Getting ready for cloudy weather | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Draußen sieht es wolkig aus.

   It looks cloudy outside.

   Draußen

   outside

   sieht … aus

   looks

   es

   it

   wolkig

   cloudy

   More detail

   Draußen means “outside” and is an adverb of place. It can stand at the beginning to set the location for the statement. Example: Draußen ist es kalt. — “It is cold outside.” sieht ... aus is the separated present-tense form of aussehen, “to look” or “to appear.” In this sentence, sieht is the third-person singular present form, while the separable part aus appears later. The infinitive is aussehen; in a main clause, the finite part comes near the beginning and aus goes to the end. Example: Der Himmel sieht dunkel aus. — “The sky looks dark.” es is the third-person singular pronoun used here as the grammatical subject of an impersonal appearance statement. It does not identify a particular person. German commonly uses this structure with descriptions of weather or general conditions: Es sieht gut aus. — “It looks good.” wolkig is the adjective “cloudy.” It describes the visible condition in this sentence and has no ending here because it follows aussehen as a predicate adjective rather than directly modifying a noun. Example: Der Himmel ist wolkig. — “The sky is cloudy.” Together, Draußen establishes the location, sieht ... aus expresses how the situation appears, and wolkig supplies the appearance being described. The complete meaning is: “It looks cloudy outside.”

2. Nimm einen warmen Mantel mit.

   Take a warm coat with you.

   Nimm … mit

   take along

   warmen

   warm

   Mantel

   coat

   More detail

   Nimm … mit is the separable imperative of mitnehmen, “to take along.” Nimm is the singular informal imperative addressed to one person; the prefix mit appears at the end of the clause. The infinitive is mitnehmen, but in this command it splits: Nimm einen Mantel mit. Example: Nimm dein Buch mit. — “Take your book along.” warmen means “warm” here. Its base form is the adjective warm; warmen is the inflected form used with the masculine accusative noun phrase einen warmen Mantel. The ending reflects the article-and-noun phrase, not a change in the adjective’s basic meaning. Example: Ich kaufe einen warmen Schal. — “I am buying a warm scarf.” Mantel means “coat.” It is a masculine noun: der Mantel in the basic form. After einen in this sentence, it is the direct object and appears in the accusative: einen Mantel. Example: Der Mantel ist warm. — “The coat is warm.” Together, einen warmen Mantel is “a warm coat,” and the separated verb Nimm … mit tells one person to take that coat along. The complete utterance therefore means, “Take a warm coat with you.”

3. Fühlt sich der Wind kalt an?

   Does the wind feel cold?

   Fühlt … sich … an

   feels

   Wind

   wind

   kalt

   cold

   More detail

   Fühlt ... sich ... an is the separated form of the German verb sich anfühlen, “to feel.” Here, fühlt is the third-person singular present form, agreeing with der Wind; the separable part an appears at the end. sich is the reflexive pronoun required by this verb. In a statement: Der Wind fühlt sich kalt an. — “The wind feels cold.” Wind means “wind.” Its base form is der Wind; der shows that this noun is masculine in German. The noun is the subject here. In this yes/no question, the finite verb comes first, followed by the reflexive pronoun and subject: Fühlt sich der Wind ...? kalt means “cold.” It is a predicative adjective after sich anfühlen, so it has no adjective ending in this sentence. Compare kalt — “cold” and warm — “warm”: Der Wind fühlt sich warm an. — “The wind feels warm.” Together, Fühlt sich der Wind kalt an? asks whether the wind gives a cold sensation: “Does the wind feel cold?” The conjugated verb is first, and the separated verb part an remains at the end.

4. Heute ist es kalt und windig.

   It is cold and windy today.

   Heute

   today

   ist es

   it is

   kalt

   cold

   windig

   windy

   More detail

   Heute means “today.” It is a time adverb and can be placed at the beginning of a sentence to set the time. In this sentence, its initial position is followed by the verb: Heute ist .... ist es is the German weather pattern “it is.” ist is the present-tense third-person singular form of sein (“to be”); sein has the forms ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. Here, es is an impersonal subject used for the weather, not a specifically identified object or person. kalt is the adjective “cold.” It is used here as a predicate after ist, so it describes the weather without an adjective ending: Es ist kalt = “It is cold.” Example: Das Wasser ist kalt. = “The water is cold.” windig is the adjective “windy.” Like kalt, it follows ist here as a predicate and has no adjective ending in this use. Example: Heute ist es windig. = “It is windy today.” The conjunction und joins the two descriptions. Thus Heute ist es kalt und windig assembles as “Today it is cold and windy,” naturally translated as “It is cold and windy today.”

5. Ich brauche auch meinen Hut.

   I need my hat too.

