Moving Forward in Line | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Die Schlange geht weiter.

   The line is moving forward.

   Schlange

   line; queue

   geht weiter

   moves on; continues

   More detail

   Schlange means “line” here, specifically a queue of people or objects. The same German noun can also mean “snake,” but the fixed translation establishes the queue meaning in this utterance. It is feminine: die Schlange; its plural is die Schlangen. geht weiter expresses continuation or forward movement. geht is the third-person singular present form of gehen (“to go”): ich gehe, du gehst, er/sie/es geht. weiter adds the idea that the movement continues or proceeds. For example: Der Zug geht weiter. — “The train continues.” Together, Die Schlange geht weiter. means “The line is moving forward.” Die identifies the feminine singular noun Schlange, and geht weiter says that this line continues to move or advance.

2. Wir sollten jetzt weiter nach vorne gehen.

   We should step up now.

   Wir sollten

   we should

   jetzt

   now

   weiter

   further; onward

   nach vorne

   forward

   gehen

   go

   More detail

   Wir sollten combines wir (“we”) with sollten, the form of sollen used here for “should/ought to.” Wir is the first-person plural subject. In this meaning, sollten expresses a recommendation or appropriate action, not a statement that the action already happened. Compare Wir sollen gehen (“We are supposed to go”) with Wir sollten gehen (“We should go”). jetzt means “now” and places the suggested action at the present time. It can be moved for emphasis without changing the basic meaning: Jetzt sollten wir gehen means “Now we should go.” weiter means “further” or “onward” here. It indicates continuation or additional movement rather than simply starting to move. In the preceding context, it fits the idea that the line is continuing forward. A reusable pattern is weitergehen (“to continue/go on”), although this sentence places weiter separately from gehen. nach vorne means “forward,” literally “toward the front.” nach introduces the direction, and vorne identifies the front position. Together they specify the direction of the movement. This is a directional phrase, not a noun phrase meaning a particular front object. gehen is the infinitive “to go.” Because it follows the modal verb sollten, it remains in the infinitive and appears at the end of the clause. The pattern is subject + modal verb + ... + infinitive: Wir sollten warten means “We should wait.” Together, Wir sollten gives the recommendation, jetzt gives its timing, weiter adds the idea of continuing, and nach vorne gehen specifies forward movement. The complete utterance means “We should go further forward now,” matching the fixed translation “We should step up now.”

3. Sind wir als Nächstes dran?

   Are we next?

   Sind wir

   are we

   als Nächstes

   next

   dran

   up / due

   More detail

   Sind wir is the first-person plural form of sein (“to be”): wir sind means “we are.” In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject, giving Sind wir ...? rather than statement order Wir sind .... The subject is plural “we”; the form does not identify who is included in we. als Nächstes is a reusable adverbial expression meaning “next” or “as the next one/ones.” Nächstes is a substantivized form of nächst-, so it is capitalized. Compare als Nächstes gehen (“go next”) with als Letztes gehen (“go last”). dran is a colloquial form used in the expression dran sein, meaning “to be up” or “to be one’s turn.” It is not the ordinary adjective “next”; als Nächstes supplies the ordering idea, while dran connects that idea with being due to act. A more formal or explicit alternative is an der Reihe sein (“to be one’s turn”), as in Wir sind an der Reihe. Together, Sind wir als Nächstes dran? asks whether “we” are the next people due to proceed or act. In this context, the intended meaning is “Are we next?” The question is colloquial and natural when people are waiting in an order or queue.

4. Fast, eine Person ist vor uns.

   Almost, there is one person ahead of us.

   Fast

   almost

   eine Person

   one person

   vor uns

   ahead of us

   More detail

   Fast means “almost” here: it marks a situation that is nearly the case, not completely so. Example: Fast fertig. — “Almost finished.” eine Person: Person is the noun “person.” Its plural is Personen; the observed singular form is accompanied by the feminine singular indefinite article eine. Here the whole expression refers to one person, as stated by the fixed translation. Example: Eine Person wartet. — “One person is waiting.” vor uns: vor means “in front of” or “ahead of” in this spatial use. uns is the dative form of wir (“we”), used after vor for a location: vor uns = “ahead of us.” Compare vor uns (“ahead of us”) with hinter uns (“behind us”). Together, Fast plus eine Person ist vor uns gives “Almost, there is one person ahead of us.” The sentence presents the situation as nearly matching the intended point in the queue: one person is still ahead of the speakers. In German, the finite verb ist follows the opening adverbial Fast, while vor uns specifies the person’s location.

5. Ich habe meine Karte schon parat.

   I have my card ready.

