Sending a Work File | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ist der Bericht fertig?

   Is the report ready?

   Ist

   is

   Bericht

   report

   fertig

   ready; finished

   More detail

   Ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first: Ist ...? means “Is ...?” Compare the statement pattern Der Bericht ist fertig. (“The report is ready.”) with the question Ist der Bericht fertig? (“Is the report ready?”). Bericht means “report.” Its useful base form is the noun der Bericht; the article der marks this noun as masculine in the nominative here. In this sentence, der Bericht is the subject—the thing whose state is being asked about. The definite article identifies a particular report in the situation; it does not itself state a number. fertig means “ready” here, describing the report’s state. It can also mean “finished” when the context concerns completion. As a predicate adjective after sein, it appears as fertig, without an ending: Der Bericht ist fertig. = “The report is ready.” Together, Ist der Bericht fertig? uses the yes/no question order finite verb + subject + predicate adjective. The sentence asks whether the particular report is ready; it does not itself provide a yes-or-no answer.

2. Er ist fast fertig.

   It is almost ready.

   Er

   it, for a grammatically masculine referent

   ist

   is

   fast

   almost

   fertig

   ready

   More detail

   Er is the third-person singular masculine subject pronoun. Here, the fixed translation uses “it,” so the intended referent is nonhuman and grammatically masculine singular; English it does not show German grammatical gender. The supplied material does not uniquely identify which referent it is. Compare er with sie “she/they” and es “it”; the choice depends on the referent’s grammatical form and the intended meaning. Example: Er ist hier. — “He is here.” ist is the present-tense third-person singular form of sein “to be.” The reusable pattern is er ist “he/it is.” Other present forms include ich bin “I am” and sie sind “they are.” Example: Das ist neu. — “That is new.” fast means “almost” here. It places the state very near completion without presenting it as fully reached. It can modify adjectives and other expressions: fast fertig means “almost ready,” while fast drei Stunden means “almost three hours.” fertig is an adjective meaning “ready” here, in the expression fertig sein “to be ready.” In this predicative position it does not change form: Er ist fertig, Sie ist fertig, and Das ist fertig all use fertig; the subject form changes, while the adjective remains the same. Example: Die Arbeit ist fertig. — “The work is finished/ready.” Together, Er ist supplies the subject and “is,” while fast fertig describes a state that is nearly reached. The complete utterance therefore means “It is almost ready.” A reusable pattern is [subject] ist fast [adjective] — “[subject] is almost [adjective].”

3. Bitte schick mir die Datei, wenn sie fertig ist.

   Please send me the file when it is ready.

   Bitte

   please

   schick

   send

   mir

   to me

   Datei

   file

   wenn

   when

   sie

   it

   fertig

   ready

   ist

   is

   More detail

   Bitte makes the request polite. It is commonly used at the beginning or end of a request; here it does not add a separate action. schick is the informal singular imperative of schicken (“to send”). The sentence addresses one person with du; the imperative addresses that person directly. A reusable pattern is Schick mir ...! (“Send me ...!”). The form schick is the short imperative; schicke is also possible in some contexts. mir means “to me” and is the first-person singular dative pronoun. It identifies the recipient of the sending. Compare mich (“me” as a direct object) with mir (“to me” as an indirect object): Sie sieht mich. means “She sees me,” while Sie schickt mir die Datei. means “She sends me the file.” Datei is a feminine noun meaning “file.” Its definite singular form is die Datei, as in this sentence. The noun can refer to a computer file; the fixed translation supports that sense here. wenn introduces the time condition “when” here. It begins a subordinate clause, and in this clause the finite verb comes at the end. This gives a reusable pattern: wenn ... fertig ist (“when ... is ready”). sie means “it” here and refers to the file identified in the fixed translation. In German, the pronoun form agrees with the grammatical gender of its referent: die Datei is feminine, so the corresponding third-person singular pronoun is sie. This form is distinct from masculine er and neuter es. fertig is an adjective meaning “ready” in this context. With sein, fertig sein means “to be ready” or “to be finished,” depending on what is being described. The nearby context also shows fertig gemacht, where fertig machen means “to finish” or “to complete” something; that is a different construction from simply fertig sein. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The form agrees with the singular subject sie: sie ist. In the subordinate clause, ist appears at the end because wenn has introduced that clause. Together, Bitte schick mir die Datei means “Please send me the file.” The clause wenn sie fertig ist adds the time condition “when it is ready.” Thus the complete utterance means “Please send me the file when it is ready.”

