Returning to Work After a Break | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Fühlst du dich bereit, wieder zu arbeiten?

   Do you feel ready to work again?

   Fühlst du dich

   do you feel

   bereit

   ready

   wieder

   again

   zu arbeiten

   to work

   More detail

   Fühlst du dich is the question pattern “Do you feel ...?” The verb is fühlen; here fühlst is its present-tense form for du (“you”). dich is the reflexive pronoun that refers back to du, so sich fühlen means “to feel” in the relevant state. Compare Ich fühle mich besser. — “I feel better.” The pronoun changes with the subject: ich fühle mich, du fühlst dich. bereit means “ready” here and describes the person’s state. It is an adjective. A reusable pattern is sich bereit fühlen, ... — “to feel ready to ...”. wieder means “again”: it indicates that the working is understood as happening another time, after an earlier or interrupted period. It is different from weiter (“on/further”), which can describe continuing without the same emphasis on doing something again. zu arbeiten contains arbeiten (“to work”) with zu before the infinitive. After an adjective such as bereit, German commonly uses bereit sein, zu ... or sich bereit fühlen, zu ...: Ich bin bereit, zu beginnen. — “I am ready to begin.” The infinitive arbeiten does not show the subject or tense by itself; the finite verb fühlst carries the question’s present tense and second-person singular subject. Together, Fühlst du dich bereit asks whether the addressee experiences themself as ready, and zu arbeiten specifies the activity. wieder places that activity in a repeat or return-to-it context. The whole utterance therefore means “Do you feel ready to work again?”

2. Ich fühle mich jetzt besser.

   I feel better now.

   Ich fühle mich

   I feel

   jetzt

   now

   besser

   better

   More detail

   Ich fühle mich means “I feel” here. fühlen is the base verb; fühle is its present-tense first-person singular form with the subject ich. With a person as the subject, German commonly uses the reflexive construction sich fühlen: Ich fühle mich ... (“I feel ...”). The reflexive pronoun mich matches the first-person subject. Example: Ich fühle mich gut. — “I feel good.” jetzt means “now” and places the feeling in the present situation or moment. It can move in a sentence when the emphasis changes, but here it comes before the comparison. besser means “better” in this sentence. It is the comparative form of gut (“good”): gut → besser → am besten (“best”). The comparative indicates an improved state, without specifying what earlier state or condition is being compared with. Example: Heute fühle ich mich besser. — “Today I feel better.” Together, Ich fühle mich + jetzt + besser produces: “I feel better now.” The sentence states the speaker’s current improved feeling; it does not specify the earlier condition or explain its cause.

3. Sollen wir zurück zum Schreibtisch gehen?

   Should we go back to the desk?

   Sollen wir

   Should we…?

   zurück

   back

   zum

   to the

   Schreibtisch

   desk

   gehen

   go

   More detail

   Sollen wir is a reusable way to ask whether “we” should do something. sollen is the base form of the modal verb meaning “should” here; with wir, the form is sollen. In a yes/no question, the conjugated modal comes first and the subject follows: Sollen wir ...? The following lexical verb stays in the infinitive and goes to the end. Example: Sollen wir warten? — “Should we wait?” zurück means “back,” expressing a return toward an earlier place or situation. It is an adverb here, so it does not change for the noun. Example: Wir gehen zurück. — “We are going back.” zum is the contracted form of zu dem, meaning “to the” in this use. zu takes the dative case; dem is the dative form used with a masculine or neuter singular noun. Here it combines with Schreibtisch, a masculine noun: zu dem Schreibtisch → zum Schreibtisch. This contraction is common in ordinary German. Schreibtisch means “desk.” Its compound structure is schreiben (“to write”) + Tisch (“table”), but it is used as one noun and is masculine: der Schreibtisch. In the phrase zum Schreibtisch, the article is dative because of zu. gehen is the infinitive “to go.” With a modal verb such as sollen, the lexical verb remains in the infinitive: Sollen wir gehen? — “Should we go?” Do not replace it with a conjugated form after sollen in this pattern. Together, Sollen wir frames a question about a joint action, zurück adds the meaning of returning, and zum Schreibtisch identifies the destination. The infinitive gehen completes the modal construction at the end, giving the whole meaning: “Should we go back to the desk?”

4. Die Pause ist vorbei, also gehen wir los.

   The break is over, so let's get moving.

   Pause

   break

   vorbei

   over; finished

   also

   so

   gehen … los

   get moving; set off

   More detail

   Pause means a break or pause. The noun is feminine in German: die Pause; its plural is die Pausen. Example: Die Pause ist kurz. — “The break is short.” vorbei means over or finished when an event or period has ended. In ist vorbei, ist is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”), while vorbei describes the completed state. Example: Der Film ist vorbei. — “The film is over.” also connects a result or conclusion to what came before. Here it means “so” or “therefore”; it is not the English discourse filler “also.” In a main clause after also, the finite verb remains in the second position: Es regnet, also bleiben wir hier. — “It is raining, so we are staying here.” gehen ... los is the separable verb losgehen, meaning to set off, get going, or start moving. In a finite main clause, gehen is conjugated and los moves to the end: Wir gehen jetzt los. — “We are setting off now.” The form gehen is the present-tense form for wir; the infinitive is also gehen, while the full infinitive is losgehen. Together, Die Pause ist vorbei says “The break is over.” also introduces the resulting action, and gehen wir los says “let’s get moving” literally as “we are setting off.” The full utterance therefore means: “The break is over, so let’s get moving.”

