected or emphasizes that it is happening by this time. It is separate from the verb and does not mean that the train is pulling in “early” in every context. Together, Der Zug fährt schon ein. means “The train is pulling in already.” The sentence presents the train as the singular subject, fährt ... ein as the separable-verb construction describing its arrival, and schon as the time-related emphasis.

8. Bleib in meiner Nähe, dann steigen wir zusammen ein.

   Stay close, and we'll board together.

   Bleib

   stay

   in meiner Nähe

   near me

   dann

   then

   steigen … ein

   board; get on

   zusammen

   together

   More detail

   Bleib is the singular informal imperative of bleiben (“to stay”): du bleibst = “you stay,” but the command uses Bleib. The imperative addresses one person. For more than one person or a formal addressee, German uses different imperative forms. in meiner Nähe means “near me.” Nähe is a feminine noun, and after in here the location is expressed with the dative: meiner is the dative feminine singular form of mein. The phrase can be reused with another possessor, for example: Bleib in seiner Nähe. — “Stay near him.” dann means “then” and links the condition or timing in the first part to what follows: “then we will…” It does not itself express the future tense. steigen ... ein is the separable verb einsteigen, meaning “to board” or “to get on” a vehicle. In the present-tense form, the finite part is steigen and the prefix ein appears at the end of the clause: wir steigen ... ein. The subject is wir, and this present form can refer to a planned near-future action in context. steigen by itself commonly means “climb” or “rise,” so the separated prefix is important for the meaning “board/get on.” zusammen means “together.” It modifies the boarding action here, so the intended meaning is that the speaker and the addressee will board as a group, not separately. Together, Bleib in meiner Nähe gives “Stay near me,” and dann steigen wir zusammen ein gives “then we’ll board together.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Stay close, and we’ll board together.”