4. Ich habe gerade die letzte Seite fertig gemacht.

   I just finished the last page.

   Ich habe

   I have

   gerade

   just now

   letzte

   last

   Seite

   page

   fertig gemacht

   finished

   More detail

   Ich habe combines the subject Ich (“I”) with the first-person singular present form habe of haben (“to have”). Here habe is an auxiliary: with the following participle, it helps form the German perfect tense. This form presents the finishing as a completed past event; gerade adds that it happened very recently. gerade means “just” here, marking a very recent event. Its meaning is different from the spatial or manner-related use “straight”; the surrounding context selects the recent-time reading. letzte is the adjective letzt- (“last”) in the form required by die Seite: feminine singular accusative. The adjective describes Seite, while the ending -e reflects this noun phrase’s grammatical form. For example, die letzte Datei means “the last file”; the adjective changes form when the noun phrase has a different grammatical form. Seite is a feminine noun meaning “page” here. Its plural is Seiten (“pages”). In this utterance, die Seite is the direct object of the finishing action, namely the last page. fertig gemacht comes from the reusable verb phrase fertig machen, meaning “to finish.” Its participle is fertig gemacht, used with habe to form the perfect: Ich habe ... fertig gemacht (“I finished ...”). The lexical verb is machen (“make/do”), and fertig supplies the completed-state meaning. In a different sentence, fertig alone can describe something as ready or finished, but fertig gemacht expresses the action of finishing something. Together, Ich habe gerade die letzte Seite fertig gemacht means “I just finished the last page.” The structure is: subject and perfect auxiliary (Ich habe) + recent-time adverb (gerade) + object (die letzte Seite) + participle phrase (fertig gemacht).

5. Ich brauche die Datei, bevor das Meeting beginnt.

   I need it before the meeting starts.

   brauche

   need

   Datei

   file

   bevor

   before

   Meeting

   meeting

   beginnt

   starts

   More detail

   brauche means “need” here. Its base form is brauchen; brauche is the present-tense form used with ich. For example: Ich brauche Hilfe. — “I need help.” Datei means “file.” Its base form is the noun Datei, and it is feminine: die Datei in the nominative and accusative singular. In this sentence, die Datei is the thing that is needed, so it is the accusative object. The following context identifies this file as the thing being attached. Example: Ich öffne die Datei. — “I am opening the file.” bevor introduces a time clause meaning “before.” In German, the conjugated verb normally goes to the end of a clause introduced by bevor: bevor das Meeting beginnt — “before the meeting starts.” Example: Wir gehen, bevor es dunkel wird. — “We are leaving before it gets dark.” Meeting means “meeting.” It is a noun borrowed into German and is commonly used with the neuter article das: das Meeting. Here it is the subject of the subordinate clause, while beginnt describes what it does. Example: Das Meeting ist kurz. — “The meeting is short.” beginnt means “starts” or “begins” here. Its base form is beginnen; beginnt is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject such as das Meeting. Example: Der Film beginnt um acht. — “The film starts at eight.” The sentence begins with Ich brauche die Datei: “I need the file.” The clause bevor das Meeting beginnt adds the time limit: this need applies before the meeting starts. Together, the fixed utterance means “I need it before the meeting starts,” with it referring to die Datei (“the file”). The pattern Ich brauche [object], bevor [subject] [verb] can be reused for other needs and deadlines.

