Fixing a loose chair | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Dieser Stuhl fühlt sich locker an.

   This chair feels loose.

   Dieser

   this

   Stuhl

   chair

   fühlt … sich … an

   feels

   locker

   loose

   More detail

   Dieser means “this” here and is the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative determiner. It agrees with the masculine singular noun Stuhl; other forms include diese for feminine singular or plural and dieses for neuter singular. Stuhl means “chair.” Its plural is Stühle. The phrase Dieser Stuhl therefore means “this chair,” with dieser identifying a particular chair in the situation. fühlt sich ... an comes from the separable reflexive verb sich anfühlen, “to feel” or “to feel like” something. In this sentence, fühlt is the third-person singular present form, matching Dieser Stuhl; an appears at the end of the clause. The reflexive element sich belongs to the verb. For example: Der Tisch fühlt sich glatt an. — “The table feels smooth.” locker means “loose” here. It is an adjective used after the verb, so it has no ending in this position. A useful contrast is fest, “firm” or “tight”: Der Griff fühlt sich fest an. — “The handle feels firm.” Together, Dieser Stuhl fühlt sich locker an. means “This chair feels loose.” The construction presents looseness as the tactile impression of the chair, rather than asserting a separate action by the chair.

2. Welcher Teil bewegt sich?

   Which part is moving?

   Welcher

   which

   Teil

   part

   bewegt sich

   is moving

   More detail

   Welcher means “which” here and agrees with Teil: both are masculine singular nominative forms. German question words change with the noun’s grammatical gender, number, and case: welcher (masculine nominative), welche (feminine or plural nominative), and welches (neuter nominative). Example: Welcher Bus kommt zuerst? — “Which bus comes first?” Teil is a masculine noun meaning “part.” Its plural is Teile. In this sentence, it names the part being asked about; the wording does not itself identify exactly which part. bewegt sich is the third-person singular present form of sich bewegen, “to move” or “to be in motion.” bewegt is the finite form of bewegen, and sich is the reflexive pronoun used with this meaning. Compare Der Arm bewegt sich. — “The arm is moving” — with Er bewegt den Arm. — “He moves the arm.” The first describes the arm as moving; the second describes someone moving it. Together, Welcher Teil asks for the identity of the moving part. In the German question, the finite verb bewegt follows the question phrase, and sich completes the movement construction: Welcher Teil bewegt sich? means “Which part is moving?”

3. Das hintere Stuhlbein wackelt ein bisschen.

   The back leg wobbles a little.

   hintere

   back; rear

   Stuhlbein

   chair leg

   wackelt

   wobbles

   ein bisschen

   a little

   More detail

   hintere describes Stuhlbein as the rear or back one. Its base form is hinter; here it has the ending -e because it stands before the singular neuter noun Stuhlbein with the definite article das: das hintere Stuhlbein. The ending belongs to the adjective, not to the noun. For comparison, hinterer and hinteres occur in other grammatical environments; choose the form according to the noun phrase. Stuhlbein means “chair leg.” It is a compound noun: Stuhl means “chair” and Bein means “leg,” but the complete compound is the word used here. Its plural is Stuhlbeine. The sentence identifies the back leg as the part that moves; it does not say that the whole chair moves. wackelt comes from wackeln, “to wobble” or “to shake unsteadily.” The ending -t marks the present-tense third-person singular form: es wackelt means “it wobbles.” This form describes the movement as a current state or event. Example: Der Tisch wackelt. — “The table wobbles.” ein bisschen is a compact adverbial expression meaning “a little” or “slightly.” It limits the degree of wackelt, so the wobbling is small rather than strong. Example: Die Tür ist ein bisschen offen. — “The door is slightly open.” Together, das hintere Stuhlbein identifies the rear leg of the chair, wackelt states that it is wobbling now, and ein bisschen reduces the degree of that movement. The complete meaning is: “The back leg wobbles a little.”

4. Wir sollten ihn reparieren, bevor jemand ihn benutzt.

   We should fix it before anyone uses it.