   Ich

   I

   habe

   have

   meine

   my

   Karte

   card

   schon

   already

   parat

   ready

   More detail

   Ich means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. German subject pronouns include ich “I,” du “you” (singular, informal), and sie “she/they,” so the form must match the speaker rather than the object being discussed. habe is the present-tense first-person singular form of haben “to have”: ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat. Here it expresses possession or availability. Example: Ich habe Zeit. — “I have time.” meine means “my” here and agrees with the noun it accompanies. Karte is feminine, and after haben it is the direct object, so the feminine accusative form is meine. Compare mein Ticket (“my ticket,” neuter) and meinen Pass (“my passport,” masculine accusative). The possessive form changes with the noun’s grammatical gender, number, and case; it does not indicate the speaker’s gender. Karte means “card.” Its plural is Karten: eine Karte — “a card,” zwei Karten — “two cards.” Depending on context, the noun can refer to different kinds of card, but the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning simply as “card.” schon means “already” here. It places the state in place by the relevant time: the card is ready now. This is different from noch “still/yet,” as in Die Karte ist noch nicht parat. — “The card is not ready yet.” parat means “ready” or “prepared” here. With haben, the reusable pattern etwas parat haben means “to have something ready/on hand.” parat does not change to agree with Karte; the possessive meine carries the relevant noun-related inflection. Example: Ich habe den Schlüssel parat. — “I have the key ready.” Together, Ich habe meine Karte parat forms the pattern subject + haben + object + schon + parat: “I have my card already ready,” naturally rendered as “I have my card ready.” The fixed translation presents the card as the speaker’s card and says that it is ready or available.

6. Halte sie in der Hand.

   Keep it in your hand.

   Halte

   keep; hold

   sie

   it

   in der Hand

   in the hand

   More detail

   Halte is the informal singular imperative of halten (“to hold; to keep”). It addresses one person with du, whose subject is omitted in the imperative. The related form Halten Sie is the formal imperative. Example: Halte die Tasse fest. — “Hold the cup tightly.” Sie is the object pronoun meaning “it” here, as established by the fixed translation. In this sentence it is the object of halten. The lowercase spelling is important: sie is different from capitalized Sie, the formal “you.” The form sie can have other grammatical uses in German, but this utterance uses it as the singular object intended by “it.” In der Hand expresses a stationary location: “in the hand.” Hand is a feminine noun, and der is its dative singular article after in when the meaning is location rather than movement into a place. Compare the reusable pattern in der Hand halten — “to hold in one’s hand.” Together, Halte sie in der Hand means “Keep it in your hand.” The imperative Halte gives the instruction, sie identifies the thing to be held, and in der Hand specifies where it should remain.

7. Ich bin bereit zu bestellen.

   I am ready to order.

   Ich

   I

   bin

   am

   bereit

   ready

   bestellen

   order

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here: the first-person singular pronoun used as the subject. Its form changes with grammatical role in German; for example, Ich sehe ihn means “I see him,” while Er sieht mich means “He sees me.” bin is the present-tense first-person singular form of sein, “to be.” The useful pattern is ich bin = “I am”; other present forms include du bist (“you are”) and er/sie ist (“he/she is”). bereit is an adjective meaning “ready” or “prepared.” In this sentence it is a predicate adjective after sein, so it describes the subject rather than modifying a noun. bereit sein, zu ... is a reusable pattern for being ready to do something. Example: Wir sind bereit zu gehen. — “We are ready to leave.” bestellen is the infinitive meaning “to order,” in this context ordering something from a restaurant or similar service. After bereit, the infinitive is introduced by zu: bereit zu bestellen = “ready to order.” The infinitive itself does not show the subject or tense; for example, Ich bestelle jetzt. means “I am ordering now.” Together, Ich bin gives “I am,” bereit adds the state of readiness, and zu bestellen specifies the action for which the person is ready. The complete utterance therefore means “I am ready to order.”

8. Sie können als Nächstes unsere Bestellung aufnehmen.

   They can take our order next.

   Sie können

   they can

   als Nächstes

   next

   unsere

   our

   Bestellung

   order

   aufnehmen

   take

   More detail

   Sie können means “they can” here. Sie is capitalized and, with the fixed translation, refers to the third-person plural subject “they”; the same spelling can also be formal singular or plural “you” in other contexts. können is the modal verb können (“can, be able to”). With a modal, the other verb stays in the infinitive and normally goes to the end of the clause. als Nächstes is a reusable expression meaning “next” or “as the next step.” Nächstes is a capitalized nominalized form of nächst-; the phrase refers to sequence, not necessarily to a physical location. For example: Als Nächstes lesen wir den Text. — “Next, we will read the text.” unsere means “our” and agrees with the noun it determines. Here it modifies Bestellung, which is feminine singular, and it has the accusative form required by the transitive verb aufnehmen. The possessive determiner unsere can have other forms with different noun gender, number, or case. Bestellung is the feminine noun die Bestellung, meaning “order” here. It is related in meaning to ordering something, but the noun itself is the form used for the order as a thing. For example: Die Bestellung ist fertig. — “The order is ready.” aufnehmen means “to take” here, specifically to take or record an order. It is a separable verb formed with auf- and nehmen. In a finite clause without a modal, the prefix separates: Sie nehmen unsere Bestellung auf. — “They take our order.” After können, the complete infinitive aufnehmen remains at the end. Together, Sie können + als Nächstes + unsere Bestellung + aufnehmen gives: “They can take our order next.” The modal expresses ability or availability, als Nächstes places the action next in sequence, and unsere Bestellung is the accusative object of aufnehmen.