Checking a Room Before Use | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ist der Raum bereit?

   Is the room ready?

   Ist

   is

   der Raum

   the room

   bereit

   ready

   More detail

   Ist is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for the third-person singular: sein → ist. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first: Ist ...? means “Is ...?” This is the same form used in a statement such as Der Raum ist bereit. (“The room is ready.”) der Raum means “the room.” Raum is a masculine noun, and der is its masculine singular nominative definite article here. The article agrees with Raum; it is not the form of the adjective. The plural is die Räume (“the rooms”), with the noun changing from Raum to Räume. bereit means “ready” and is a predicative adjective after sein. In this position it has no adjective ending: Der Raum ist bereit. (“The room is ready.”) The adjective describes the room’s state; it is not placed directly before the noun in this sentence. Before a noun, German marks the adjective differently, for example ein bereiter Raum (“a ready room”), though that wording is less common than a context-specific description. Together, Ist + der Raum + bereit forms a yes/no question. The finite verb comes first, followed by the subject der Raum, and bereit completes the description: “Is the room ready?”

2. Die Stühle stehen an ihrem Platz.

   The chairs are in place.

   Stühle

   chairs

   stehen

   stand; are standing

   an ihrem Platz

   in their place

   More detail

   Stühle means “chairs” here. Its base form is der Stuhl (“chair”); Stühle is the plural, with the vowel change u → ü and the plural ending -e. The definite article in the full sentence, Die, is also plural: “the chairs.” stehen means “are standing” here and describes the chairs’ position. It is the present-tense form used with the plural subject Die Stühle; it happens to look like the infinitive/base form. German can use stehen for an object’s upright or situated position, not only for the physical act of standing. Example: Die Flaschen stehen auf dem Tisch. — “The bottles are on the table.” an ihrem Platz means “in their place.” For a stationary location, an takes the dative here. ihrem is the possessive form meaning “their,” and it agrees with the possessed noun Platz, which is masculine singular: der Platz → ihrem Platz in the dative. The possessive meaning identifies the chairs as having their place; the fixed translation supports this plural “their” reading. Platz means “place” here; in other contexts it can also mean a seat or a square, but those senses are not intended here. Together, Die Stühle supplies the plural subject, stehen describes their located position, and an ihrem Platz specifies where they are. The whole utterance means: “The chairs are in place.”

3. Funktioniert der Bildschirm?

   Is the screen working?

   Funktioniert

   works; is working

   Bildschirm

   screen

   More detail

   Funktioniert is the third-person singular present form of funktionieren (“to function, work”). Here it means “is working,” referring to the singular subject. The present tense can describe a device’s current condition. Example: Der Drucker funktioniert. — “The printer works/is working.” Bildschirm means “screen,” especially a computer or display screen. Its plural is Bildschirme. In this sentence, the definite article der marks a singular masculine noun in the subject position: der Bildschirm — “the screen.” German yes/no questions commonly place the finite verb first, followed by the subject: Funktioniert der Bildschirm? This produces the meaning “Is the screen working?” The question mark and the rising question intonation identify it as a question; Der Bildschirm funktioniert. would be the corresponding statement, “The screen is working.”

4. Das Bild ist klar.

   The picture looks clear.

   Das

   the

   Bild

   picture

   ist

   is

   klar

   clear

   More detail

   Das is the definite article used here with Bild. It marks a singular neuter noun in the subject role: das Bild. The article is not the source of the noun’s meaning; it identifies the noun as “the picture.” Bild means “picture” here. Its base form is das Bild; the plural is die Bilder. German nouns are capitalized, so the initial capital letter is part of the normal written form. ist is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for a singular third-person subject. The pattern Das Bild ist ... can be reused to describe a picture: Das Bild ist neu. — “The picture is new.” klar is an adjective meaning “clear” in this sentence. After ist, it is used as a predicate adjective and does not receive an ending: Das Bild ist klar. The fixed translation presents this as the picture looking clear, but the German wording itself uses the general adjective “clear.” Together, Das Bild (“the picture”) is the subject, ist (“is”) links it to the description, and klar (“clear”) describes it. The whole utterance means “The picture looks clear.”

5. Haben wir Marker?

   Do we have markers?

