Planning lunch at a restaurant | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Möchtest du zusammen zu Mittag essen?

   Would you like to have lunch together?

   Möchtest du

   would you like

   zusammen

   together

   Mittag

   noon; lunchtime

   essen

   eat

   More detail

   Möchtest du is a reusable way to ask one person whether they would like something. Möchtest comes from mögen (“to like”), but in this form it expresses a present wish or polite invitation rather than ordinary liking. It is the second-person singular form used with du; the infinitive remains unchanged: Möchtest du mitkommen? — “Would you like to come along?” German yes/no questions place the finite verb first, followed here by the subject du: Möchtest du ...? The desired activity is then completed by an infinitive later in the sentence. zusammen means “together,” indicating that the activity is shared. It is an adverb and does not change form. Example: Wir lernen zusammen. — “We study together.” Mittag is the noun “noon” or “midday.” In the expression zu Mittag essen, the whole expression means “to have lunch”; Mittag is not being used here simply as a time reference separate from the meal. The noun is capitalized because German nouns are capitalized. Example: Wir essen zu Mittag. — “We are having lunch.” essen means “to eat.” Its infinitive form appears at the end because it depends on the finite form Möchtest. In other contexts, its present-tense forms include ich esse (“I eat”) and du isst (“you eat”); the vowel changes in isst, so it is not formed by simply adding an ending to essen. Together, Möchtest du asks about the listener’s wish, zusammen adds the shared aspect, and zu Mittag essen names the activity. The complete utterance therefore means: “Would you like to have lunch together?”

2. Das klingt gut. Wohin sollen wir gehen?

   That sounds nice. Where should we go?

   Das

   That

   klingt

   sounds

   gut

   good; nice

   Wohin

   where to

   sollen wir

   should we

   gehen

   go

   More detail

   Das means “that” here and functions as the subject of the first sentence. German demonstrative pronouns such as das can refer to something already mentioned or understood; the fixed translation supports the meaning “that” here. Its form is neuter singular, but the exact thing it refers to is not named in this utterance. klingt is the present-tense, third-person singular form of klingen (“to sound”). The ending matches the singular subject Das: Das klingt ... = “That sounds ...”. Example: Das klingt interessant. — “That sounds interesting.” gut means “good” or, after a sensory or impression verb such as klingen, “nice.” It describes how something sounds here. The same adjective can also be used directly with a noun: ein guter Plan — “a good plan.” In klingt gut, it functions in the predicate and does not take the noun’s ending. Wohin asks about a destination or direction: “where to.” Compare wo (“where,” location) and woher (“where from,” origin). Example: Wohin gehst du? — “Where are you going?” sollen wir combines sollen (“should/be supposed to”) with wir (“we”). In this question, sollen wir ...? proposes or asks about an action for the speaker and the other person together. sollen is in the present-tense first-person plural form here; the infinitive goes to the end of the question clause. gehen is the infinitive “to go.” With the modal verb sollen, it remains in the infinitive: Wohin sollen wir gehen? — “Where should we go?” The destination is expressed by Wohin, rather than by a location question such as Wo ...?. Together, Das klingt gut. expresses a positive reaction: “That sounds nice.” Wohin sollen wir gehen? then asks which destination the two people should choose. The full utterance is therefore: “That sounds nice. Where should we go?”

3. Vielleicht in das kleine Restaurant hier in der Nähe.

   Maybe the small restaurant near here.

