Choosing a Comfortable Chair | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Welchen Stuhl sollen wir wählen?

   Which chair should we choose?

   Welchen

   which

   Stuhl

   chair

   sollen wir

   should we

   wählen

   choose

   More detail

   Welchen means “which” here and is the form used with the masculine singular accusative noun Stuhl. The choice is not determined by singularity alone: Stuhl is masculine, and its role is the object of wählen. Compare welcher for masculine nominative, welche for feminine or plural, and welches for neuter. Example: Welchen Film sehen wir? — “Which film are we watching?” Stuhl means “chair.” Its base form is der Stuhl; the plural is die Stühle. Because the sentence asks about choosing one chair as the object, the noun appears here in the accusative: den Stuhl. Sollen wir forms the question pattern “should we …?” sollen is the modal verb sollen, and wir is the first-person plural subject, “we.” In a main-clause question, the conjugated modal comes before the subject: Sollen wir …? The other verb remains in the infinitive at the end. Sollen can express a suggestion or ask about what is advisable; here it asks which action the speakers should take together. wählen means “choose” or “select.” It is the infinitive used after the modal sollen, so it stays unchanged rather than carrying the tense or person marking. Example: Wir sollen einen Stuhl wählen. — “We should choose a chair.” Together, Welchen Stuhl asks which chair is meant, while sollen wir wählen asks what the speakers should choose. The complete utterance is: “Which chair should we choose?”

2. Dieser hier sieht bequem aus.

   This one looks comfortable.

   Dieser hier

   this one here

   sieht … aus

   looks / seems

   bequem

   comfortable

   More detail

   Dieser hier means “this one here.” In this context, the preceding question about choosing a chair and the following reference to the other chair support understanding it as the chair being indicated. Dieser is the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative dieser; other forms include diese for feminine singular or plural and dieses for neuter singular. Hier adds the pointing/location idea “here.” sieht ... aus comes from the separable verb aussehen, “to look” or “to seem” based on appearance. The form sieht is present tense, third-person singular, and aus moves to the end of the clause: Der Stuhl sieht bequem aus. — “The chair looks comfortable.” The split is why the two parts are separated around the adjective here. Bequem means “comfortable” in this sentence. As a predicate adjective after aussehen, it has no ending: sieht bequem aus. Its comparison is bequemer — “more comfortable” — and am bequemsten — “most comfortable.” Example: Dieser Sessel ist bequemer. — “This armchair is more comfortable.” Together, Dieser hier identifies the indicated option, and sieht bequem aus says that it appears comfortable. The complete meaning is: “This one looks comfortable.”

3. Der andere Stuhl sieht zu klein aus.

   The other chair seems too small.

   andere

   other

   Stuhl

   chair

   sieht … aus

   seems; looks

   zu klein

   too small

   More detail

   andere means “other” here and describes Stuhl. It is the inflected form of ander-; with the masculine singular nominative noun phrase der andere Stuhl, the ending is -e. The form changes with the noun phrase’s grammatical conditions, so do not treat andere as an unchanging word. Stuhl means “chair.” Its base form is der Stuhl, a masculine noun; here it is singular and nominative because it is the subject. Example: Der Stuhl ist alt. — “The chair is old.” sieht ... aus is the split form of aussehen, “to look” or “to seem.” In this sentence, sieht is the third-person singular present form, used with der Stuhl, while the separable prefix aus appears at the end of the clause. Compare the infinitive aussehen with Der Stuhl sieht bequem aus. — “The chair looks comfortable.” This is the same reusable pattern: etwas sieht + adjective + aus. zu klein means “too small.” klein is the adjective “small,” and zu makes the evaluation excessive for the relevant purpose: the chair is smaller than is suitable. This differs from klein genug, “small enough,” which expresses sufficient suitability rather than excess. Together, Der andere Stuhl means “the other chair,” sieht ... aus means “seems/looks,” and zu klein describes the result of that impression. The complete utterance is therefore: “The other chair seems too small.”

