Giving a task update | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Wie läuft die Aufgabe?

   How is the task going?

   Wie

   how

   läuft

   is going; proceeds

   Aufgabe

   task; assignment

   More detail

   Wie means “how” and asks about the manner, condition, or progress of something. In this sentence it asks about the task’s current progress, not about the method used to do it. Compare Wie geht es dir? — “How are you?” läuft is the present-tense form of laufen for er/sie/es or a singular noun. Its basic meaning is “runs,” but with an activity or process it can mean “is going” or “is proceeding.” Here, die Aufgabe is treated as the singular subject, so the form is läuft. Compare Die Arbeit läuft gut. — “The work is going well.” Aufgabe means “task” or “assignment.” Its plural is Aufgaben. The form die Aufgabe is singular and definite: die identifies a particular task in the situation. The noun itself is feminine in German, which is why its definite article is die; singularity alone does not determine the article. Together, Wie + läuft + die Aufgabe forms the reusable German pattern Wie läuft ...? — “How is ... going?” The whole utterance, Wie läuft die Aufgabe?, therefore means “How is the task going?”

2. Das meiste davon ist fertig.

   Most of it is done.

   Das meiste

   most

   davon

   of it

   fertig

   done

   More detail

   Das meiste means “most” in this sentence. meiste is the superlative form related to viel (“much/many”): viel → mehr (“more”) → am meisten (“the most”) or, as here, das meiste (“most”). The neuter form with das is used because this expression stands on its own rather than directly modifying a stated noun. Example: Das meiste ist klar. — “Most of it is clear.” davon means “of it” here. It is a pronominal adverb formed from da- and von, and it points back to something already under discussion. With the supplied translation and context, that is the task or work being discussed. The combination das meiste davon is the reusable pattern “most of it.” ist is the present-tense third-person singular form of sein (“to be”). The singular form fits the singular expression das meiste, even though it refers to a large portion. Example: Das meiste ist bereit. — “Most of it is ready.” fertig means “done” or “finished” here. As a predicate adjective after sein, it describes the state of the subject: etwas ist fertig means “something is done.” Example: Der Bericht ist fertig. — “The report is finished.” Together, Das meiste davon identifies the largest part of the task or work under discussion, ist links that subject to a state, and fertig supplies the state. The complete meaning is therefore “Most of it is done.”

3. Was muss noch geprüft werden?

   What needs checking?

   Was

   what

   muss

   must; needs to

   geprüft werden

   be checked

   More detail

   Was means “what” here and asks which thing is involved. As a question word, it does not identify the thing in advance. Compare Wer muss geprüft werden? — “Who needs to be checked?”; wer asks about a person, while was asks about a thing or matter. muss is the third-person singular present form of the modal verb müssen (“must; need to”). In this sentence, was is the subject, and the modal takes its third-person singular form: Was muss ...? With a modal verb, the modal is conjugated and the other verb remains in the infinitive. noch means “still” or “yet” here: it presents the checking as something that remains to be done. It is positioned between the conjugated modal and the remaining verb forms: muss noch .... geprüft werden forms a passive construction from prüfen (“to check, examine”). geprüft is the past participle of prüfen, and werden is the infinitive used here as the passive auxiliary; together they express “be checked.” The passive focuses on the thing requiring checking, without saying who will do it. The active version would be Jemand muss das prüfen — “Someone needs to check that.” Together, Was muss noch geprüft werden? means “What needs checking?” or more literally, “What still needs to be checked?” It asks which item or matter remains to be checked; it does not specify the checker.

4. Ich muss die Zahlen prüfen.

   I need to check the numbers.

   Ich muss

   I need to

   Zahlen

   numbers

   prüfen

   check

   More detail

   Ich muss: Ich means “I,” and muss is the first-person singular present form of müssen (“must” or “need to”). With an infinitive later in the sentence, müssen expresses that the subject considers the action necessary. The modal verb is conjugated, while the other verb remains an infinitive at the end. Compare Ich muss gehen. — “I need to go.” Zahlen: This is the plural of Zahl (“number”). Here it is the direct object of prüfen, so it means “the numbers” in the fixed translation. The plural form is Zahlen; German definite articles and noun forms can mark case, but this noun has the same visible form in nominative and accusative plural. Example: Ich sehe die Zahlen. — “I see the numbers.” prüfen: This is the infinitive meaning “to check” or “to examine.” After the modal verb muss, it stays in the infinitive and appears at the end of the clause. Its stem is prüf-; the related present form for ich is ich prüfe when no modal verb is controlling the clause. Example: Ich prüfe den Bericht. — “I check the report.” Together, Ich muss + die Zahlen + prüfen forms “I need to check the numbers.” Ich is the person who has the need, die Zahlen is what is checked, and prüfen names the necessary action. The pattern is reusable as Ich muss + object + infinitive: Ich muss den Termin prüfen. — “I need to check the appointment.”

5. Sind wir im Zeitplan?

   Are we on schedule?

   Sind

   are

   wir

   we

   Zeitplan

   schedule

   More detail

   Sind is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for wir (“we”): wir sind. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject, so Sind wir ...? corresponds to “Are we ...?” This is the same verb as in Ich bin (“I am”) and Sie sind (“they are” or formal “you are”), but the form changes with the subject. Example: Sind sie bereit? — “Are they ready?” wir is the first-person plural pronoun “we.” It names the speaker together with at least one other participant, but the utterance does not specify exactly who those participants are. In this sentence, wir is the subject of sind and is also the group whose progress is being assessed. Example: Wir arbeiten heute. — “We are working today.” Zeitplan is the noun “schedule” or “timetable.” Its base form is der Zeitplan; the plural is die Zeitpläne. It is a compound noun, but it functions as one noun in the sentence. Example: Der Zeitplan ist klar. — “The schedule is clear.” The phrase im Zeitplan means “on schedule” here. im is the contracted form of in dem; with this noun, it presents being within the planned schedule or timeframe. The word order Sind wir ...? makes the utterance a yes/no question. Together, Sind wir im Zeitplan? means “Are we on schedule?”

