Checking the Platform Before Boarding | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Zu welchem Bahnsteig sollen wir gehen?

   Which platform should we go to?

   Zu welchem

   to which

   Bahnsteig

   platform

   sollen wir

   should we

   gehen

   go

   More detail

   Zu welchem asks “to which” and identifies the destination being selected. The preposition zu governs the dative case here; welchem is the dative masculine form of the question word welcher because Bahnsteig is masculine. Compare welcher (nominative masculine), welchen (accusative masculine), and welchem (dative masculine). Example: Zu welchem Hotel fahren wir? — “Which hotel are we going to?” Bahnsteig means “platform,” specifically a railway platform. Its plural is Bahnsteige; the singular form in this question names one platform as the possible destination. Example: Der Zug fährt von Bahnsteig drei ab. — “The train leaves from platform three.” sollen wir combines the modal verb sollen with the subject pronoun wir (“we”). In this question, sollen expresses what is expected, advisable, or planned for the speakers to do: “should we.” sollen changes with the subject; wir sollen is the first-person plural form. Example: Sollen wir warten? — “Should we wait?” gehen is the infinitive “to go” or “to walk.” With a conjugated modal verb such as sollen, the infinitive remains in its base form and appears at the end of the question. Compare wir gehen (“we go / we are going”) without a modal with wir sollen gehen (“we should go”). Together, Zu welchem Bahnsteig asks for the particular platform that is the destination, while sollen wir gehen asks what the speakers should do. The complete meaning is: “Which platform should we go to?” This is a natural, practical question for choosing a railway platform when the correct platform is not yet known.

2. Das Schild zeigt zu Bahnsteig zwei.

   The sign points to platform two.

   Schild

   sign

   zeigt

   points

   zu

   to

   Bahnsteig

   platform

   zwei

   two

   More detail

   Schild means “sign” here. Its base form is das Schild; the plural is die Schilder. In the sentence, Das Schild is the subject, and Das is the neuter singular definite article required by Schild. zeigt is the present-tense form of zeigen for a singular subject: Das Schild zeigt = “The sign points/shows.” The same verb can also mean “shows” in other contexts. Example: Der Pfeil zeigt nach links. — “The arrow points to the left.” zu marks the direction or destination: “to/toward.” With an ordinary definite masculine noun, it commonly combines with the article: zu dem Bahnsteig becomes zum Bahnsteig. Here, Bahnsteig zwei functions as the named platform destination, so the platform number appears directly after zu. Bahnsteig means “platform,” especially a railway platform. It is masculine: der Bahnsteig; its plural is die Bahnsteige. Example: Wir warten auf dem Bahnsteig. — “We are waiting on the platform.” zwei is the number “two.” Here it identifies which platform is meant: Bahnsteig zwei = “platform two.” In transport contexts, a number can be used directly as part of a platform name or label. The parts assemble as Das Schild + zeigt + zu + Bahnsteig zwei: “The sign points to platform two.” The subject is the sign, zeigt describes its present function, and zu Bahnsteig zwei gives the destination it indicates.

3. Ich kann die kleinen Buchstaben von hier aus nicht lesen.

   I can't read the small letters from here.

   Ich kann

   I can

   kleinen

   small

   Buchstaben

   letters

   von hier aus

   from here

   nicht

   not

   lesen

   read

   More detail

   Ich kann introduces the speaker’s ability or possibility: kann is the first-person singular present form of können (“can, be able to”). With a modal verb, the other verb stays in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause. Example: Ich kann warten. — “I can wait.” kleinen means “small” here. Its base form is klein; before the plural noun Buchstaben, after the definite article die, it has the attributive ending -en: die kleinen Buchstaben. The ending belongs to the adjective, not to the noun. Example: die kleinen Schilder — “the small signs.” Buchstaben means “letters” in this sentence, referring to written characters. It is the plural of Buchstabe; the plural form is also important because it is the form used after die here. Example: Ich sehe zwei Buchstaben. — “I see two letters.” von hier aus is the reusable phrase “from here” or “from this position.” aus adds the idea of a starting point or vantage point. Example: Von hier aus sehe ich den Bahnhof. — “From here, I can see the station.” nicht is the standard negator. Here it negates the ability expressed by kann ... lesen: the speaker cannot read the letters from this position. It does not by itself mean that the letters are absent. lesen means “to read.” It is the infinitive of lesen, and it appears at the end because it depends on the modal verb kann. Example: Sie kann den Text lesen. — “She can read the text.” Together, Ich kann ... lesen means “I can read ...”; inserting nicht gives “I cannot read ...”. die kleinen Buchstaben is the object, and von hier aus states the vantage point. Thus the whole utterance means: “I can’t read the small letters from here.”

