Getting ready for a sunny walk | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Draußen ist es sonnig.

   It's sunny outside.

   Draußen

   outside

   ist es

   it is

   sonnig

   sunny

   More detail

   Draußen means “outside” and is an adverb of place. It can stand at the beginning to set the location: Draußen ist es sonnig. (“Outside, it is sunny.”). The contrasting location word drinnen means “indoors/inside.” ist es contains ist, the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), and es, an impersonal subject used in this weather expression. The es here does not refer to a specific previously mentioned thing; it helps form the impersonal statement “it is …”. Useful forms of sein include ich bin (“I am”), du bist (“you are”), and sie ist (“she is” or “it is,” depending on the context). sonnig is the adjective “sunny.” It describes conditions with sunshine and is related in meaning to Sonne (“sun”), but sonnig is the adjective used to describe the weather. For example: Heute ist es sonnig. — “Today it is sunny.” Together, Draußen identifies the location, ist es supplies the impersonal “it is,” and sonnig describes the weather condition. The complete utterance means “It’s sunny outside.”

2. Bring deine Sonnenbrille mit.

   Bring your sunglasses.

   Bring … mit

   bring along

   deine

   your

   Sonnenbrille

   sunglasses

   More detail

   Bring … mit is the separable verb mitbringen, meaning “to bring along.” Here Bring is its informal singular imperative: a command addressed to one person. In a main-clause imperative, the separable prefix mit moves to the end. Example: Bring einen Regenschirm mit. — “Bring an umbrella along.” deine means “your” here. It is the possessive determiner based on dein; its -e ending agrees with the feminine singular noun Sonnenbrille in the accusative role after bringen. The form is not a plural marker. Compare dein Rucksack (“your backpack,” masculine singular) with deine Tasche (“your bag,” feminine singular). Sonnenbrille means “sunglasses” in this sentence. It is grammatically singular in German, even though English normally uses the plural word “sunglasses.” The compound combines Sonne (“sun”) and Brille (“glasses”), but the useful form to reuse here is the complete noun Sonnenbrille. Example: Meine Sonnenbrille ist im Rucksack. — “My sunglasses are in the backpack.” Together, Bring deine Sonnenbrille mit. means “Bring your sunglasses.” The context about sunny weather supports bringing them along; the German sentence itself is an informal singular request or command.

3. Ist es zu heiß für einen Spaziergang?

   Is it too hot for a walk?

   Ist es

   Is it …?

   heiß

   hot

   für

   for

   Spaziergang

   walk

   More detail

   Ist es is a reusable way to ask a yes/no question with es as the grammatical subject: Ist es ...? means “Is it ...?” Here, ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). For a question about a different subject, German uses the corresponding form, such as Bist du ...? (“Are you ...?”). heiß means “hot.” It is used here after sein, so it is a predicative adjective and has no ending: Es ist heiß (“It is hot”). Before a noun, an adjective can take an ending instead, for example ein heißer Tag (“a hot day”); that ending belongs to the adjective, not to the noun. für is the preposition “for” and in standard German takes the accusative case. The complete following noun phrase is für einen Spaziergang. Spaziergang is a masculine noun meaning “walk” or “stroll”; its basic singular form is der Spaziergang, and after für the masculine indefinite article becomes einen: für einen Spaziergang (“for a walk”). The noun itself remains Spaziergang here. Together, zu heiß means “too hot”: zu marks an excessive degree, not ordinary high temperature. The pattern zu + adjective is reusable, for example Das Wasser ist zu kalt — “The water is too cold.” The whole sentence follows the question pattern Ist es + adjective phrase + für + noun phrase?: Ist es zu heiß für einen Spaziergang? It asks whether the temperature is excessively high for taking a walk, translated naturally as “Is it too hot for a walk?”

4. Es ist warm, aber wir können trotzdem gehen.

   It's warm, but we can still go.

   Es ist

   it is

   warm

   warm

   aber

   but

   wir können

   we can

   trotzdem

   still

   gehen

   go

   More detail

   Es ist is the German pattern for “it is.” Here es is an impersonal subject used with the weather description; it does not identify a particular person or thing. The verb ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. Example: Es ist kalt. — “It is cold.” warm means “warm” here and describes the temperature. It is an adjective. With sein, the adjective appears without an ending: Es ist warm. — “It is warm.” Its opposite is kalt (“cold”). aber means “but” and joins two parts in contrast. It does not change the basic meaning of either clause. Example: Ich bin müde, aber ich arbeite. — “I am tired, but I work.” wir können means “we can.” können is the modal verb “can, be able to.” In this sentence, können is the present indicative form for wir; this form is also identical in spelling to the infinitive können. A modal verb is normally followed by another verb in the infinitive, placed at the end of the clause. Compare wir können (“we can”) with wir können nicht (“we cannot”); the negation is expressed separately by nicht. trotzdem means “still” in the sense of “nevertheless” or “despite that.” It connects the possibility of going with the preceding warm temperature: the warmth does not prevent the action. Example: Es regnet. Trotzdem gehe ich. — “It is raining. Nevertheless, I am going.” gehen means “to go” here. It is the infinitive required after the modal verb können, so können gehen means “can go.” Its present-tense form with wir would be wir gehen (“we go”), but after können the infinitive gehen remains unchanged. Together, Es ist warm says “It is warm.” aber introduces a contrast, and wir können trotzdem gehen says “we can still go” despite that condition. The complete utterance therefore means: “It’s warm, but we can still go.”

5. Wir können im Schatten bleiben.

   We can stay in the shade.