   Ich

   I

   brauche

   need

   auch

   too; also

   meinen

   my

   Hut

   hat

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here and is the first-person singular subject. German uses this form for the speaker; the object form is mich, as in Sie sieht mich (“She sees me”). brauche is the first-person singular present form of brauchen, “to need.” The present form can describe a current need: Ich brauche Wasser means “I need water.” With ich, the verb ending is -e: ich brauche. auch means “too” or “also.” In this sentence it adds the hat to something else the speaker needs: “I need my hat too.” Its exact position can affect emphasis, but here it follows the verb and precedes the object. meinen is the possessive determiner meaning “my” in this form. Its base form is mein; the ending -en appears because it accompanies the masculine accusative noun Hut. Compare mein Hut (“my hat,” subject or citation form) with Ich brauche meinen Hut (“I need my hat,” direct object). The possessive determiner, not Hut, carries this visible ending. Hut means “hat.” Its dictionary form is masculine: der Hut. As the direct object of brauchen, it is in the accusative; with mein, that combination is meinen Hut. Example: Ich kaufe einen Hut means “I am buying a hat.” Together, Ich brauche gives “I need,” auch adds “too,” and meinen Hut gives “my hat” as the thing needed. The complete utterance therefore means “I need my hat too.”

6. Er ist neben der Tür.

   It is by the door.

   Er

   it

   ist

   is

   neben

   beside; next to

   Tür

   door

   More detail

   Er means “it” here and is the masculine singular nominative form of the personal pronoun. It is used as the subject of the sentence; in the supplied context, the masculine noun Hut provides a compatible referent. The corresponding feminine and plural subject forms are sie and sie, while the neuter singular form is es. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. It connects the subject with a location. Example: Der Hut ist hier. — “The hat is here.” neben means “beside” or “next to.” For a stationary location, this two-way preposition is used with the dative. With movement toward a position, the accusative can be used instead. Example: Ich stelle den Hut neben den Stuhl. — “I put the hat next to the chair.” Tür means “door.” It is a feminine noun: die Tür. After neben for a stationary location, it appears in the dative phrase der Tür; the feminine singular article changes from die to der in the dative. Example: Der Hut liegt neben der Tür. — “The hat is lying next to the door.” Together, Er ist states that the masculine singular referent is in a location, and neben der Tür specifies that location as next to the door. The whole utterance therefore means “It is by the door.”

7. Ich ziehe ihn an, bevor ich gehe.

   I will put it on before I leave.

   Ich

   I

   ziehe … an

   put on

   ihn

   it

   bevor

   before

   gehe

   leave

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It is the subject of the main clause. German personal pronouns change with their grammatical role: ich is used for the subject, while mich is the corresponding accusative form. ziehe ... an comes from the separable verb anziehen, “to put on” or “to get dressed.” Here ziehe is the first-person singular present form, and the particle an moves to the end of the main clause: Ich ziehe ... an. The object can come between the verb parts. Example: Ich ziehe die Jacke an. — “I put on the jacket.” German present tense can also describe a future action when the time or situation makes that reading clear; here the fixed translation presents it as “I will put it on.” ihn means “it” here and is a masculine singular accusative pronoun. It is the direct object of anziehen. The form ihn marks masculine singular accusative; the corresponding masculine nominative form is er, while ihm is the masculine/neuter dative form. The fixed translation identifies the intended object only as “it,” not as a particular named object. bevor means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. It links the putting-on action to a later action in the sentence. In a bevor clause, the conjugated verb normally goes to the end. gehe is the first-person singular present form of gehen, “to go” or, in this context, “to leave.” Its subject is understood as ich, even though that pronoun is not repeated. Example: Ich gehe jetzt. — “I’m leaving now.” Together, Ich ziehe ihn an means “I will put it on,” with ihn as the thing being put on and ziehe ... an as the separable verb. bevor ich gehe means “before I leave”: bevor starts the subordinate clause, and gehe stands at its end. The complete utterance is therefore “I will put it on before I leave.”

8. Dann bist du für den Spaziergang bereit.

   Then you will be ready for the walk.

   Dann

   then

   bist

   are

   du

   you

   Spaziergang

   walk

   bereit

   ready

   More detail

   Dann means “then” and places this state after an earlier or understood event. It can also link a sequence or condition to a result: Dann bin ich bereit. — “Then I am ready.” bist is the present-tense second-person singular form of sein (“to be”): sein → du bist. German present tense can refer to a future situation when the time is clear; here Dann and the fixed translation support “will be,” not a separate future form. The form bist is used with the informal singular subject du; for example, Du bist müde. means “You are tired.” du is the informal singular subject pronoun “you.” It identifies the person who is ready. Its corresponding formal singular pronoun is Sie, which takes sind, not bist. Spaziergang is the noun “walk.” After für, which takes the accusative case, the masculine noun phrase is den Spaziergang: its base article is der, and its plural is Spaziergänge. Example: Wir machen einen Spaziergang. — “We are going for a walk.” bereit is the adjective “ready.” With sein, it describes the subject’s state: Sie ist bereit. — “She is ready.” Here it stays in the same form because it is a predicative adjective after sein; it is not inflected for the person of du. Together, Dann + bist du gives “Then you will be,” and für den Spaziergang bereit says that this readiness concerns the walk. The complete utterance therefore means: “Then you will be ready for the walk.”