   Vielleicht

   maybe

   kleine

   small

   Restaurant

   restaurant

   hier in der Nähe

   near here

   More detail

   Vielleicht means “maybe” here and marks the suggestion as uncertain rather than asserting it. It can introduce a possible option: Vielleicht morgen. — “Maybe tomorrow.” kleine is the adjective klein, “small.” In this sentence it describes Restaurant. The observed ending -e is an inflected adjective form: with the definite article das and the neuter accusative form in das kleine Restaurant, the adjective takes -e. The base/comparison pattern is klein — “small,” kleiner — “smaller,” am kleinsten — “smallest.” Restaurant is a neuter noun: das Restaurant. Its plural is die Restaurants. Here it names the proposed destination, not an action or a person. hier in der Nähe is a reusable location expression meaning “near here.” hier means “here,” while in der Nähe literally refers to being in the vicinity. For example, Der Bahnhof ist hier in der Nähe. means “The train station is near here.” The location phrase in das kleine Restaurant uses in with the accusative because it indicates movement toward a destination; das is the neuter accusative form of the definite article, and kleine Restaurant is the corresponding noun phrase. German also commonly contracts in das to ins, but the supplied sentence uses the separate form in das. Taken together, Vielleicht in das kleine Restaurant hier in der Nähe. is a conversational sentence fragment proposing a possible destination: “Maybe the small restaurant near here.” In the preceding question about where to go, the omitted verb and subject are understood from context as a suggestion such as “Maybe [we should go] to the small restaurant near here.”

4. Gehen wir dorthin, wenn es nicht voll ist.

   Let's go there if it isn't busy.

   Gehen wir

   Let’s go

   dorthin

   there / to that place

   wenn

   if

   voll

   busy

   ist

   is

   More detail

   Gehen wir uses gehen (“to go”) in the first-person plural form. In this word order, the verb comes before wir to form a first-person plural suggestion or request: “Let’s go.” This is a reusable pattern: Verb + wir can express “let’s …” with suitable verbs. dorthin means “to there” or “to that place,” emphasizing movement toward a place. Compare dort (“there,” location) with dorthin (“to there,” destination). Example: Wir gehen dorthin. — “We’re going there.” wenn introduces the condition “if” here. In a clause beginning with wenn, the finite verb normally moves to the end of that clause. This is different from a main clause, where the finite verb generally occupies the second position. voll literally means “full.” In this context, describing a place as voll gives the intended sense “busy” or “crowded.” Its form does not change here because it follows ist without an ending. Example: Das Café ist voll. — “The café is busy/crowded.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein – ist. It agrees with the singular subject es in the conditional clause. Here, es refers to the place being considered, and ist nicht voll means “isn’t busy/crowded.” Together, Gehen wir dorthin means “Let’s go there.” The conditional clause wenn es nicht voll ist means “if it isn’t busy,” with ist placed at the end as required in this subordinate clause. The complete utterance is therefore: “Let’s go there if it isn’t busy.”

5. Sollen wir uns an der Eingangstür treffen?

   Should we meet by the front door?

   Sollen wir

   Shall we?

   uns

   each other

   an der

   by the

   Eingangstür

   front door

   treffen

   meet

   More detail

   Sollen wir combines present-tense sollen with wir. Here, sollen is used in a question to make a suggestion: “Shall we …?” It is not the same as a firm statement that someone must do something. sollen is a modal verb, so the other verb appears as an infinitive at the end: Sollen wir warten? means “Shall we wait?” uns is the object form of wir. In this sentence, it has a reciprocal meaning: the speakers are to meet each other. The same form can also be reflexive in other contexts, so its exact role comes from the verb and sentence meaning. For example, Wir sehen uns morgen. means “We’ll see each other tomorrow.” an der expresses a location here: “at/by the.” an is followed by the dative when it describes a stationary location rather than movement toward a destination. der is the dative feminine form of the definite article. The phrase is therefore a location phrase, not a statement of movement. Eingangstür is a feminine noun meaning “entrance door,” or “front door” in this translation. It is a compound: Eingang + Tür; the gender of the compound is feminine because its final part, Tür, is feminine. The noun is in the dative here, although its form does not visibly change: an der Eingangstür. treffen is the infinitive “to meet.” After the modal verb sollen, it remains in the infinitive and moves to the end of the question. With uns, sich treffen can describe people meeting each other: Wir treffen uns am Bahnhof. means “We are meeting at the station.” Together, Sollen wir uns ... treffen? asks whether the speakers should meet each other, and an der Eingangstür supplies the meeting location. The complete meaning is: “Should we meet by the front door?”

6. Ich warte dort, wo du mich sehen kannst.

   I'll wait where you can see me.

