Asking About Homework | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Was soll ich als Hausaufgabe machen?

   What should I do for homework?

   Was

   what

   soll ich

   should I

   als Hausaufgabe

   as homework

   machen

   do

   More detail

   Was asks for an unspecified thing and is the object of machen here: “what.” Compare wer (“who”) for a person and wo (“where”) for a place. soll ich combines soll, the first-person singular present form of sollen, with ich (“I”). In this sentence, sollen expresses what the speaker should or is expected to do. In a German clause with a modal verb, the modal is conjugated while the other verb stays in the infinitive at the end. Example: Was soll ich lesen? — “What should I read?” als Hausaufgabe means “as homework.” als marks the role or purpose something has here. Hausaufgabe is a feminine noun meaning “homework assignment”; its plural is Hausaufgaben. Example: Wir haben eine Hausaufgabe. — “We have a homework assignment.” machen is the infinitive of machen, meaning “to do” or “to make.” It means “do” here and remains in the infinitive because it follows the conjugated modal soll. Example: Ich soll die Übung machen. — “I should do the exercise.” Together, Was asks which task is meant, soll ich asks what the speaker should do, als Hausaufgabe identifies the homework role, and machen supplies the action. The whole utterance means: “What should I do for homework?”

2. Beginne mit dieser Übung.

   Start by completing this exercise.

   Beginne

   start; begin

   mit

   with

   dieser

   this

   Übung

   exercise

   More detail

   Beginne is the imperative form of beginnen (“to begin”) for addressing one person informally. The infinitive is beginnen; the imperative tells the listener to start. Example: Beginne jetzt. — “Start now.” mit means “with” and introduces what someone starts with. It is a preposition that requires the dative case. In the pattern mit etwas beginnen, the meaning is “to begin with something.” dieser means “this” here and is the dative feminine form agreeing with Übung. Useful forms include diese in the nominative or accusative feminine and dieser in the dative feminine. Example: Ich arbeite mit dieser Methode. — “I work with this method.” Übung means “exercise” or “practice exercise.” It is a feminine noun: die Übung; its plural is die Übungen. The form dieser Übung is singular dative after mit. Together, Beginne mit dieser Übung means “Start with this exercise.” In the supplied translation, completing the exercise is understood as the activity to start with: “Start by completing this exercise.”

3. Welche Seite soll ich nehmen?

   Which page should I use?

   Welche

   which

   Seite

   page

   soll ich

   should I

   nehmen

   take; use

   More detail

   Welche means “which” and identifies one choice from a set. It agrees with the noun it modifies: welche Seite uses the feminine singular form for Seite. The same form also appears with feminine singular nouns in other cases, so its spelling alone does not show the case here. Seite means “page” here. It is a feminine noun: die Seite; its plural is die Seiten. In this utterance, the page is the thing the speaker is asking whether to use. soll ich combines sollen with the first-person singular pronoun ich. Sollen expresses what is expected, advisable, or intended; with ich, soll ich ...? is a reusable way to ask “should I ...?” The modal verb is conjugated, while the other verb remains in the infinitive at the end. nehmen means “take,” and in this context the fixed translation and surrounding instructions give it the practical meaning “use” or “choose.” Its useful forms include nehmen (infinitive), nimmt (third-person singular present), nahm (simple past), and genommen (past participle). Example: Welche Seite soll ich nehmen? asks which available page the speaker should choose; the same pattern can be reused with another object, such as Welchen Stift soll ich nehmen? — “Which pen should I use?” Together, the question word, the noun, the modal pattern soll ich, and the final infinitive ask the listener to identify the page that the speaker should use. The following instruction supports this practical “use/choose” reading of nehmen.

4. Nimm die Seite mit den kurzen Fragen.

   Use the page with the short questions.

   Nimm

   use

   Seite

   page

   mit

   with

   kurzen

   short

   Fragen

   questions

   More detail

   Nimm is the informal singular imperative of nehmen (“to take”). In this sentence, the intended meaning is “use,” because the object is a page to choose for a task. The present-tense form for “you take” is du nimmst; the imperative is Nimm!. Example: Nimm diesen Stift. — “Use/take this pen.” Seite means “page.” Its base form is feminine singular: die Seite. Here die Seite is the direct object of Nimm; the feminine article has the same form in the nominative and accusative. Its plural is die Seiten (“pages”). mit means “with” and introduces an accompanying feature or material. It takes the dative case. In mit den kurzen Fragen, the phrase describes which page is meant: the page that has short questions. kurzen means “short.” Its base form is the adjective kurz. Here it describes Fragen, which is plural and follows mit in the dative case, so the adjective has the ending -en: mit den kurzen Fragen. The comparative is kürzer (“shorter”), and the superlative is commonly am kürzesten (“shortest”). Fragen means “questions.” The singular noun is die Frage; the plural is die Fragen. In this phrase it is plural dative after mit, shown by the article den and the adjective form kurzen. Together, Nimm die Seite means “Use the page,” and mit den kurzen Fragen specifies which page: “with the short questions.” The complete utterance is therefore “Use the page with the short questions.”

5. Wann soll ich sie fertig machen?

   When should I finish it?

