Staying Inside in Bad Weather | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Das Wetter sieht schlecht aus.

   The weather looks bad.

   Wetter

   weather

   sieht … aus

   looks

   schlecht

   bad

   More detail

   Wetter means “weather” here. The noun is das Wetter, which is neuter and is normally used as a mass noun for weather in general, so this sentence uses the singular form. Example: Das Wetter ist gut. — “The weather is good.” sieht ... aus is the separable-verb pattern from aussehen, meaning “to look” or “to appear.” In the present tense, its third-person singular form is sieht ... aus. In a main clause, the particle aus appears at the end, with schlecht between the verb parts. Example: Sie sieht müde aus. — “She looks tired.” The related verb sehen means “to see,” but aussehen in this construction means “to look/appear.” schlecht means “bad” here and describes how the weather appears. Its opposite is gut (“good”): Das Wetter sieht gut aus. — “The weather looks good.” Together, Das Wetter is the subject, sieht ... aus expresses appearance, and schlecht describes that appearance. The complete utterance means “The weather looks bad.”

2. Vielleicht kommt ein Sturm.

   A storm may be coming.

   Vielleicht

   perhaps; maybe

   kommt

   is coming

   Sturm

   storm

   More detail

   Vielleicht means “perhaps” or “maybe” and signals that the speaker is not presenting the event as certain. It can appear at the beginning of a sentence: Vielleicht regnet es. — “Maybe it is raining.” kommt is the form of kommen (“to come”) used here with a third-person singular subject. In this sentence, the subject is ein Sturm, so kommt means “comes/is coming.” German present-tense forms can describe an event expected in the near future when the context makes that timing clear. The form chain is kommen → kommt for “he/she/it comes” or a singular noun “comes.” Sturm is a masculine noun meaning “storm.” Its basic dictionary form is der Sturm; after the indefinite article in this sentence, it appears as ein Sturm. The noun is singular here, but ein does not by itself assert a numerical count in the English translation; it introduces the storm as an indefinite subject. A useful contrast is der Sturm — “the storm” versus ein Sturm — “a storm.” Together, ein Sturm kommt means “a storm is coming.” Placing Vielleicht at the beginning makes the whole utterance tentative: Vielleicht kommt ein Sturm. means “A storm may be coming.”

3. Sollen wir drinnen bleiben?

   Should we stay inside?

   Sollen wir

   should we

   drinnen

   inside

   bleiben

   stay

   More detail

   Sollen wir combines the modal verb sollen with wir (“we”). In this question, sollen asks whether the proposed action is advisable or agreed on: “Should we …?” The verb sollen changes with the subject: ich soll, du sollst, wir sollen. In a German yes/no question, the finite verb comes first, so Sollen wir …? has the pattern Sollen + subject + …?. drinnen is an adverb meaning “inside” or “indoors.” It describes being in an interior place without naming that place. A useful contrast is draußen (“outside”): Wir bleiben drinnen. means “We are staying inside,” while Wir bleiben draußen. means “We are staying outside.” bleiben is the infinitive “to stay” or “to remain.” Its base form is bleiben; common present-tense forms include ich bleibe, du bleibst, and wir bleiben. With a modal verb such as sollen, the modal is conjugated and the other verb remains as an infinitive at the end: Wir sollen bleiben (“We should stay”). Together, Sollen wir asks for a decision about the proposed action, drinnen specifies the location, and bleiben names the action. Thus Sollen wir drinnen bleiben? means “Should we stay inside?”

4. Warten wir hier, bis es vorbei ist.

   Let's wait here until it passes.