4. Dann sollte dieser hier passen.

   Then this one should work.

   Dann

   then

   sollte

   should

   dieser hier

   this one here

   passen

   fit; work

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here: it places this assessment after the earlier situation or decision. It is an adverb and can introduce a consequence or the next step. Example: Dann gehen wir. — “Then we’ll go.” sollte is the form of sollen used here for “should.” In this use, it presents the speaker’s expectation or tentative assessment rather than a certainty: “should work.” The same written form can also be the past-tense form of sollen in another context, so its meaning comes from the sentence. A useful contrast is soll — “is supposed to / should” — versus sollte — “should” with a more tentative or hypothetical force here. dieser hier means “this one here.” dieser is a masculine singular nominative demonstrative pronoun in this sentence; hier adds the idea of identification by location or pointing. The context supports understanding it as the item currently being considered, contrasted with the other chair mentioned previously. The demonstrative agrees with the understood masculine singular referent; dieses and diese are other forms used with different grammatical genders or number. Example: Dieser hier ist besser. — “This one here is better.” passen is the infinitive of passen, meaning “to fit,” “to suit,” or, as in this translation, “to work.” With a modal verb such as sollen, the lexical verb remains in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause. Here, the selected item is expected to be suitable; the sentence does not necessarily assert physical size alone. Example: Der Plan sollte passen. — “The plan should work.” Together, Dann sets the sequence, dieser hier identifies the selected item, sollte expresses a tentative expectation, and passen states that the item is suitable. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then this one should work.”

5. Was denkst du über die leuchtende Farbe?

   What do you think of the bright color?

   Was

   what

   denkst

   think

   über

   about; of

   leuchtende

   bright; vivid

   Farbe

   color

   More detail

   Was asks for the thing or content being considered. In the reusable question pattern Was denkst du über ...?, it means “what,” not “which.” Example: Was denkst du über den Plan? — “What do you think about the plan?” denkst is the present-tense second-person singular form of denken (“to think”): ich denke, du denkst. The ending -st marks du here. denken can introduce an opinion with über followed by an accusative noun: Du denkst über den Plan nach has a different structure and means that you are considering the plan, whereas Du denkst über den Plan in this question pattern asks for your opinion about it. über means “about” or “of” in this opinion pattern and takes the accusative: über den Plan, über die Farbe. Its meaning here is not spatial “over.” leuchtende describes Farbe as bright or vivid. Its base form is the adjective leuchtend, related to leuchten (“to shine”). In die leuchtende Farbe, the adjective has the ending -e because it is attributive, follows the definite article die, and agrees with the feminine accusative singular noun Farbe. Example: Ich mag eine leuchtende Farbe. — “I like a bright color.” Farbe means “color.” Its base noun form is die Farbe; its plural is die Farben. Here, die Farbe is the accusative object of über, and the adjective identifies it as bright or vivid. Together, Was denkst du über die leuchtende Farbe? means “What do you think of the bright color?” The structure is Was denkst du über [noun phrase]?, a reusable way to ask someone’s opinion about something.

6. So kann man den Stuhl leicht sehen.

   It makes the chair easy to spot.