6. Wir können heute Nachmittag fertig werden.

   We can finish this afternoon.

   Wir

   we

   können

   can; be able to

   heute Nachmittag

   this afternoon

   fertig werden

   finish; become finished

   More detail

   Wir means “we” here: the speaker includes themself and at least one other person. It is the first-person plural personal pronoun. Compare ich (“I”) for one speaker and wir (“we”) for a group. können is the present-tense form of können (“can; be able to”) for wir. A modal verb such as können is followed by another verb in the infinitive, while the modal is conjugated: Wir können anfangen. — “We can start.” In this sentence, können expresses ability or possibility, not completion itself. heute Nachmittag means “this afternoon.” heute means “today,” and Nachmittag means “afternoon.” The time expression as a whole tells when the event can happen. German nouns are capitalized, so Nachmittag is written with a capital letter. fertig werden means “become finished” or, with the group as the subject, “finish” in the sense of reaching a finished state. werden is the infinitive of “become,” and fertig is an adjective meaning “finished” or “ready.” This is different from transitive etwas fertig machen (“finish something” or “make something ready”), which explicitly has an object. Example: Wir werden um fünf fertig. — “We will be finished at five.” Together, Wir können establishes what the group is able or permitted to do, heute Nachmittag specifies the time, and fertig werden describes reaching completion. German places the infinitive werden at the end after the conjugated modal: Wir können heute Nachmittag fertig werden. The complete meaning is “We can finish this afternoon.”

7. Sollen wir das Team informieren?

   Should we update the team?

   Sollen wir

   Should we…?

   das

   the

   Team

   team

   informieren

   inform; update

   More detail

   Sollen wir combines sollen with wir to ask about a proposed action: “Should we …?” Here sollen is the present-tense form for wir; the infinitive of the main action comes later. Compare Wir sollen das Team informieren. — “We are supposed to inform the team.” As a question, the verb comes first, so Sollen wir …? is a reusable way to suggest or ask whether a joint action is appropriate. das is the definite article used here with the neuter noun Team. It is accusative because informieren takes the person or group being informed as its direct object. The article is not expressing a number; it marks a specific team in this context. The same neuter article has another visible form in the dative: mit dem Team — “with the team.” Team is a neuter noun meaning “team.” Its plural is Teams, as in mehrere Teams — “several teams.” In the fixed sentence, das Team is the specific group that wir would inform. informieren is the infinitive meaning “to inform”; in this context, the compatible English sense is “to update.” It is a regular verb, and its present-tense first-person plural form is wir informieren — “we inform / we are informing.” It can take a direct object: Wir informieren das Team. — “We inform the team.” Together, Sollen wir das Team informieren? asks whether the speakers should jointly inform or update the team. The question places the modal verb sollen first, followed by the subject wir, the object das Team, and the infinitive informieren at the end.

8. Lass uns sie informieren, nachdem wir mit diesem Teil fertig sind.

   Let's update them after we finish this part.

   Lass uns

   let’s

   sie

   them

   informieren

   inform

   nachdem

   after

   wir

   we

   mit

   with

   diesem

   this

   Teil

   part

   fertig

   finished

   sind

   are

   More detail

   Lass uns is the reusable German way to suggest an action together: Lass uns + infinitive means “let’s …”. Lass is the imperative of lassen addressed to one person; uns means “us” here. Example: Lass uns anfangen. — “Let’s start.” sie means “them” here, referring to the people to be updated. This is the accusative form used as the direct object of informieren. The same spelling can have other grammatical roles in German, so its role here comes from its position and function in the sentence. informieren is the infinitive “to inform” or, in this context, “to update.” After Lass uns, the lexical verb stays in the infinitive. Example: Wir informieren sie morgen. — “We’ll update them tomorrow.” nachdem introduces a time clause meaning “after.” It sends the finite verb of its clause to the end. A useful pattern is nachdem + subject + ... + finite verb. wir means “we” and is the subject of the nachdem clause. The form is a first-person plural pronoun. Example: Nachdem wir essen, gehen wir spazieren. — “After we eat, we go for a walk.” mit means “with” and takes the dative case. Here it introduces diesem Teil, “this part.” diesem means “this” and is the dative masculine/neuter form of dieser in this use. Its form reflects the dative phrase governed by mit; the noun is masculine: der Teil. Compare dieser Teil (nominative) with mit diesem Teil (dative). Teil means “part.” It is a masculine noun: der Teil; its plural is die Teile. Example: Dieser Teil ist wichtig. — “This part is important.” fertig means “finished” or “done.” In mit diesem Teil fertig sein, it describes being done with this part. fertig itself does not show the plural subject; sind carries that verb form. Example: Wir sind fertig. — “We are finished.” sind is the first-person plural present form of sein, “to be”: ich bin, du bist, wir sind. In this subordinate clause it appears at the end because of nachdem. Together, Lass uns sie informieren means “Let’s update them.” The time clause nachdem wir mit diesem Teil fertig sind means “after we finish this part”: literally, “after we are finished with this part.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Let’s update them after we finish this part.”