   Warten wir

   let’s wait

   hier

   here

   bis

   until

   es

   it

   vorbei ist

   is over

   More detail

   Warten wir uses warten (“to wait”) with wir (“we”). Together, this is the first-person plural imperative: a suggestion meaning “let’s wait,” rather than a request for information. The same pattern is reusable: Gehen wir! = “Let’s go!” hier means “here” and indicates the place where the waiting happens. It is a location adverb and does not change for person or number. bis introduces the endpoint in time: “until …”. It starts a subordinate clause, so the finite verb goes to the end of that clause. For example, Wir bleiben, bis sie kommt. means “We’ll stay until she comes.” es is the third-person singular neuter pronoun “it.” In this utterance, the fixed translation supports the meaning “it” without identifying a more specific referent. The form es itself is not marked for a particular person or place; its grammatical class is neuter singular. vorbei ist comes from vorbei sein, “to be over” or “to have passed.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”); vorbei does not carry that person marking. In the subordinate clause after bis, ist appears at the end: bis es vorbei ist = “until it is over.” Compare the useful present forms ich bin, du bist, es ist. The utterance combines the suggestion Warten wir with the location hier and the time limit bis es vorbei ist: “Let’s wait here until it is over.” The wording expresses waiting through the point when the relevant situation has ended; it does not specify that situation beyond the supported meaning of “it.”

5. Können wir rausgehen, wenn es aufhört?

   Can we go out after it stops?

   Können wir

   can we

   rausgehen

   go out

   wenn

   when / once

   es

   it

   aufhört

   stops

   More detail

   Können wir uses können, whose base form is können and whose finite form here is present tense, first-person plural: “we can.” The pronoun wir identifies the speakers as the subject. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first: Können wir ...? Compare the reusable pattern Können wir warten? — “Can we wait?” rausgehen is the infinitive meaning “to go out.” It is a separable verb: the base form is rausgehen, but the infinitive remains together after the modal verb. With können, the lexical verb stays in the infinitive: Wir können rausgehen — “We can go out.” wenn introduces a subordinate time clause here. It means “when” or, for a future event in this context, “once/after.” It is different from weil (“because”), which introduces a reason. A subordinate clause with wenn places its finite verb at the end, as in wenn es regnet — “when it rains.” es is the third-person singular pronoun “it.” Here, the fixed translation presents it as the weather or weather-related situation that needs to stop; the surrounding context supports that reading. Es is also used in impersonal weather expressions, for example Es regnet — “It is raining.” aufhört is the third-person singular present form of the separable verb aufhören, meaning “to stop” or “to cease,” agreeing here with es. In a main clause, the parts separate: Es hört auf — “It stops.” In this subordinate clause, the finite form is final and the parts are joined: wenn es aufhört. Example: Der Regen hört auf. — “The rain stops.” Together, Können wir rausgehen asks whether going outside is possible or permitted, and wenn es aufhört supplies the time condition: “once/after it stops.” The complete utterance therefore means, “Can we go out after it stops?”

6. Wir können das Wetter noch einmal prüfen und dann entscheiden.

   We can check the weather again and decide then.

   Wir können

   we can

   Wetter

   weather

   noch einmal

   again

   prüfen

   check

   dann

   then

   entscheiden

   decide

   More detail

   Wir können means “we can.” Wir is the first-person plural pronoun, and können is the present-tense form of können for “we.” Here können expresses ability or possibility and functions as a modal verb. With a modal verb, the other verb stays in the infinitive: Wir können prüfen = “We can check.” Wetter means “weather.” The full noun phrase is das Wetter; Wetter is a neuter noun, so this definite article is its matching form. German normally uses the singular noun for weather in this general sense. noch einmal means “again” or “once more.” It places the repeated action in the sentence without changing the form of the verb. For example, Wir lesen den Text noch einmal. means “We read the text again.” prüfen means “to check” or “to examine.” This is the infinitive after the modal können; its form does not show the subject here. Useful forms include prüfen, prüft, and hat geprüft: “to check,” “checks,” and “has checked.” dann means “then,” referring to the next step in the stated sequence. It links the checking with the later decision: first checking, then deciding. entscheiden means “to decide.” It is also an infinitive governed by können, coordinated with prüfen by und. Its useful forms include entscheiden, entscheidet, and hat entschieden: “to decide,” “decides,” and “has decided.” In the whole sentence, können is the finite verb in the main clause, while the two infinitives come at the end of their coordinated verb phrase: Wir können ... prüfen und dann entscheiden. das Wetter noch einmal prüfen means “check the weather again,” and dann entscheiden means “then decide.” Together, the utterance means: “We can check the weather again and decide then.”

