Practicing pronunciation with audio | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kann ich das Audio anhören?

   Can I listen to the audio?

   Kann ich

   Can I …?

   das Audio

   the audio

   anhören

   listen to

   More detail

   Kann ich combines the first-person singular form kann of können (“can/be able to”) with ich (“I”). In a yes/no question, this finite modal verb comes before the subject: Kann ich …? means “Can I …?” The infinitive belonging to kann comes later in the clause. das Audio means “the audio” here. Audio is used as a neuter noun in this phrase, so the definite article is das. The article has the same form here in the relevant subject and object cases; the object role is established by the sentence structure and the verb, not by a visible article change. anhören is the infinitive meaning “to listen to” or “to hear attentively.” It is a separable verb: in a finite main clause, an separates from hören, as in Ich höre das Audio an. (“I listen to the audio.”) After the modal kann, the complete infinitive anhören remains at the end. The thing listened to is expressed as the object, here das Audio. Together, Kann ich das Audio anhören? asks for permission or possibility to listen to the audio: “Can I listen to the audio?”

2. Lass uns das Audio zusammen anhören.

   Let's listen together.

   Lass uns

   let’s …

   Audio

   audio

   zusammen

   together

   anhören

   listen to

   More detail

   Lass uns is a reusable German way to suggest a shared action: Lass uns + infinitive means “Let’s …”. Lass is the singular imperative of lassen. Here uns is the first-person plural accusative pronoun used as the object of lassen; it refers to the people who will carry out the infinitive action. Example: Lass uns gehen. — “Let’s go.” Audio means an audio recording or audio material. Here, das Audio names what will be listened to. Audio is a neuter noun, so the definite article is das in both the nominative and accusative singular. Example: Ich höre das Audio an. — “I’m listening to the audio.” zusammen means “together.” Here it says that the proposed listening is shared. Example: Wir lernen zusammen. — “We study together.” anhören means “to listen to” something. It is a separable verb: in a finite main clause, an moves to the end, as in Ich höre das Audio an. After Lass uns, the infinitive remains together at the end: Lass uns das Audio anhören. The verb can also occur in the reflexive construction sich etwas anhören, as in Wir hören uns das Audio an. In the fixed sentence, however, uns is the accusative object of lassen, not the reflexive pronoun of anhören. Together, Lass uns introduces the suggestion, das Audio names what will be listened to, zusammen says the activity is shared, and anhören expresses the action. The complete meaning is: “Let’s listen to the audio together.”

3. Es ist zu schnell für mich.

   It's too fast for me.

   Es ist

   It is

   zu schnell

   too fast

   für mich

   for me

   More detail

   Es ist means “it is.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. Es is the subject pronoun “it”; in this exchange, the surrounding context supports the audio as its referent. zu schnell means “too fast.” schnell is an adjective meaning “fast” or “quick”; with zu, it expresses an excessive degree: zu schnell = “faster than is suitable” or “too fast.” Its comparison forms are schnell (fast), schneller (faster), and am schnellsten (fastest). Here schnell describes the audio’s speed, not a person’s speed. für mich means “for me.” für is a preposition that takes the accusative case. mich is the first-person singular accusative form of ich (“I”): ich is used for the subject, while mich is used after für here. For example, Das ist zu schwer für mich. means “That is too difficult for me.” Together, Es ist zu schnell für mich. says that the audio’s speed is excessive from the speaker’s perspective: “It’s too fast for me.”

4. Ich mache es langsamer.

   I'll slow it down.

   Ich

   I

   mache

   make; do

   es

   it

   langsamer

   slower

   More detail

   Ich means “I.” It is the first-person singular pronoun, used for the speaker. Its form does not change for grammatical gender. mache is the present-tense first-person singular form of machen, “to make” or “to do.” In this sentence, machen is used in the pattern etwas langsamer machen: “to make something slower.” The form mache agrees with Ich; with du, the corresponding form is machst. es means “it.” Here it is the object being made slower, as reflected by the fixed translation. The exact thing referred to is not named in this sentence; the surrounding context supports slowing down the relevant speech or activity. es is the neuter singular accusative form of the third-person pronoun. langsamer means “slower.” It is the comparative form of langsam, “slow”: langsam → langsamer → am langsamsten (“slow” → “slower” → “slowest”). In es langsamer machen, the comparative describes the result: the object becomes slower. The adjective agrees with neither Ich nor es here; this result construction uses the comparative form after machen. Together, Ich mache es langsamer follows the reusable pattern subject + machen + object + comparative adjective: “I make it slower,” naturally rendered here as “I’ll slow it down.” The present-tense German form can express this intended action in context; the English translation uses “I’ll” to present it as the speaker’s next action.

5. Wie spreche ich diesen Satz aus?

   How do I pronounce this sentence?

