Holding a place in line | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kannst du meinen Platz kurz freihalten?

   Can you save my place for a minute?

   Kannst du

   can you

   meinen

   my

   Platz

   place; spot

   kurz

   briefly

   freihalten

   save; keep free

   More detail

   Kannst du contains können (“can, be able to”) in the present tense for du (“you”). In a yes/no question, the conjugated modal comes first and the subject follows: Kannst du ...? means “Can you ...?” After a modal, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end. meinen is the possessive determiner from mein (“my”). Here it is accusative masculine singular because it accompanies Platz: meinen Platz. The form changes with the grammatical case and noun category; compare nominative mein Platz but accusative meinen Platz. Platz is a masculine noun meaning “place” or “spot.” In this utterance it means the speaker’s reserved position or spot. Its plural is Plätze (“places, spots”). kurz is an adverb meaning “briefly” or “for a short time” here. It limits how long the requested action should last; it does not itself state an exact duration such as one minute. freihalten means “to keep free,” and in this context “to hold or save a place.” It is a separable verb: in a finite clause, German can place its parts apart, as in Ich halte meinen Platz frei. After the modal kannst, however, it remains an infinitive at the end: Kannst du meinen Platz freihalten? Together, Kannst du asks whether the listener is able and willing to do something, meinen Platz identifies what should be kept available, and kurz gives the short requested duration. The whole utterance therefore means, “Can you save my place for a minute?”

2. Ich kann deinen Platz freihalten, während du weg bist.

   I can hold your spot while you are away.

   Ich kann

   I can

   deinen

   your

   Platz

   spot; place

   freihalten

   hold free; save

   während

   while

   du

   you

   weg bist

   are away

   More detail

   Ich kann combines the subject ich (“I”) with kann, the first-person singular present form of können (“can; be able to”). A modal verb such as können is followed by another verb in the infinitive: Ich kann warten. = “I can wait.” In this main clause, the infinitive appears at the end, so freihalten stays together there. deinen means “your” here and modifies Platz. It is the masculine singular accusative form of the possessive determiner based on dein (“your,” informal singular). The accusative marks Platz as the object of freihalten; the form is not expressing a quantity. Platz is a masculine noun: der Platz, plural die Plätze. In this utterance it means a place or spot that can be reserved, not necessarily a physical location in a broader sense. Example: Der Platz ist frei. — “The spot is free.” freihalten means “to keep free” or “to reserve.” It is a separable verb in other finite main-clause patterns: Ich halte den Platz frei. — “I keep the spot free.” With the modal kann, however, it remains an infinitive at the end: Ich kann den Platz freihalten. — “I can reserve the spot.” während introduces a subordinate clause meaning “while.” It connects two situations occurring during the same period. In a German subordinate clause introduced by während, the finite verb normally goes to the end. du is the informal singular “you” and is the subject of the subordinate clause. Its form does not change for this role here; the verb shows the agreement. weg bist means “are away.” bist is the second-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), and weg describes the state of being away. Because this is the während subordinate clause, bist comes after weg: während du weg bist = “while you are away.” Compare the main-clause order Du bist weg. — “You are away.” Together, Ich kann deinen Platz freihalten says “I can keep your spot reserved,” and während du weg bist specifies when: “while you are away.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I can hold your spot while you are away.”

3. Ich habe meine Brieftasche liegen lassen.

   I left my wallet behind.

   Ich habe

   I have

   meine

   my

   Brieftasche

   wallet

   liegen lassen

   leave behind

   More detail

   Ich habe: Here habe is the first-person singular present form of haben, used as the auxiliary for the perfect tense; it does not mean possession in this sentence. The pattern Ich habe + ... commonly introduces a completed event from the speaker’s perspective. Example: Ich habe angerufen. — “I called.” meine: This is the possessive determiner meaning “my.” It is inflected for the noun it accompanies: Brieftasche is feminine, singular, and accusative here, so the form is meine. The form of the possessor (ich) does not determine this ending. Compare mein Buch (“my book,” neuter) and meinen Platz (“my spot,” masculine accusative). Brieftasche: This feminine noun means “wallet.” Its plural is Brieftaschen. Example: Meine Brieftasche ist hier. — “My wallet is here.” liegen lassen: This construction means leaving something lying somewhere, and in this utterance it conveys leaving the wallet behind. liegen means “to lie/be lying,” while lassen means “to let/leave” in this construction. With a perfect auxiliary and another infinitive, German uses habe ... liegen lassen, retaining lassen as an infinitive rather than using gelassen. Example: Ich habe das Buch auf dem Tisch liegen lassen. — “I left the book on the table.” Together, Ich habe marks a completed event, meine Brieftasche identifies the speaker’s wallet as the affected item, and liegen lassen says that the speaker left it behind. The complete meaning is: “I left my wallet behind.”

4. Versuch, bald zurückzukommen.

   Try to come back soon.

   Versuch

   try

   bald

   soon

   zurückzukommen

   to come back

   More detail

   Versuch is the informal singular imperative of versuchen (“to try”). The ending and form address one person directly; the polite or plural imperative is different. Example: Versuch, leise zu sein. — “Try to be quiet.” bald means “soon,” referring to a relatively near time. It is an adverb, so it does not change for a person or noun. Example: Komm bald zurück. — “Come back soon.” zurückzukommen means “to come back.” Its base verb is the separable verb zurückkommen: zurück expresses return, and kommen means “to come.” With zu before an infinitive clause, the zu is inserted between the prefix and the verb: zurückzukommen. Compare the ordinary infinitive zurückkommen with this zu-infinitive form. Example: Ich hoffe, bald zurückzukommen. — “I hope to come back soon.” Together, Versuch gives the direct instruction “try,” bald specifies that the return should happen soon, and zurückzukommen states what the person is asked to try to do. The complete utterance therefore means “Try to come back soon.”

