Finding a quiet study seat | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ist dieser Tisch frei?

   Is this table free?

   Ist

   is

   dieser

   this

   Tisch

   table

   frei

   free; available

   More detail

   Ist is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for er/sie/es and for a singular noun: er ist, sie ist, es ist. In a yes/no question, German commonly places the conjugated verb first: Ist ...? means “Is ...?” dieser means “this” here and is the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative dies-. It agrees with the noun it accompanies: dieser Tisch (“this table”). Other forms include diese with feminine nouns or plural nouns, and dieses with neuter singular nouns. The form is chosen by the noun’s grammatical gender, number, and its role in the sentence, not by physical size or quantity. Tisch is the masculine noun “table.” Its plural is Tische: ein Tisch (“a table”), zwei Tische (“two tables”). German nouns are capitalized. Example: Der Tisch ist groß. — “The table is large.” frei is an adjective meaning “free” in the sense of unoccupied or available here. With a place or seat, it can ask whether someone may use it. Its opposite in this sense is besetzt (“occupied”). Example: Der Platz ist frei. — “The seat is free.” The structure is Ist + demonstrative + noun + adjective?: Ist dieser Tisch frei? The verb comes first because this is a yes/no question; dieser Tisch is the subject, and frei describes its availability. Together, the utterance means “Is this table free?”

2. Hier sitzt niemand.

   No one is sitting here.

   Hier

   here

   sitzt

   is sitting

   niemand

   no one

   More detail

   Hier means “here” and points to the relevant place. It can appear at the beginning of a sentence to establish the location: Hier ist ein Platz. — “There is a seat here.” sitzt is the third-person singular present form of sitzen, “to sit.” The useful present-tense forms include ich sitze (“I sit/am sitting”), du sitzt (“you sit/are sitting”), and er/sie/es sitzt (“he/she/it sits/is sitting”). In this sentence, sitzt describes someone’s current position, not an instruction to sit. niemand is the indefinite pronoun “no one” or “nobody.” It refers to no person and functions here as the subject. German uses the singular verb form with niemand: Niemand sitzt hier. — “No one is sitting here.” Together, Hier places the location first, sitzt states the sitting position, and niemand identifies the subject as nobody. The complete meaning is “No one is sitting here.”

3. Ich brauche einen ruhigen Platz zum Sitzen.

   I need a quiet place to sit.

   brauche

   need

   ruhigen

   quiet

   Platz

   place; spot

   zum Sitzen

   to sit; for sitting

   More detail

   brauche is the first-person singular present form of brauchen, “to need.” The subject Ich supplies the “I,” and the form is reusable with other subjects: Du brauchst ... means “You need ...”; Wir brauchen ... means “We need ...”. ruhigen means “quiet” here and describes Platz. Its base form is ruhig. The ending -en is not part of the adjective’s base: it is the adjective ending required here because Platz is masculine singular, the phrase has the indefinite article einen, and Platz is the accusative object of brauche. For example, Ich brauche einen ruhigen Raum. means “I need a quiet room.” Platz means “place” or “spot.” Its plural is Plätze: zwei Plätze means “two places” or “two spots.” In this sentence it is the thing that is needed, so it appears as the accusative form after brauche; its spelling happens to be the same as its nominative singular form. zum Sitzen expresses purpose: “for sitting” or naturally “to sit.” zum is the contraction of zu dem. Sitzen is the capitalized nominalized infinitive of sitzen, “to sit”; as a noun, it is capitalized. The same pattern appears in ein Platz zum Warten, “a place to wait,” where Warten comes from warten. Together, Ich brauche einen ruhigen Platz zum Sitzen. means “I need a quiet place to sit.” The structure is Ich brauche + an accusative noun phrase, einen ruhigen Platz, + a purpose phrase, zum Sitzen: the speaker needs a place, specifies that it is quiet, and says that it is intended for sitting.

4. Dieser Tisch ist weit von der Tür entfernt.

   This table is away from the door.

   Dieser

   this

   Tisch

   table

   ist

   is

   weit

   far

   von

   from

   Tür

   door

   entfernt

   away; distant

   More detail

   Dieser means “this” here and is the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative determiner. It matches Tisch, the subject: dieser Tisch = “this table.” The form changes with grammatical gender, number, and case; for example, diese Tür means “this door” because Tür is feminine. Tisch means “table.” Its base form is the masculine singular noun der Tisch; its plural is die Tische. In this sentence it is the subject, so it appears in the nominative case. Example: Der Tisch ist groß. — “The table is big.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). It agrees with the singular subject dieser Tisch. The useful present-tense contrast is ich bin (“I am”), du bist (“you are”), and er/sie/es ist (“he/she/it is”). weit means “far” in this sentence. In the pattern weit von ... entfernt, it describes a large distance from a reference point. Its base form is weit; its comparative is weiter (“farther”), and its superlative is am weitesten (“farthest”). It is not the comparative of nah; nah means “near,” with the comparative näher (“nearer”). Example: Die Schule ist weit von hier entfernt. — “The school is far away from here.” von means “from.” Here it introduces the reference point for the distance and requires the dative case: von der Tür means “from the door.” This is a preposition, not part of the meaning of Tür itself. Tür means “door.” The singular noun is feminine: die Tür; its plural is die Türen. After von, the feminine singular article changes from nominative die to dative der, giving von der Tür. Example: Ich komme von der Tür. — “I am coming from the door.” entfernt means “away” or “distant” here. Together with weit von ..., it forms the common predicate pattern weit von X entfernt (“far away from X”). It describes the table’s location relative to the door rather than an action being performed in this sentence. The sentence assembles as Dieser Tisch (“this table”) + ist (“is”) + weit von der Tür entfernt (“far away from the door”). Thus, Dieser Tisch ist weit von der Tür entfernt. means “This table is away from the door,” with the fuller spatial sense “This table is far away from the door.”