   Ich

   I

   warte

   wait

   dort

   there

   wo

   where

   du

   you

   mich

   me

   sehen

   see

   kannst

   can

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here and is the first-person singular subject. The related subject forms are du (“you,” singular informal) and wir (“we”); the choice depends on who performs the action. warte is the present-tense first-person singular form of warten, “to wait”: ich warte, du wartest, er/sie wartet. In German, the present tense can describe a current or planned future action; here the translation makes the intended plan clear: “I’ll wait.” dort means “there,” referring to a place understood from the situation. It is a location adverb and does not change for gender or number. A useful contrast is hier, “here.” wo introduces a place clause meaning “where.” It links dort with the location described in the following clause. In this clause, wo is not itself the person being seen; it introduces the place in which the seeing can happen. du is the informal singular “you” and is the subject of the subordinate clause. It is the person who can see; its form is different from the object form dich, “you” as the person affected by an action. mich means “me” here and is the accusative object of sehen: the person who is seen. The first-person forms contrast as ich for a subject and mich for an accusative object. For example, Du siehst mich. means “You see me.” sehen is the infinitive “to see.” It stays in the infinitive after a modal verb such as können. The related form sieht is a present-tense form of the same verb, as in Er sieht mich (“He sees me”). kannst is the second-person singular present form of können, “can” or “be able to”: ich kann, du kannst, er/sie kann. In the subordinate clause, kannst appears at the end, while the infinitive sehen comes before it: wo du mich sehen kannst. The modal expresses ability here, so the clause means that you are able to see me. Together, Ich warte dort means “I’ll wait there.” The place clause wo du mich sehen kannst specifies that this is the place where you can see me. German places the conjugated verb at the end of this subordinate clause, giving the complete meaning: “I’ll wait where you can see me.”

7. Dann komme ich und suche dich.

   Then I'll come find you.

   Dann

   then

   komme

   come

   suche

   look for

   dich

   you

   More detail

   Dann means “then” and places the event after an earlier point in time. Here it connects naturally with the preceding statement: first someone waits, and then this action happens. A useful pattern is Dann + verb + subject, as in Dann gehe ich nach Hause. — “Then I go home.” komme is the first-person singular present form of kommen (“to come”): ich komme — “I come.” German present tense can refer to a future event when the time is clear from context, as it is here with Dann. Because Dann occupies the first position, the finite verb komme comes before the subject ich: Dann komme ich. suche is the first-person singular present form of suchen (“to look for”): ich suche, du suchst. In this sentence, suchen describes the speaker’s action of looking for the listener; the fixed translation renders the intended result naturally as “find.” Example: Ich suche meinen Schlüssel. — “I’m looking for my key.” dich is the accusative singular form of the second-person pronoun du (“you”). It marks the person whom the speaker looks for. The subject form is du, while the object form is dich: Du siehst mich. — “You see me.” The two verb phrases are joined by und: komme ich + suche dich. The speaker says that after the relevant earlier point, the speaker will come and look for the listener. Thus the whole utterance is: “Then I’ll come find you.”

8. Danach können wir nach einem Tisch fragen.

   After that, we can ask for a table.

   Danach

   after that

   können wir

   we can

   nach … fragen

   ask for

   Tisch

   table

   More detail

   Danach means “after that” and places the action later than an already understood event. It is a temporal adverb; in this sentence it refers back to the event identified by the surrounding context, without specifying a new event itself. können wir combines können (“can, be able to”) with wir (“we”). können is a modal verb: wir können means “we can,” and the other verb in the clause appears as an infinitive at the end. For example: Wir können warten. — “We can wait.” nach ... fragen is the reusable German construction for asking for or asking about something: nach etwas fragen. The preposition nach requires the dative case. Here, fragen is the infinitive because it follows the modal verb können; the construction is split, with nach earlier and fragen at the end. For example: Ich frage nach dem Weg. — “I ask for directions.” Tisch is the noun “table.” Its base form is der Tisch; after nach, the masculine indefinite article changes to the dative form einem, producing nach einem Tisch. The noun itself remains Tisch in this form. A definite version is nach dem Tisch — “for/about the table.” Together, Danach sets the time, können wir expresses ability or possibility, and nach einem Tisch fragen means “ask for a table.” The complete utterance is therefore: “After that, we can ask for a table.”