5. Ich hole sie jetzt.

   I will grab it now.

   Ich

   I

   hole

   grab; fetch

   sie

   it

   jetzt

   now

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular pronoun: “I.” It identifies the speaker as the one doing the action. In German, the subject form is ich; the object form is mich. hole means “grab” or “fetch” here. It is the first-person singular present form of holen (“to fetch, get, or bring”). Present-tense German can refer to a current or intended near-future action, so Ich hole ... can mean “I am fetching ...” or “I will fetch ...” when the context supports that reading. Example: Ich hole Wasser. — “I’ll get water.” sie is the object of hole and has the intended meaning “it” in the fixed translation. The exact antecedent is not specified. Grammatically, this form can be feminine singular accusative or plural accusative; the form alone does not identify which object is meant. German’s neuter singular object pronoun would be es, so sie does not itself mean “it” for every kind of noun. jetzt means “now.” It places the fetching action at the present time or makes it immediate. Example: Ich komme jetzt. — “I’m coming now.” Together, Ich hole sie jetzt. means “I will grab it now”: the speaker is the person who will fetch the intended object, and jetzt marks the action as happening immediately or being undertaken now. The reusable pattern is Ich hole [object] jetzt — “I’ll fetch [object] now.”

6. Ich bleibe hier in der Schlange.

   I will stay here in line.

   Ich

   I

   bleibe

   stay; remain

   hier

   here

   in der

   in the

   Schlange

   line; queue

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person who stays. A useful contrast is ich “I” versus du “you” when addressing one person. bleibe means “stay” or “remain” here. It is the first-person singular present form of bleiben: ich bleibe, du bleibst, er/sie bleibt. German present tense can refer to a future action when the context makes that time clear, which is why the fixed translation uses “will stay.” hier means “here,” pointing to the speaker’s current location. It combines directly with a location statement such as Ich bleibe hier. — “I’m staying here.” in der is the location pattern “in the.” With in, a stationary location takes the dative case. Schlange is feminine, so its definite article is der in the dative: in der Schlange. This contrasts with movement into a place, which commonly uses the accusative, as in in die Schlange — “into the line.” Schlange means “line” or “queue” in this context. The same German noun can also mean “snake” in another context, but the surrounding location expression and the fixed translation establish the queue meaning here. Together, Ich + bleibe gives “I stay,” hier specifies the location as “here,” and in der Schlange specifies that location as “in the line.” The complete utterance therefore means “I will stay here in line.”

7. Ich habe sie gefunden und bin gleich zurückgekommen.

   I found it and came right back.

   Ich habe

   I have

   sie

   it

   gefunden

   found

   gleich

   right away

   zurückgekommen

   come back

   More detail

   Ich habe is the first-person singular present form of haben, used here as the auxiliary for the perfect tense. The perfect combines an auxiliary with a past participle to describe a completed event: Ich habe ... gefunden = “I found ...” / “I have found ...”. The form habe agrees with ich; it is not the main action by itself here. sie is a pronoun functioning as the object of gefunden. In this fixed translation, it means “it”; its specific referent is not identified by the supplied sentences. German sie can have other functions in other contexts, but this sentence establishes the intended object reading. gefunden is the past participle of finden (“to find”). The useful chain is finden → gefunden; with haben, it forms the perfect: Ich habe den Schlüssel gefunden. — “I found the key.” The noun in that example is new practice material, not a fact about the supplied conversation. gleich means “right away” or “immediately” here, describing the quick return. It is also used in other contexts with meanings such as “the same” or “soon,” so its meaning comes from the surrounding phrase. Here it modifies the return rather than the finding. zurückgekommen is the past participle of the separable verb zurückkommen (“to come back”). Its perfect normally uses sein, so the full construction is bin zurückgekommen: bin is the first-person singular form of sein, and zurückgekommen is the participle. The verb describes the speaker’s return, not an action performed on an object. Example: Ich bin gestern zurückgekommen. — “I came back yesterday.” The conjunction und links the two completed events. First, Ich habe sie gefunden means “I found it.” Then bin gleich zurückgekommen means “I came right back.” Together, the utterance means: “I found it and came right back.”

8. Du kannst dich hier wieder anstellen.

   You can step back in here.

   Du kannst

   you can

   dich … anstellen

   line up

   hier

   here

   wieder

   again; back

   More detail

   Du kannst means “you can” here. können is the base form; kannst is its present-tense form with du. With a following infinitive, können can express ability or permission; here the fixed translation supports being able or allowed to step back in. dich … anstellen is the reflexive construction sich anstellen, meaning “to line up” in this utterance. dich is the reflexive form matching the subject du, so both refer to the same person. anstellen is the infinitive. With a modal verb, the finite form kannst appears in the main clause and the infinitive remains at the end, with other words between them: Du kannst dich anstellen. — “You can line up.” hier means “here” and locates the action. Example: Du kannst hier warten. — “You can wait here.” wieder means “again” or, in this context, “back,” marking a return or re-entry. It does not identify a separate participant or object. Together, Du kannst + dich … anstellen expresses permission or ability to line up; hier gives the place, and wieder marks returning. The whole utterance means: “You can step back in here.”