4. Hier steht: Der Zug fährt in zehn Minuten ab.

   It says the train leaves in ten minutes.

   Hier steht

   It says here

   Zug

   train

   fährt … ab

   leaves; departs

   in zehn Minuten

   in ten minutes

   More detail

   Hier steht is a common way to introduce information that is written or displayed: “It says here …”. Literally, steht is the third-person singular present form of stehen (“to stand”), but in this construction it refers to written information. The same form can also mean “stands” in a physical sense. Zug means “train.” Its plural is Züge; the vowel changes in the plural, so this is not formed by simply adding -e. fährt is the third-person singular present form of fahren (“to travel; to drive; to ride”). Here it describes the train’s scheduled departure. The form agrees with the singular subject Der Zug; fahren is the base form. fährt can also describe traveling or driving in other contexts, so the departure meaning comes from its combination with ab. ab completes the separable verb abfahren (“to depart”). In a main-clause present-tense sentence, the conjugated part appears in the clause and ab moves to the end: Der Zug fährt ab. In an infinitive or with a modal, it stays together: Der Zug muss abfahren. in zehn Minuten gives the time until the departure: “in ten minutes.” With a future event, German in plus a time span marks how long from now until it happens. Minuten is the plural of Minute (“minute”), and the number zehn is used with this plural noun. For example, Der Bus kommt in fünf Minuten. means “The bus is coming in five minutes.” Together, Hier steht: introduces the written message, Der Zug identifies the train, and fährt ... ab says that it departs. in zehn Minuten places that departure ten minutes from now, producing: “It says the train leaves in ten minutes.”

5. Ich gehe vor dem Einsteigen auf die Toilette.

   I'm going to use the restroom before we board.

   Ich

   I

   gehe

   go / am going

   vor dem Einsteigen

   before boarding

   Toilette

   restroom

   More detail

   Ich means “I” and identifies the speaker as the subject. German uses this form for the first-person singular; it is distinct from du (“you,” singular) and wir (“we”). gehe is the present-tense first-person singular form of gehen (“to go”): ich gehe. German present tense can also refer to a planned or imminent action when the context makes that clear. Example: Ich gehe morgen nach Berlin. — “I’m going to Berlin tomorrow.” vor dem Einsteigen means “before boarding.” vor means “before” here, and dem Einsteigen is a nominalized infinitive: einsteigen (“to board/get in”) becomes the noun-like Einsteigen, written with a capital letter. In this construction, vor takes the dative, shown by dem. The preceding context about the train supports the intended boarding sense. Example: Vor dem Schlafengehen lese ich. — “Before going to bed, I read.” Toilette means “restroom/toilet.” It is a feminine noun, so the definite article is die in the accusative. With movement toward or into a place, German uses auf die Toilette gehen, a common construction meaning “to go to the restroom.” The form die is accusative here because auf describes a destination in this expression. Example: Sie geht auf die Toilette. — “She is going to the restroom.” Together, Ich gehe ... auf die Toilette says that the speaker is going to use the restroom, while vor dem Einsteigen places that action before boarding. The whole utterance therefore means: “I’m going to use the restroom before we board.”

6. Ich behalte die Taschen bei mir.

   I'll keep the bags with me.