   Wann

   when

   soll ich

   should I

   sie

   it

   fertig machen

   finish

   More detail

   Wann asks about time: “when”. It can begin a question about when an action should, will, or does happen. Example: Wann beginnt der Unterricht? — “When does class begin?” soll ich uses sollen with the first-person singular form soll and the subject ich. Here, soll expresses what is expected or advisable: “should I”. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject; with a question word, the order is question word + finite verb + subject. Compare Ich soll ... — “I am supposed to ...” — with Soll ich ...? — “Should I ...?” sie is the accusative pronoun meaning “it” here. The supplied context identifies the referent as the page from die Seite; German uses feminine singular sie for that noun. This form can have other grammatical roles in other sentences, but its object role and the context support “it” here. fertig machen means “to finish” in this sentence. It is the separable verb fertig machen, literally using fertig (“finished/complete”) with machen (“make/do”). After the modal verb soll, the infinitive fertig machen stays at the end. The verb machen is the base form; in a present-tense main clause without a modal, its form separates: Ich mache die Seite fertig. — “I finish the page.” Together, Wann asks for the time, soll ich asks what is expected of the speaker, sie refers to the page as the object, and fertig machen names the action. The full utterance therefore means: “When should I finish it?” The wording is a natural way to ask for a deadline or expected time.

6. Mach sie vor dem Unterricht fertig.

   Finish it before class.

   Mach … fertig

   finish

   sie

   it

   vor

   before

   Unterricht

   class

   More detail

   Mach … fertig is the imperative form of the separable verb fertig machen, meaning “finish” here. In a main-clause imperative, mach appears at the front and fertig moves to the end. The infinitive is fertig machen; its parts separate in this pattern. Example: Mach die Aufgabe fertig. — “Finish the task.” sie is the accusative pronoun used here for the fixed translation’s “it.” Its grammatical form is feminine singular accusative, although the supplied sentence does not identify the specific thing it refers to. In other contexts, sie can also mean “she” or “they”; the intended meaning here is determined by the fixed translation and context. vor means “before” in this time expression. For a time boundary, German uses vor with the dative: vor dem Unterricht — “before class.” The preposition itself does not change; the following noun phrase carries the case marking. Example: Wir treffen uns vor dem Essen. — “We’ll meet before the meal.” Unterricht is a masculine noun meaning “class” or “instruction.” After temporal vor, it appears in the dative singular as dem Unterricht; the definite article dem marks that form. Unterricht is generally used without a plural when referring to instruction or class as an activity. Together, Mach sie … fertig tells the listener to complete the item referred to by sie, while vor dem Unterricht sets the deadline. The separable verb places mach at the beginning and fertig at the end, producing the complete meaning: “Finish it before class.”

7. Kannst du später meine Antworten ansehen?

   Can you look at my answers later?

   Kannst du

   Can you …?

   später

   later

   Antworten

   answers

   ansehen

   look at

   More detail

   Kannst du uses können (“can/be able to”) with the subject du (“you”): du kannst. In a question, this verb comes first, so Kannst du …? is a reusable way to ask whether someone can or is willing to do something. The question is addressed to one person; könnt ihr would address several people. später is a time adverb meaning “later.” It can be moved for emphasis: Später kannst du kommen. — “You can come later.” Antworten means “answers” here. Its singular base form is die Antwort; die Antworten is its plural. In meine Antworten, meine means “my” and agrees with this plural noun. The phrase therefore refers to the speaker’s answers, as the fixed translation specifies. ansehen means “to look at” or “to examine.” It is a separable verb built from an- and sehen, but in this sentence it remains together as the infinitive at the end because können is the modal verb: Kannst du … ansehen? With a finite present-tense use, the prefix separates: Du siehst die Antworten an. — “You look at the answers.” Together, Kannst du introduces the ability/request question, meine Antworten ansehen supplies the action “look at my answers,” and später places that action later in time. The complete meaning is: “Can you look at my answers later?” The wording is a direct, ordinary request; später does not specify an exact time.

8. Bring sie mir, wenn du fertig bist.

   Bring them to me after you finish.

   Bring

   bring

   sie

   them

   mir

   to me

   wenn du fertig bist

   when you are finished

   More detail

   Bring is the imperative form of bringen (“to bring”) addressed to one person with du. The imperative gives a direct instruction. A reusable pattern is Bring ...! (“Bring ...!”). For example: Bring das Buch! — “Bring the book!” sie means “them” here. In this use it is the third-person plural accusative pronoun, referring to the answers mentioned in the preceding context. The form sie can also mean “she” or “they” in other grammatical roles, so the intended meaning here comes from its role as the thing being brought and from the fixed translation. mir means “to me.” It is the dative form of ich (“I”). With bringen, the person receiving something can be expressed in the dative: Bring mir das Buch. — “Bring me the book.” wenn du fertig bist means “when you are finished” in this sentence. wenn introduces the condition or time at which the instruction applies. In a wenn-clause, the finite verb normally comes at the end: wenn du fertig bist. Here bist is the second-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), used with du; fertig is the adjective “finished.” The useful pattern is wenn du ... bist (“when you are ...”). For example: Ruf mich an, wenn du bereit bist. — “Call me when you are ready.” Together, Bring sie mir says “Bring them to me,” and wenn du fertig bist specifies when to do it. The complete utterance is therefore: “Bring them to me after you finish.”