5. Ich brauche die Datei für die nächste Aufgabe.

   I need the file for the next task.

   brauche

   need

   Datei

   file

   für

   for

   nächste

   next

   Aufgabe

   task

   More detail

   brauche is the first-person singular present form of brauchen, “to need.” The subject ich is understood as “I,” so ich brauche means “I need.” Example: Ich brauche Hilfe. — “I need help.” Datei is the feminine noun “file.” Its plural is Dateien. In this sentence, die Datei means “the file.” Example: Die Datei ist hier. — “The file is here.” für means “for” and is a preposition that takes the accusative case. With a feminine singular noun, the definite article is still die: für die Datei means “for the file.” Example: Das ist für dich. — “That is for you.” nächste is the inflected form of the adjective nächst-, meaning “next” here. In die nächste Aufgabe, the adjective is feminine singular accusative and has the ending -e after the definite article die. Example: Die nächste Aufgabe ist kurz. — “The next task is short.” Aufgabe is the feminine noun “task” or “assignment.” Its plural is Aufgaben. Here, die nächste Aufgabe means “the next task.” Together, Ich brauche + die Datei + für + die nächste Aufgabe gives: “I need the file for the next task.” The prepositional phrase für die nächste Aufgabe states what the file is needed for.

6. Sie ist auf dem Schreibtisch.

   It's on the desk.

   Sie

   it

   ist

   is

   auf

   on

   Schreibtisch

   desk

   More detail

   Sie means “it” here and refers to die Datei from the preceding sentence. At the beginning of a sentence, German capitalizes sie, so the visible capital letter does not by itself distinguish this pronoun from other uses of sie. In this context, its feminine singular form agrees with die Datei; it is not the masculine form er or the neuter form es. ist is the present-tense third-person singular form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. It links the subject with its location. For example, Die Datei ist hier. means “The file is here.” auf means “on” in this location pattern. With a stationary location, auf takes the dative: auf dem .... With movement toward a surface, the same preposition can take the accusative, as in Ich lege die Datei auf den Schreibtisch. (“I put the file on the desk.”) The case changes because the situation changes from location to movement toward a destination. Schreibtisch means “desk” and is masculine: der Schreibtisch. Here it appears as dem Schreibtisch, the dative singular form required by stationary auf; only the article visibly marks this case, while the noun itself remains Schreibtisch. A useful contrast is auf dem Schreibtisch (“on the desk”) versus auf den Schreibtisch (“onto the desk,” with movement). Together, Sie ist says “It is,” and auf dem Schreibtisch gives the stationary location. The complete utterance therefore means “It’s on the desk.”

7. Ich kann mich jetzt besser konzentrieren.

   I can focus better now.

   Ich kann

   I can

   mich

   myself

   jetzt

   now

   besser

   better

   konzentrieren

   focus; concentrate

   More detail

   Ich kann expresses “I can” here. kann is the first-person singular present form of können (“can; be able to”). In a main clause, the conjugated modal verb is in the second position, while the other verb appears as an infinitive at the end: Ich kann heute arbeiten = “I can work today.” mich is the accusative reflexive pronoun used with the subject Ich. The verb has the reflexive form sich konzentrieren in this meaning: “to concentrate.” The reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject: ich konzentriere mich, du konzentrierst dich, sie konzentriert sich. jetzt means “now” and places the ability in the present situation. It is an adverb and does not change form. Example: Jetzt kann ich anfangen. = “Now I can start.” besser means “better” here: the focusing ability is better in the present situation than in an understood earlier or alternative state. It is the comparative form of gut (“good”): gut → besser → am besten (“best”). Here it describes how the action is performed, not a noun. Example: Heute schlafe ich besser. = “Today I sleep better.” konzentrieren is the infinitive “to concentrate.” Together with the reflexive pronoun, the reusable pattern is sich konzentrieren; with the first-person subject, it is ich konzentriere mich. After the modal kann, the infinitive remains at the end: Ich kann mich konzentrieren. = “I can concentrate.” Together, Ich kann mich ... konzentrieren expresses the ability to concentrate, besser adds the comparison, and jetzt locates that improved ability in the present. The complete utterance therefore means: “I can focus better now.”

8. Dann fangen wir mit der Datei an.

   Then let's start with the file.

   Dann

   then

   fangen … an

   start / begin

   wir

   we

   mit

   with

   Datei

   file

   More detail

   Dann means “then” and links this action to what came before. It can also introduce a consequence or a later step, but here it marks the next step. fangen and an belong together as the separable verb anfangen, “to start” or “to begin.” In the fixed sentence, fangen is the present-tense form for wir, while the particle an moves to the end of the clause. A reusable pattern is Wir fangen mit ... an. — “We start with ... .” For example: Wir fangen mit der Übung an. — “We start with the exercise.” wir means “we” and is the first-person plural pronoun. It identifies the speaker together with at least one other participant. The verb form here matches it: wir fangen, not singular ich fange. mit means “with” and introduces what the activity begins with. In German, mit governs the dative case. That is why the feminine singular noun phrase is der Datei: the feminine article changes from nominative die to dative der. This der is the article belonging to Datei, not a form of the noun itself. Datei means “file.” It is a feminine noun, so its dictionary form is die Datei; in this sentence, after mit, it appears in the dative phrase der Datei. For another noun, the same pattern can be used: Wir fangen mit dem Text an. — “We start with the text.” Together, Dann + wir fangen ... an + mit der Datei gives: “Then let's start with the file.” The German wording literally presents the action as “Then we start with the file”; in this context, the first-person plural form naturally functions as a joint suggestion, equivalent to “let’s start.”