   Wir sollten

   we should

   ihn

   it

   reparieren

   fix; repair

   bevor

   before

   jemand

   anyone; someone

   benutzt

   uses

   More detail

   Wir sollten expresses a recommendation: “we should.” sollten is the form used here from sollen; in this use it is the Konjunktiv II form expressing advice or recommendation. The subject is wir, “we.” With a modal verb, the other verb stays in the infinitive: Wir sollten warten. — “We should wait.” ihn is a masculine singular accusative pronoun. Here it is translated as “it,” and it is the object of reparieren. German pronoun form depends on grammatical gender and case, so English “it” does not by itself show why German uses ihn. The same form appears again later as the object of benutzt, referring back to the same intended object. Compare the forms: er is masculine nominative (“he”), while ihn is masculine accusative (“him/it”). reparieren is the infinitive meaning “to fix” or “to repair.” After sollten, it names the recommended action and comes at the end of the main clause. Example: Wir sollten den Tisch reparieren. — “We should repair the table.” bevor introduces a time clause meaning “before.” It is a subordinating conjunction, so the finite verb in the clause it introduces goes to the end. The pattern is bevor + subject + other elements + finite verb. jemand is an indefinite pronoun meaning “someone” or, in this time-clause context, “anyone.” It is the subject of benutzt, so it is in the nominative. Example: Bevor jemand kommt, rufe ich an. — “Before anyone comes, I’ll call.” benutzt means “uses” here. It is the third-person singular present form of benutzen: jemand benutzt. The final -t marks this present-tense form with a singular third-person subject. Example: Sie benutzt den Stift. — “She uses the pen.” Together, Wir sollten ihn reparieren means “We should fix it.” bevor jemand ihn benutzt adds the time condition “before anyone uses it.” Because bevor introduces a subordinate clause, benutzt comes at that clause’s end. The complete meaning is: “We should fix it before anyone uses it.”

5. Soll ich mich woanders hinsetzen?

   Should I sit somewhere else?

   Soll ich

   Should I…?

   mich

   myself

   woanders

   somewhere else

   hinsetzen

   sit down

   More detail

   Soll ich is a common way to ask whether the speaker should do something. sollen is the base form; soll is its present-tense form for ich and also for er/sie/es. In this question, ich is the subject and soll expresses a request for guidance or permission about the speaker’s action. Compare: Soll ich warten? — “Should I wait?” mich is the reflexive pronoun used here with the first-person singular subject ich. The verb sich hinsetzen requires this reflexive object: the person who sits down is also the person affected by the action. The form changes with the subject: ich setze mich hin, but du setzt dich hin. This mich does not mean that the speaker is acting on a separate person. woanders means “somewhere else,” contrasting the intended place with another possible place. It is an adverb, so it does not change for gender, number, or case. A reusable example is Wir treffen uns woanders. — “We’ll meet somewhere else.” hinsetzen is the infinitive of the separable verb sich hinsetzen, meaning “to sit down.” In a main clause, the parts separate: Ich setze mich hin. — “I sit down.” After the modal verb soll, the infinitive remains at the end, so the form is Soll ich mich hinsetzen? The verb setzen by itself can mean “to put” or “to set,” whereas sich hinsetzen describes taking a seated position. Together, Soll ich asks for guidance about the speaker’s action, mich hinsetzen identifies that action as sitting down, and woanders specifies a different place. The complete utterance therefore means: “Should I sit somewhere else?”

6. Nimm erst einmal einen anderen Stuhl.

   Use another chair for now.

