Checking a simple order | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Lass uns die Bestellung prüfen.

   Let's check the order.

   Lass uns

   let's

   Bestellung

   order

   prüfen

   check

   More detail

   Lass uns is the informal “let’s” construction. Lass is the singular informal imperative of lassen (“let”); uns means “us” here. It invites the speaker and the listener to do the action that follows. In a formal setting, German uses Lassen Sie uns ... instead. Bestellung means “order,” such as an order for goods or food. It is a feminine noun: die Bestellung; its plural is die Bestellungen. The related verb is bestellen (“to order”), but the noun in this sentence refers to the order itself. prüfen means “to check” or “to inspect.” It is in the infinitive because it follows the Lass uns ... construction. The same infinitive pattern can be reused: Lass uns das prüfen. — “Let’s check that.” Together, Lass uns + die Bestellung + prüfen means “Let’s check the order.” The definite article die identifies the order intended in this context; it does not itself express a number.

2. Die Getränke sind hier.

   The drinks are here.

   Getränke

   drinks

   sind

   are

   hier

   here

   More detail

   Getränke means “drinks” here. It is the plural of das Getränk (“the drink”); the plural has an umlaut and the ending -e: das Getränk → die Getränke. With die, this phrase refers to the drinks identified in the situation or context. Example: Das Getränk ist kalt. — “The drink is cold.” sind is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) used with a plural subject such as die Getränke. A useful pattern is plural subject + sind + .... With a singular subject, sein appears as ist: Das Getränk ist hier. — “The drink is here.” hier is the location adverb “here.” It identifies the location as the relevant place in the speaking situation. Example: Die Getränke sind dort. — “The drinks are there.” dort contrasts with hier by referring to another place. Together, Die Getränke is the plural subject, sind links that subject to a location, and hier supplies the location. The whole utterance means: “The drinks are here.”

3. Haben wir auch das Essen?

   Do we have the food too?

   Haben

   have

   wir

   we

   auch

   too; also

   Essen

   food; meal

   More detail

   Haben is the present-tense form of haben (“to have”) for wir (“we”): ich habe, du hast, wir haben. In this question, it asks whether the food is available or included. Example: Wir haben Zeit. — “We have time.” wir is the first-person plural subject, “we.” It identifies the speaker together with at least one other person. In a German yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Haben wir ...? (“Do we have ...?”). auch means “too” or “also.” Here it adds the food to something already under discussion, giving the intended meaning “the food too.” Its scope is understood from the surrounding sentence, not from the verb alone. Essen is the noun “food” here; depending on context, it can also mean “meal.” It is written with a capital letter because it is a noun. With the definite article, the phrase is das Essen (“the food”). The form das marks the neuter definite article here, and the neuter accusative form is also das, so the phrase looks the same as in the nominative. Example: Das Essen ist warm. — “The food is warm.” Together, Haben wir auch das Essen? forms a yes/no question: Haben comes first, followed by the subject wir, then auch (“too”), and finally das Essen as what is being asked about. The complete meaning is “Do we have the food too?”

4. Es ist in dieser Tüte.

   It's in this bag.

   Es

   it

   ist

   is

   in

   in

   dieser

   this

   Tüte

   bag

   More detail

   Es is the German third-person singular pronoun used here for the translated “it.” Its specific referent is not named in this sentence; the form itself does not identify what the item is. At the beginning of a sentence, it is capitalized. ist is the present-tense, third-person singular form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. In this utterance, ist links “it” with its location. For example, Das Buch ist hier. means “The book is here.” in introduces the location inside something. With a stationary location, German uses the dative after the two-way preposition in; movement into something commonly uses the accusative instead. Compare Es ist in der Tüte. (“It is in the bag.”) with Ich lege es in die Tüte. (“I put it into the bag.”). dieser means “this” here and is the form used with a feminine singular noun in the dative. Its base demonstrative is dies-; forms change with grammatical case and gender, for example diese Tüte (nominative/accusative) but in dieser Tüte (dative). The demonstrative identifies the bag as a particular nearby or otherwise identifiable one; it does not itself state a numeric quantity. Tüte means “bag,” specifically the kind of bag or sack commonly described by this German noun. It is feminine: die Tüte; its plural is Tüten. The noun’s dative singular form is also Tüte, so the case is shown by dieser in dieser Tüte. Together, Es ist says “It is,” and in dieser Tüte supplies the stationary location “in this bag.” The complete utterance therefore means “It’s in this bag.”

5. Ist alles richtig?

   Is everything correct?