   So

   so; in this way

   kann man

   one can

   Stuhl

   chair

   leicht

   easily

   sehen

   see

   More detail

   So means “in this way” here. It points to the way established by the surrounding context, rather than introducing a new object. A reusable pattern is So ... = “This way ...” or “That makes ...” when the result is described afterward. kann man contains the modal verb können and the general-person pronoun man. In this sentence, kann is the present-tense third-person singular form of können, selected because man is grammatically singular. man means “one” or “people in general”; it does not identify a particular person. With a modal verb, the other verb normally goes to the end in the infinitive: Man kann den Stuhl sehen. = “One can see the chair.” den Stuhl means “the chair.” Stuhl is a masculine noun, and den is its definite article in the accusative case. The accusative marks Stuhl as the object of sehen; the masculine nominative article would be der: der Stuhl / den Stuhl. The article identifies a specific chair in this context, consistent with the fixed translation. leicht means “easily” in this sentence and describes how the seeing happens. The same form can also be the adjective “easy,” as in Der Stuhl ist leicht zu sehen. = “The chair is easy to see.” Here it functions adverbially with sehen, so the natural English result is “easy to spot” or “easily see.” sehen is the infinitive “to see.” Its base form is sehen; after the modal kann, German uses this infinitive rather than a finite form. The pattern kann ... sehen means “can see.” Together, So kann man den Stuhl leicht sehen. means “It makes the chair easy to spot.” More literally, it says that in this way one can see the chair easily. The sentence presents the described method or situation as making the chair readily visible, without changing who the general man refers to.

7. Nehmen wir diesen Stuhl.

   Let's choose this chair.

   Nehmen wir

   let’s choose

   diesen

   this

   Stuhl

   chair

   More detail

   Nehmen wir combines nehmen (“take” or, here, “choose”) with wir (“we”). In this verb-first pattern, it is the first-person plural imperative/hortative: a suggestion that includes the speaker, equivalent to “let’s …”. It is not simply the ordinary present-tense word order for wir; compare the plain statement Wir nehmen ... (“We take/choose ...”). Example: Nehmen wir den Bus. — “Let’s take the bus.” diesen means “this” and identifies a nearby or contextually selected item. Its form is the masculine accusative singular form, required here because it modifies the direct object Stuhl. The demonstrative changes with the modified noun’s grammatical gender, number, and case: for example, diese Lampe is “this lamp” (feminine accusative singular), while dieses Buch is “this book” (neuter accusative singular). These examples illustrate the pattern; they are not additional facts about the supplied conversation. Stuhl is the noun “chair.” Its dictionary form is the singular nominative form der Stuhl; after diesen, it is the singular accusative object Stuhl, with no visible noun-ending change. Its plural is Stühle (“chairs”). Example: Der Stuhl ist frei. — “The chair is free.” Together, Nehmen wir diesen Stuhl. forms a suggestion addressed to a group including the speaker: “Let’s choose this chair.” Nehmen wir supplies the joint-suggestion pattern, while diesen Stuhl names the masculine singular chair being chosen.

8. Ich stelle ihn hierher.

   I will move it over here.

   Ich

   I

   stelle

   move/place

   ihn

   it

   hierher

   over here

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out the action. The corresponding object form is mich, as in Er sieht mich (“He sees me”); Ich is the subject form used here. stelle is the first-person singular present form of stellen, “to put/place” or, with a movable object, “to move and put.” The form chain is stellen → ich stelle (“I put/place”). German present tense can also express a planned or imminent action, so the fixed translation uses “I will move.” Do not confuse stellen with stehen: stellen describes putting something somewhere, while stehen describes something being in a standing position. Example: Ich stelle den Stuhl hierher. — “I’ll move the chair over here.” ihn means “him” or “it” for a masculine singular referent in the object role. Here, the preceding context identifies the referent as diesen Stuhl (“this chair”), so ihn refers to that chair. Its form reflects masculine singular accusative use; the related subject form is er (“he/it”), as in Er steht hier (“It is standing here”). The pronoun itself does not express the movement; that meaning comes from stelle. hierher means “to here” or “over here,” emphasizing movement toward the speaker’s location or the relevant here-point. It contrasts with hier, “here,” which normally indicates location without the same directional meaning. Example: Komm hierher! — “Come over here!” Together, Ich stelle ihn hierher has the pattern subject + movement/placement verb + object + destination: “I will move it over here.” The speaker is the mover, the chair is the object being moved, and hierher gives the destination. In this context, the German present form stelle conveys the intended future action shown by the fixed translation.