   Nimm

   use; take

   erst einmal

   for now

   anderen

   another; different

   Stuhl

   chair

   More detail

   Nimm is the imperative form of nehmen (“to take/use”) addressed to one person informally (du). In this sentence, the fixed translation makes the intended practical meaning “use,” not merely physical taking. Compare nehmen (present infinitive/base form) and Nimm! (singular informal command). Example: Nimm den Schlüssel. — “Take the key.” erst einmal is a reusable time expression meaning “for now” or “for the time being.” It presents the action as a temporary or immediate arrangement, without asserting how long it will last. Example: Warte erst einmal. — “Wait for now.” anderen is the inflected form of the adjective ander-, meaning “another” or “different” here. It describes Stuhl, which is masculine and is the direct object of nehmen; therefore the adjective appears as accusative masculine anderen. The base form is ander-, and the form changes with the noun phrase: for example, ein anderer Stuhl (“another chair,” nominative) but einen anderen Stuhl (“another chair,” accusative). This adjective is separate from the noun and does not itself mean “chair.” Stuhl is a masculine noun meaning “chair.” Its plural is Stühle (“chairs”), with the vowel change shown by the umlaut. In this sentence, einen ... Stuhl is the direct object: it is the chair the listener is told to use. Example: Der Stuhl ist frei. — “The chair is free.” The sentence is assembled as Nimm + erst einmal + einen anderen Stuhl: “Use another chair for now.” The indefinite article einen and the adjective ending -en mark the masculine accusative noun phrase; they do not by themselves state a numerical count. The informal singular imperative addresses one person, while erst einmal limits the recommendation to the present situation.

7. Ich stelle diesen Stuhl weg.

   I will move this one away.

   Ich

   I

   stelle … weg

   move away; put aside

   diesen

   this

   Stuhl

   chair

   More detail

   Ich means “I” and identifies the speaker as the agent. It is the first-person singular subject form; compare du (“you,” singular informal) and wir (“we”). Example: Ich komme. — “I’m coming.” stelle ... weg comes from the separable verb wegstellen, “to move or put something away.” In the fixed sentence, stelle is the first-person singular present form of stellen; the separable prefix weg appears at the end of the clause. The present tense here expresses the speaker’s action or intention, matching the fixed translation “I will move this one away.” Example: Ich stelle den Karton weg. — “I put the box away.” diesen means “this” here. It is the masculine singular accusative form of the demonstrative dieser, because it accompanies the direct object Stuhl after stelle ... weg. The form changes with grammatical case and gender; for example, masculine nominative is dieser, while masculine accusative is diesen. The demonstrative indicates the particular chair intended by the speaker; the form itself does not identify any additional referent. Stuhl means “chair.” It is a masculine noun: der Stuhl in the basic form, with plural die Stühle. In this sentence it is the direct object of wegstellen, so the masculine singular article-like demonstrative is diesen, not dieser. Together, Ich stelle diesen Stuhl weg. means “I will move this one away.” The structure is Ich + the separable verb stelle ... weg + the object diesen Stuhl: “I put this chair away.”

8. Stell ihn an die Wand, damit der Durchgang frei bleibt.

   Put it against the wall so the walkway stays clear.

   Stell

   put; place

   ihn

   it

   Wand

   wall

   damit

   so that

   Durchgang

   walkway; passage

   frei

   clear; free

   bleibt

   stays; remains

   More detail

   Stell is the informal singular imperative of stellen (“to put/place”). The command addresses one person: Stell ...! = “Put ...!” The previous sentence uses stelle, a first-person present form of the same verb: Ich stelle diesen Stuhl weg. ihn is the accusative masculine singular pronoun, meaning “it” here. Its form marks the thing being placed; the fixed translation identifies that thing only as “it,” without specifying its noun. Wand means “wall.” With an and the accusative article die, an die Wand describes movement or placement against a vertical surface: “against the wall.” The noun is feminine singular, hence die in this phrase. Example: Ich stelle die Lampe an die Wand. — “I put the lamp against the wall.” damit introduces a purpose clause, commonly translated “so that.” In such a subordinate clause, the finite verb normally comes at the end. Durchgang means “passage” or “walkway.” It is a masculine noun: der Durchgang. Here it is the subject of the purpose clause, which is why the clause says that the passage remains clear. frei means “clear” or “unoccupied.” With bleiben, it describes the continuing state of the passage: it remains clear. Example: Der Eingang bleibt frei. — “The entrance remains clear.” bleibt is the third-person singular present form of bleiben (“to stay/remain”): ich bleibe, du bleibst, er/sie/es bleibt. The form agrees with singular der Durchgang. Together, Stell ihn an die Wand gives the command “Put it against the wall.” damit der Durchgang frei bleibt gives its purpose: “so that the walkway stays clear.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Put it against the wall so the walkway stays clear.”