   Wir können

   we can

   Schatten

   shade

   bleiben

   stay

   More detail

   Wir können means “we can” here. Wir is the first-person plural pronoun “we”; können is the present-tense form of können for wir. This modal verb expresses ability or possibility. With a modal verb, German normally places the other verb in the infinitive at the end of the clause: Wir können warten. — “We can wait.” Schatten means “shade” here. It is the noun der Schatten; in im Schatten, the form follows in dem Schatten, meaning “in the shade.” The ending of the noun does not change in this phrase. A related contrast is die Sonne — “the sun”: Wir sitzen in der Sonne. — “We are sitting in the sun.” bleiben means “stay” or “remain.” It is the infinitive used with the modal verb können; können carries the tense and person, while bleiben remains in the infinitive. For example, Wir können hier bleiben. means “We can stay here.” Together, Wir können + im Schatten + bleiben gives “We can stay in the shade.” The modal verb expresses the possibility, im Schatten gives the location, and bleiben states the action.

6. Die Bäume sollten uns kühl halten.

   The trees should keep us cool.

   Bäume

   trees

   sollten

   should

   uns

   us

   kühl

   cool

   halten

   keep

   More detail

   Bäume means “trees” here. It is the plural of Baum (“tree”); the plural form is used because the sentence refers to more than one tree. Example: Die Bäume sind alt. — “The trees are old.” sollten is the form of sollen used here with a plural subject: Die Bäume sollten ... — “The trees should ...”. It expresses an expected or intended result, not a command to the trees. The form sollten can also mean “were supposed to” in a past context, but the fixed translation supports “should” here. uns means “us”. It is the first-person plural object pronoun. In this construction, the trees affect the people represented by uns; the supplied translation identifies them as “us.” Compare uns (“us”) with wir (“we”): Wir bleiben hier. — “We are staying here.” kühl means “cool” in this sentence. It describes the resulting state of uns after the trees keep us that way. Because it follows halten as a predicative adjective, it has no adjective ending here. Example: Das Wasser hält mich kühl. — “The water keeps me cool.” halten is the infinitive “to keep” and appears after the modal verb sollten. In the reusable pattern jemanden kühl halten, the object is the person or thing kept cool, and the adjective states the resulting condition. Example: Der Schatten hält die Kinder kühl. — “The shade keeps the children cool.” Together, Die Bäume sollten uns kühl halten means “The trees should keep us cool.” The subject is “the trees”; sollten marks the expected result, uns is the people affected, and kühl halten expresses maintaining that cool state.

7. Ich bringe eine Flasche Wasser mit.

   I'll bring a bottle of water.

   Ich

   I

   bringe … mit

   bring along

   Flasche

   bottle

   Wasser

   water

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here: it is the first-person singular subject, the person who will bring the item. German subject pronouns include ich (“I”), du (“you,” singular informal), and sie (“she” or “they,” depending on context). Example: Ich komme. — “I’m coming.” bringe … mit is the separated form of mitbringen, “to bring along.” The base verb is bringen (“bring”); with the prefix mit-, mitbringen means bringing something with you to a destination or situation. In a present-tense main clause, the prefix separates: Ich bringe Wasser mit. — “I’m bringing water along.” The form bringe marks first-person singular present; mit remains at the end of this clause. In another structure, the parts can stay together: Ich möchte Wasser mitbringen. — “I’d like to bring water along.” Flasche means “bottle.” It is a feminine noun: die Flasche; after the indefinite article in this phrase, eine Flasche means “a bottle.” The noun itself is not a quantity word; the phrase identifies a container. Example: eine Flasche Saft — “a bottle of juice.” Wasser means “water.” It is generally used as a mass noun, so this phrase describes the substance inside the bottle rather than counting separate units of water. In eine Flasche Wasser, the noun after Flasche specifies what the bottle contains: “a bottle of water.” Example: Ich trinke Wasser. — “I drink water.” Together, Ich + bringe … mit gives “I’ll bring along,” and eine Flasche Wasser gives “a bottle of water.” The whole utterance therefore means “I’ll bring a bottle of water.” The German present tense can express a future arrangement or intention when the context makes that future meaning clear.

8. Das wird beim Spaziergang nützlich sein.

   It'll come in handy during the walk.

   Das

   that; it

   wird … sein

   will be

   nützlich

   useful

   beim

   during the

   Spaziergang

   walk

   More detail

   Das is a demonstrative pronoun used here as the sentence subject, meaning “it” in the fixed translation. Its specific referent is not identified by the supplied sentence; the important reusable point is that German can use das as a pronoun, not only before a noun as “that.” wird ... sein forms the German future: wird is the third-person singular present form of werden, used here as the future auxiliary, and sein is the infinitive “to be.” The infinitive comes at the end of this clause. Pattern: subject + wird + ... + infinitive. Example: Das wird einfach sein. — “That will be easy.” Here wird carries the future meaning, while sein remains the infinitive. nützlich means “useful” and describes the subject with sein. It is an adjective; in this position after sein, it does not take an adjective ending. A related contrast is unnützlich, “useless,” when that opposite meaning is intended. beim is the contracted form of bei dem. In beim Spaziergang, it introduces the time setting “during the walk.” The preposition bei takes the dative, and dem is the dative masculine/neuter article; the contraction is standard in this expression. Spaziergang is the noun “walk,” specifically a walk or stroll. Its base dictionary form is der Spaziergang; after bei, the phrase has the dative form dem Spaziergang, fused with bei as beim Spaziergang. Together, Das wird ... sein says that the subject will be something in the future, nützlich supplies the property “useful,” and beim Spaziergang sets the time or situation. The complete meaning is: “It’ll come in handy during the walk.”