   Ist

   is

   alles

   everything

   richtig

   correct

   More detail

   Ist is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for a third-person singular subject. The subject here is alles, so the form is ist, not sind. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first: Ist ...? Compare the reusable statement pattern Alles ist ... (“Everything is ...”) with the question pattern Ist alles ...?. alles means “everything” or “all of it.” It is grammatically neuter singular, which is why it takes ist here. It refers generally to the whole set or situation relevant in context; the sentence itself does not identify individual items. richtig means “correct” or “right.” Here it is a predicate adjective after sein, describing alles; German does not add an adjective ending in this position. A useful related contrast is falsch (“wrong”): Alles ist falsch means “Everything is wrong.” Together, Ist + alles forms a yes/no question, and richtig states the property being checked: “Is everything correct?”

6. Es passt zum Kassenbon.

   It matches the receipt.

   Es

   it

   passt

   matches; fits

   zum

   to the

   Kassenbon

   receipt

   More detail

   Es is the subject pronoun “it” here. Its exact referent is not identified by the sentence itself; the fixed translation establishes that something matches the receipt. In German, es is also used for a neuter singular referent and in some impersonal constructions, so its form alone does not identify a particular object. passt is the present-tense third-person singular form of passen (“to fit; to match”). The ending -t marks this subject form: ich passe, du passt, es passt. In this sentence, passen means that something corresponds to the receipt, rather than that a person physically fits somewhere. Example: Das passt zur Beschreibung. — “That matches the description.” zum is the contraction of zu dem. zu takes the dative, and dem is the dative masculine or neuter singular article. This contraction is common: zu dem Laden becomes zum Laden. Here it introduces what the item matches. Kassenbon is a masculine noun meaning “receipt,” specifically a checkout receipt. Its definite article is der: der Kassenbon; after zu, the masculine dative form is dem Kassenbon, contracted here as zum Kassenbon. Together, Es passt means “It matches,” and zum Kassenbon specifies what it matches: “the receipt.” The complete utterance is therefore “It matches the receipt.”

7. Ich kann die Getränke nehmen.

   I can take the drinks.

   Ich kann

   I can

   Getränke

   drinks

   nehmen

   take

   More detail

   Ich kann combines Ich (“I”) with kann, the first-person singular present form of the modal verb können (“can, be able to”). A modal verb can express ability or permission; here the fixed translation supports “can.” With a modal verb, the other verb normally remains an infinitive and appears at the end: Ich kann ... nehmen. Getränke is the plural of Getränk (“drink, beverage”). In this accusative plural, Getränke has the same form as the nominative plural; the dative plural is Getränken. The definite article die marks the definite plural noun phrase die Getränke (“the drinks”). Example: Ich kaufe Getränke. — “I’m buying drinks.” nehmen is the infinitive “to take.” After kann, it stays in the infinitive rather than becoming a finite form. Without the modal, the first-person present form is Ich nehme (“I take” or “I am taking”). Example: Ich kann den Bus nehmen. — “I can take the bus.” Together, Ich identifies the speaker, kann expresses “can,” die Getränke is the definite object “the drinks,” and nehmen supplies the action “take.” The German sentence therefore means “I can take the drinks.”

8. Ich trage die Tüte mit dem Essen.

   I'll carry the food bag.

   trage

   carry

   Tüte

   bag

   Essen

   food

   More detail

   trage is the first-person singular present form of tragen, “to carry.” The subject is Ich, so the form means “I carry” in the present; in this context, the fixed translation presents it as the intended action, “I’ll carry.” Useful forms are tragen (base form), ich trage (I carry), and du trägst (you carry). The vowel change in trägst belongs to the second-person singular form; it does not mean that trage has a different base verb. Tüte means “bag,” especially a relatively light shopping or carrier bag. In die Tüte, die marks this noun as feminine and accusative here: it is what is being carried. The noun itself is singular; the plural is Tüten. Essen means “food” in this sentence. With mit, German uses the dative, so the phrase is mit dem Essen: “with the food.” Here dem belongs to the neuter noun Essen; it is not the form of Essen that changes. Essen can also refer to a meal in other contexts, but the fixed translation supports the meaning “food” here. Together, Ich trage (“I’ll carry”), die Tüte (“the bag”), and mit dem Essen (“with the food”) produce: “I’ll carry the food bag.” More literally, the sentence says that the speaker will carry the bag that contains or is associated with the food. The reusable pattern is Ich trage [accusative object] mit [dative item], for example: Ich trage die Tasche mit dem Buch. — “I’ll carry the bag with the book.”