   Wie

   how

   spreche … aus

   pronounce

   diesen

   this

   Satz

   sentence

   More detail

   Wie asks about the manner or method: “how.” In this question it asks for the way to pronounce something, not for a person or object. Compare Was ...? (“What ...?”) when asking about the thing itself. spreche ... aus is the separable verb aussprechen, “to pronounce.” The observed form spreche is the first-person singular present form of sprechen, used with the subject ich; the prefix aus moves to the end of the main clause. In a German question beginning with a question word, the finite verb follows the question word, while the subject comes after it: Wie spreche ich ... aus? A useful example is Ich spreche das Wort richtig aus. — “I pronounce the word correctly.” diesen means “this” here and accompanies the noun Satz. It is the masculine singular accusative form of the demonstrative determiner dies-, because Satz is the direct object of aussprechen. The form changes with grammatical case and gender/number; for example, masculine nominative is dieser Satz, while masculine accusative is diesen Satz. Satz means “sentence.” It is a masculine noun: der Satz; after the verb here, it appears as the accusative object, diesen Satz. The same noun can also mean “set” or “phrase” in other contexts, so its intended meaning here is established by the translation and the pronunciation context. Together, Wie + spreche ich + diesen Satz + aus forms the question “How do I pronounce this sentence?” The separable parts of aussprechen surround the subject and object in the finite question, while diesen Satz identifies what is being pronounced. In the surrounding practice context, the question asks for pronunciation help before listening and repeating.

6. Hör es dir einmal an, dann sprich mir nach.

   Listen once, then repeat after me.

   Hör … an

   listen to

   es

   it

   dir

   to you

   einmal

   once

   dann

   then

   sprich

   speak

   mir

   to me

   sprich … mir … nach

   repeat after me

   More detail

   Hör … an comes from the separable verb sich etwas anhören, “to listen to something.” Hör is the informal singular imperative of hören; the prefix an appears at the end of the clause. In this sentence, es is the thing being listened to, and dir is the dative reflexive pronoun belonging to sich etwas anhören. Together, Hör es dir … an means “Listen to it …”. Example: Hör dir das Lied an. — “Listen to the song.” es is the accusative form used here for the item referred to as “it.” German pronouns change form according to grammatical role; es is not the dative form. Its specific referent is not named in this sentence, so the supported meaning is simply “it.” dir is the informal singular dative form of du. In this construction it marks the person for whom the listening experience is intended, rather than translating independently as a full English “to you.” The dative form mir, “to me,” appears later in the sentence. einmal means “once” here. It gives the number of times for the listening action. A useful contrast is noch einmal, “again” or “once more,” as in the following context: Lass mich es noch einmal versuchen. — “Let me try again.” dann means “then” and links the next action to the preceding one in time. The pattern Erst …, dann … is also reusable: Erst hören, dann sprechen. — “First listen, then speak.” sprich is the informal singular imperative of sprechen, “to speak.” With the separable prefix nach, sprich … nach comes from nachsprechen, meaning to repeat someone’s words or sounds. This imperative is addressed to one familiar person; it is not the formal imperative. Example: Sprich den Satz nach. — “Repeat the sentence.” mir is the dative form of ich, “to me.” In mir nachsprechen, it identifies the person whose words or sounds should be repeated. The construction sprich mir nach therefore means “repeat after me,” while sprich alone means “speak.” The sentence has two imperatives joined by dann: Hör es dir einmal an (“Listen to it once”) followed by sprich mir nach (“repeat after me”). The separable prefixes appear at the ends of their respective clauses: an at the end of the first clause and nach at the end of the sentence. Thus the whole utterance means: “Listen once, then repeat after me.”

7. Lass mich es noch einmal versuchen.

   Let me try again.

   Lass mich

   let me

   es

   it

   noch einmal

   again

   versuchen

   try

   More detail

   Lass mich uses the 2nd-person singular imperative of lassen (“to let/allow”) with the accusative pronoun mich (“me”). In this pattern, lassen introduces another person who performs an infinitive: Lass mich ... versuchen = “Let me try ...”. The imperative addresses one person informally. Example: Lass mich helfen. — “Let me help.” es is the accusative form of the neuter third-person singular pronoun, meaning “it” here. Its grammatical form identifies it as a neuter singular object; the fixed sentence does not independently specify a more precise referent. Example: Ich sehe es. — “I see it.” noch einmal is a reusable adverbial expression meaning “again” or “once more”. noch contributes the idea of “still/yet” or continuation, while the combination noch einmal expresses repetition. Example: Sag es noch einmal. — “Say it again.” versuchen is the infinitive “to try”. Its base form is versuchen; after Lass mich, it stays in the infinitive and appears at the end of this clause. Example: Ich will es versuchen. — “I want to try it.” Together, Lass mich + es + noch einmal + versuchen forms the request “Let me try it again.” The construction asks the person addressed to allow the speaker to perform the action; noch einmal says that the attempt is repeated.

8. Das klingt jetzt klarer.

   That sounds clearer now.

   Das

   that

   klingt

   sounds

   jetzt

   now

   klarer

   clearer

   More detail

   Das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. Its form is neuter singular, but the sentence does not identify a more specific referent for it. Demonstratives can point to something understood from the situation or conversation. Compare dieses (“this,” neuter singular) when the speaker points to something as nearer or more directly identified. klingt comes from klingen (“to sound”). It is the present-tense third-person singular form: klingen → klingt. With an adjective, klingen describes how something seems by its sound or overall impression, rather than stating that it literally possesses that quality. Example: Das klingt gut. — “That sounds good.” jetzt means “now” and places the assessment at the present time. It can also combine with a comparison to show a change from an earlier point: Jetzt klingt es besser. — “Now it sounds better.” klarer is the comparative form of the adjective klar (“clear”). The ending -er marks the comparative: klar → klarer (“clearer”); the superlative is commonly am klarsten (“clearest”). Here klarer follows klingen as a predicative adjective, so it does not take a gender or case ending for agreement with Das. Together, Das klingt means “That sounds,” jetzt places the impression in the present, and klarer compares it with an earlier impression. The complete utterance therefore means: “That sounds clearer now.”