5. Dann ist das ein guter Platz zum Lernen.

   Then this is a good place to study.

   Dann

   then

   ist

   is

   das

   this

   guter

   good

   Platz

   place

   zum Lernen

   for studying

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here, linking this statement to the preceding situation. It can also refer to a later time in other contexts. Example: Dann gehen wir. — “Then we’ll go.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. In this sentence it connects the subject das with its description ein guter Platz. das means “this” in the supplied translation. Here it is a demonstrative pronoun referring to the place being identified in the situation; its grammatical form is neuter singular. The form das can also serve other functions in German, so its exact role comes from how it is used in the sentence. guter describes Platz as “good.” Its base form is gut; guter is the masculine singular nominative form used with ein before the masculine noun Platz: ein guter Platz. The adjective, not the noun, carries this ending. Compare: ein guter Tisch — “a good table.” Platz is a masculine noun meaning “place” here. Its plural is Plätze. In this sentence, it means a suitable location rather than a seat or an available position. zum Lernen means “for studying.” zum is the contraction of zu dem. Lernen is the capitalized nominalized infinitive of lernen (“to study” or “to learn”); as a nominalized infinitive, it is treated as a neuter noun and is capitalized. Example: Zum Lernen brauche ich Ruhe. — “I need quiet for studying.” Together, das identifies the place, ist states what it is, and ein guter Platz zum Lernen describes it as a good place for studying. With Dann at the beginning, the complete meaning is: “Then this is a good place to study.”

6. Bitte sprich beim Lernen leise.

   Please keep your voice low while you study.

   Bitte

   please

   sprich

   speak

   beim Lernen

   while studying

   leise

   quietly

   More detail

   Bitte makes the request polite: “please.” It can also be used in other polite requests, for example: Bitte warten. — “Please wait.” sprich is the imperative singular form of sprechen (“to speak”) for addressing one person informally. The vowel changes in this form: sprechen → du sprichst → sprich!. The imperative addresses the listener directly, so the subject is normally omitted. A plural or formal request would use a different form, such as Sprecht! or Sprechen Sie!. beim Lernen expresses the activity during which the requested manner applies. beim is the contraction of bei dem; Lernen is the capitalized nominalized infinitive of lernen (“to study” or “to learn”). In this sentence, the translation identifies the activity as studying. The same pattern is reusable with other nominalized activities, for example: beim Kochen — “while cooking.” leise describes how the speaking should be done here: quietly, with a low voice. The form leise can function as an adjective or as an adverb; here it modifies the action sprich and therefore has no adjective ending. For example, Sie spricht leise. means “She speaks quietly.” Together, Bitte + the informal imperative sprich forms a polite request, while beim Lernen specifies when it applies and leise specifies the manner: “Please keep your voice low while you study.”

7. Klar, ich spreche leise.

   Sure, I'll keep my voice down.

   Klar

   Sure

   ich

   I

   spreche

   speak

   leise

   quietly

   More detail

   Klar means “sure” here as a brief affirmative response. The same word can also mean “clear” or “obvious” when it describes something, but that is not its meaning in this utterance. Example: Klar, ich helfe. — “Sure, I’ll help.” ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the subject of spreche. In German, the subject pronoun determines the verb form: ich spreche means “I speak,” while du sprichst means “you speak.” spreche is the first-person singular present form of sprechen (“to speak”). The useful pattern is ich spreche, du sprichst, er/sie spricht. The present tense can describe what is happening now or what the speaker intends to do in the immediate situation. Example: Ich spreche langsam. — “I speak slowly.” leise means “quietly” or “softly” here. It describes how the speaking happens, so it functions adverbially; it is not an inflected noun or verb form. The related comparison is leiser (“more quietly”): Ich spreche leiser. — “I speak more quietly.” Together, ich spreche leise means “I speak quietly,” and the opening Klar makes the whole utterance an affirmative response: “Sure, I’ll keep my voice down.”

8. Das hilft anderen beim Lernen.

   That helps other people study.

   Das

   That

   hilft

   helps

   anderen

   other people

   beim Lernen

   while studying

   More detail

   Das is the subject here and means “that.” It is the demonstrative pronoun in the neuter singular nominative form. The same spelling can also be an article, but here it stands on its own as a pronoun. hilft comes from helfen (“to help”). It is the present-tense third-person singular form: helfen → hilft. German helfen takes the dative for the person receiving help. Example: Das hilft mir. — “That helps me.” anderen means “other people” here. It is the substantivized adjective ander- (“other”) in the dative plural; the adjective is being used without an expressed noun. The dative plural ending is -en. Example: Ich helfe anderen. — “I help other people.” beim Lernen means “while studying” or “when learning.” beim is the contraction of bei dem; Lernen is the capitalized noun made from the infinitive lernen (“to learn/study”). With bei, this nominalized activity is in the dative. The pattern beim + nominalized infinitive commonly describes an activity in progress: beim Lesen — “while reading.” Together, Das hilft anderen beim Lernen means “That helps other people study.” Das is what provides the help, anderen identifies the people who benefit, and beim Lernen specifies the activity in which the help is useful.