6. Ich hänge die neue Datei jetzt an.

   I am attaching the new file now.

   hänge … an

   attach

   neue

   new

   Datei

   file

   jetzt

   now

   More detail

   hänge ... an: Here hänge and an are separated parts of the verb anhängen, “to attach.” With ich in the present tense, the form is ich hänge ... an; the separable prefix moves to the end of the clause. This is different from hängen, “to hang,” when no attaching action is expressed. Example: Ich hänge das Bild an. — “I attach the picture.” neue: This is the attributive form of the adjective neu, “new.” It describes Datei. In die neue Datei, the feminine singular noun is the direct object, and the definite article causes the adjective to take the ending -e. The basic comparison is neu — “new,” neuer — “newer,” am neuesten — “newest.” Datei: This feminine noun means “file”; its plural is Dateien. In this sentence, Datei is the direct object of anhängen, namely the file being attached. Example: Die Datei ist groß. — “The file is large.” jetzt: This adverb means “now” and places the attaching action at the present moment. Example: Ich prüfe die Datei jetzt. — “I am checking the file now.” Together, Ich is the subject, hänge ... an expresses the separable verb “attach,” die neue Datei is the file being attached, and jetzt specifies when it happens. The complete meaning is: “I am attaching the new file now.”

7. Ich werde sie sofort prüfen.

   I will check it right away.

   Ich werde

   I will

   sie

   it

   sofort

   right away

   prüfen

   check

   More detail

   Ich werde uses werde, the first-person singular present form of werden, with the subject Ich. Together with an infinitive, this is a standard way to express the future: Ich werde ... prüfen = “I will ... check.” The infinitive comes later in the sentence. Example: Ich werde morgen anrufen. — “I will call tomorrow.” sie is the accusative singular feminine pronoun here, meaning “it” in the fixed translation. In the supplied context, it refers to the attached file. German sie can have other grammatical roles in other sentences, so the object role here is important: Ich sehe sie. — “I see it.” sofort is an adverb meaning “right away” or “immediately.” It specifies when the checking will happen. Example: Ich komme sofort. — “I’m coming right away.” prüfen is the infinitive meaning “to check” or “to examine.” Its base form is prüfen; after the future auxiliary werde, it remains in the infinitive. Example: Bitte prüfen Sie die Datei. — “Please check the file.” Together, Ich werde marks a future action, sie is the thing being checked, sofort gives the time, and prüfen names the action. The complete meaning is: “I will check it right away.”

8. Sie sollte jetzt in deinem Posteingang sein.

   It should be in your inbox now.

   Sie

   it

   sollte

   should

   jetzt

   now

   Posteingang

   inbox

   sein

   be

   More detail

   Sie is the subject pronoun meaning “it” here, as established by the fixed translation. In German, this singular pronoun has the feminine grammatical form sie; that grammatical gender does not mean the referent is a female person. The same spelling can also mean “she” in another context, so the intended meaning here comes from the supplied translation. sollte expresses an expectation or cautious assumption here: “should.” It is a form of sollen (“to be supposed to / should”). In this construction, sollte combines with an infinitive to place the expected situation in view: sollte ... sein = “should be ...”. The form sollte can also occur in other uses of sollen, so its exact meaning depends on the surrounding clause. jetzt means “now,” locating the expected state at the present time. Compare jetzt (“now”) with später (“later”): Sie sollte jetzt hier sein. — “It should be here now.” Posteingang is the noun “inbox,” a compound referring to incoming mail or messages. Its base form is der Posteingang. In in deinem Posteingang, Posteingang is masculine singular, and in describes a location, so the noun phrase is in the dative. The possessive determiner deinem reflects the possessor dein- (“your”) together with masculine singular dative agreement. Thus in deinem Posteingang means “in your inbox.” sein is the infinitive “to be.” After a modal verb such as sollen, the other verb remains in the infinitive and appears at the end of the clause: sollte ... sein. For example, Die Nachricht sollte angekommen sein. — “The message should have arrived.” Together, Sie sollte gives the expectation “it should,” jetzt adds “now,” and in deinem Posteingang sein describes the expected location: “be in your inbox.” The complete utterance therefore means: “It should be in your inbox now.”