   Ich

   I

   behalte

   keep; retain

   Taschen

   bags

   bei mir

   with me

   More detail

   Ich means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. Its form does not change for grammatical gender; it refers to the speaker. behalte is the first-person singular present form of behalten, “to keep” or “to retain.” The present tense can describe a current decision or a future arrangement in German, so here it expresses the speaker’s intention to keep the bags. The form agrees with ich: ich behalte, du behältst, er/sie behält. Taschen is the plural of die Tasche, “bag”: die Tasche → die Taschen. In the full noun phrase die Taschen, die is the definite article for the plural, so the sentence refers to particular bags identified by the situation. bei mir means “with me.” bei is a preposition that takes the dative case, and mir is the dative form of ich. This pattern is reusable: bei mir = “with me,” bei dir = “with you.” Together, Ich behalte die Taschen bei mir means “I’ll keep the bags with me.” The subject is the speaker, behalte expresses keeping, die Taschen is what is kept, and bei mir states where or with whom they will remain. In this context, the present-tense German sentence naturally conveys the future-oriented English “I’ll keep.”

7. Bitte bleib bei diesem Schild.

   Please stay near this sign.

   Bitte

   please

   bleib

   stay

   bei

   near

   diesem

   this

   Schild

   sign

   More detail

   Bitte makes the request polite. It can stand at the beginning of a request, as here, or elsewhere in a sentence. The fixed utterance uses it as “please,” not as part of the location phrase. bleib is the informal singular imperative of bleiben (“to stay, remain”). The imperative addresses one person: Bleib hier! means “Stay here!” The form for an informal plural or a formal address is different, so bleib itself does not address a group or use formal Sie address. bei is a preposition used here for being near or by something. In this meaning it takes the dative case. The phrase bei diesem Schild therefore means “near this sign.” In another context, bei can express being with someone or at someone’s place, but its intended meaning here is location near the sign. diesem is a form of the demonstrative dies- (“this”). It is dative singular here because bei requires the dative and Schild is neuter: das Schild. Compare dieses Schild in the nominative or accusative, but bei diesem Schild in the dative. The demonstrative identifies the sign as “this” sign; the sentence itself does not otherwise specify which sign it is. Schild is a neuter noun meaning “sign” here. Its base form is das Schild; the plural is die Schilder. The same spelling can have other meanings in German depending on context, but the fixed translation establishes the meaning “sign” here. The parts combine in source order: Bitte + the singular informal imperative bleib + the location phrase bei diesem Schild. Together, Bitte bleib bei diesem Schild. means “Please stay near this sign.” It is a polite request addressed to one person. The pattern Bitte + imperative + location is reusable: Bitte bleib bei der Tür. — “Please stay by the door.”

8. Ich schaue auf die Anzeigetafel, falls sich der Bahnsteig ändert.

   I'll watch the board in case the platform changes.

   schaue

   watch; look

   Anzeigetafel

   board

   falls

   in case

   sich … ändert

   changes

   Bahnsteig

   platform

   More detail

   schaue is the first-person singular present form of schauen (“to look/watch”): ich schaue. German present tense can describe an action that is happening now or a planned/expected action in the near future. Example: Ich schaue nach dem Zug. — “I’ll look for the train.” Anzeigetafel means “display board” or “information board.” Its base noun is die Anzeigetafel; the plural is die Anzeigetafeln. In auf die Anzeigetafel, auf expresses what the looking is directed at, and this use takes the accusative: die is the feminine accusative form here. Example: Sie schaut auf die Uhr. — “She looks at the clock.” falls introduces a condition that is possible but not certain. It means “in case” or “if.” It starts a subordinate clause, so the finite verb comes at the end of that clause. Pattern: falls + subject + ... + verb. ändert is the third-person singular present form of the reflexive verb sich ändern, “to change.” The subject is der Bahnsteig, so the form is ändert; sich belongs to the verb construction and does not mean that the platform changes something else. Example: Der Fahrplan ändert sich. — “The timetable changes.” Bahnsteig means “platform,” as at a railway station. Its base form is der Bahnsteig; its plural is die Bahnsteige. In the subordinate clause, der Bahnsteig is the subject of sich ändert. Together, Ich schaue auf die Anzeigetafel means “I’ll watch the board,” and falls sich der Bahnsteig ändert adds the possible condition “in case the platform changes.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I’ll watch the board in case the platform changes.”