7. Wir können Tee machen, während wir warten.

   We can make some tea while we wait.

   Wir können

   we can

   Tee

   tea

   machen

   make

   während

   while

   warten

   wait

   More detail

   Wir können combines the subject wir (“we”) with the modal verb können (“can, be able to”). Können is the first-person plural present form; compare ich kann (“I can”) and sie können (“they can” or formal “you can”). A modal verb is followed by another verb in the infinitive: Wir können heute kochen. — “We can cook today.” Tee is the noun “tea.” German nouns are capitalized; its usual article is masculine der Tee. Here it appears without an article because tea is treated as an uncounted substance or drink, so the sentence does not specify an amount. Tee machen is a common way to say “make or prepare tea.” machen is the infinitive “to make/do.” In this sentence, the object Tee gives it the meaning “prepare,” rather than a general sense such as “do.” With a modal, the infinitive remains unchanged and goes to the end of the main clause: Wir können Tee machen. — “We can make tea.” Während introduces a time relation meaning “while.” It begins a subordinate clause, and German normally places the finite verb at the end of that clause. A useful pattern is während + subject + ... + finite verb: Ich lese, während er kocht. — “I read while he cooks.” Warten is the infinitive “to wait.” In the subordinate clause, its present-tense first-person plural form is also warten: wir warten — “we wait.” The same form can be the infinitive or the wir present form; the surrounding subject and clause structure identify its role here. The main clause Wir können Tee machen says that the group has the ability or opportunity to prepare tea. Während wir warten adds that this takes place during the time the group is waiting. Together, Wir können Tee machen, während wir warten. means “We can make some tea while we wait.” The English word “some” reflects the natural uncounted reading of Tee; German does not use a separate word here to assert a particular quantity.

8. So können wir uns die Zeit vertreiben.

   That will help pass the time.

   So

   That way

   können wir

   we can

   uns

   ourselves

   Zeit

   time

   vertreiben

   drive away

   More detail

   So means “that way” here: it points to the proposed activity in the preceding context, making it a useful way to connect an action with its result. German so can also mean “so” in other contexts; this sentence uses the “in that way” sense. können wir contains the finite modal verb können (“can/be able to”) and the subject wir (“we”). In a main-clause question or statement, the finite verb is in the second position when So occupies the first position: So können wir .... With a modal verb, the other verb normally goes to the end in its infinitive form. Example: Wir können warten. — “We can wait.” uns is the reflexive pronoun corresponding to wir. In the expression sich die Zeit vertreiben, it refers back to the people who are passing the time. The forms vary by person: mir with ich, dir with du, sich with er/sie, uns with wir, and euch with ihr. Zeit means “time” here. It is the noun in the fixed expression sich die Zeit vertreiben; the definite noun phrase is die Zeit. The noun is feminine, and its nominative and accusative article are both die, so the case is not visible from the article alone. Example: Wir haben Zeit. — “We have time.” vertreiben means “drive away” in this expression. sich die Zeit vertreiben is a reusable German expression meaning “pass the time” or “keep oneself occupied.” The verb is vertreiben; useful forms include vertreibt (present, third-person singular), vertrieb (simple past), and hat vertrieben (perfect). It is different from verbringen, which more directly means “spend” time: Wir verbringen den Abend zu Hause. — “We spend the evening at home.” Together, So können wir uns die Zeit vertreiben says that in this way “we” can pass the time. The modal können expresses possibility or ability, while uns die Zeit vertreiben supplies the activity, yielding the fixed meaning “That will help pass the time.”