   Haben wir

   do we have

   Marker

   markers

   More detail

   Haben wir means “do we have” here. haben is the verb “to have”; in the present tense, wir haben means “we have.” In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Haben wir ...? = “Do we have ...?” Compare the statement Wir haben Marker. = “We have markers.” Marker means “markers” in this utterance. German uses der Marker for one marker and die Marker for more than one; the plural form stays Marker rather than adding a plural ending. The fixed translation establishes the plural meaning here. Together, Haben wir + Marker asks whether the speakers have markers: “Do we have markers?”

6. Sie liegen auf dem Tisch.

   They're on the table.

   Sie

   they

   liegen

   lie; are lying

   auf

   on

   Tisch

   table

   More detail

   Sie means “they” here. This form is a third-person plural pronoun; its specific referents are understood from the situation, while the translation confirms the plural “they” reading. Do not confuse it with lowercase sie, which can also mean “she” or “they”; capitalization and context matter. In a different sentence, capitalized Sie can also be the formal “you,” so the verb and context help identify the function. liegen means “are lying” here and is the present-tense form of liegen for sie meaning “they.” It describes being positioned horizontally or at rest in a place, rather than movement toward that place. The same form can also be used with a plural noun: Die Bücher liegen auf dem Tisch. — “The books are on the table.” auf expresses position “on” here. For a fixed location, German uses auf with the dative case; for movement onto a surface, it uses the accusative instead: Die Bücher liegen auf dem Tisch. — “The books are on the table.” / Ich lege die Bücher auf den Tisch. — “I put the books on the table.” Tisch means “table.” Its base form is masculine, so after dative auf, the phrase uses dem Tisch: auf dem Tisch means “on the table.” The noun itself remains Tisch; dem marks the relevant case and gender combination. Together, Sie liegen says “they are lying,” and auf dem Tisch says where they are located: “on the table.” The complete utterance is therefore “They’re on the table.”

7. Ist genug Platz zum Bewegen da?

   Is there space to move around?

   Ist … da

   Is ... there?

   genug

   enough

   Platz

   space; room

   zum Bewegen

   for moving around

   More detail

   Ist ... da? frames a yes/no question about whether something is present or available. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), and da means “there” or “present.” Here they surround the question’s subject: Ist ... da? = “Is ... there?” The separated quote reflects the actual word order; the words between them are part of what is being asked about. genug means “enough” and comes before the noun it limits here. It expresses a sufficient amount, without by itself specifying a number. Platz is a masculine noun meaning “space” or “room.” In this sentence it refers to available room, not a particular seat or location. A useful contrast is viel Platz (“a lot of space”) versus wenig Platz (“little space”). zum Bewegen expresses the purpose “for moving” and, with the supplied translation, “to move around.” zum is the contracted form of zu dem. Bewegen is the capitalized nominalized infinitive of bewegen (“to move”); German nominalized infinitives are written with a capital letter. The pattern zum + nominalized infinitive commonly gives a purpose, as in Zeit zum Lesen (“time for reading”). Together, genug Platz zum Bewegen means “enough space to move around,” and Ist ... da? asks whether that space is available. The complete utterance is therefore: “Is there enough space to move around?”

8. Es gibt genug Platz zum Herumgehen.

   There's enough room to walk around.

   Es gibt

   there is / there are

   genug

   enough

   Platz

   room / space

   zum Herumgehen

   for walking around

   More detail

   Es gibt is the standard German existential construction meaning “there is” or “there are.” Here gibt is the third-person singular present form of geben, but in this fixed construction it does not mean that someone is giving something. The same pattern works with a singular or plural noun: Es gibt einen Park. — “There is a park.” genug means “enough” and usually comes before the noun or adjective it limits. It does not change for the number or gender of the noun: genug Zeit — “enough time”; genug Plätze — “enough seats.” Platz is a masculine noun meaning “space” or “room” in this sense. Its plural is Plätze, with an umlaut: ein Platz can mean “a space” or “a seat,” while context determines the intended sense. In this sentence, the meaning is available room, not a particular seat. zum Herumgehen expresses the purpose or activity “for walking around.” zum is the contraction of zu dem. Herumgehen is the capitalized infinitive used as a noun; the verb is herumgehen, “to walk around.” Compare zum Lesen — “for reading.” Together, Es gibt introduces the available space, genug says that the amount is sufficient, Platz identifies what is available, and zum Herumgehen specifies its use. The whole utterance means: “There’s enough room to walk around.”