Finding the Correct Platform | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Hast du gerade die Durchsage gehört?

   Did you hear the announcement just now?

   Hast du

   have you

   gerade

   just now

   die Durchsage

   the announcement

   gehört

   heard

   More detail

   Hast du puts the conjugated auxiliary haben before the subject du, which is the usual word order for a yes/no question in German. hast is the second-person singular present form of haben: ich habe, du hast. Here, haben helps build the perfect tense with the participle at the end. Example: Hast du Zeit? — “Do you have time?” gerade means “just now” in this sentence. It places the hearing very recently in time. Its meaning here is temporal; in other contexts, gerade can have other uses, such as “straight,” so the surrounding sentence determines the sense. die Durchsage is “the announcement,” especially an announcement made publicly or over a loudspeaker. Durchsage is a feminine noun; its plural is Durchsagen. In this sentence, die marks the definite accusative singular form because the announcement is the direct object of hören. Example: Ich höre eine Durchsage. — “I hear an announcement.” gehört is the past participle of hören, “to hear.” The form chain is hören → gehört. With hast, it forms the perfect: du hast gehört, “you have heard” or, in this recent-question context, naturally “did you hear.” Example: Wir haben die Nachricht gehört. — “We heard the news.” Together, Hast du ... gehört? forms a yes/no question in the perfect tense: the auxiliary hast comes first, the subject is du, the object is die Durchsage, and the participle gehört comes at the end. Gerade specifies that the hearing happened just now. The complete meaning is: “Did you hear the announcement just now?”

2. Der Zug fährt von einem anderen Gleis ab.

   The train is leaving from a different platform.

   Zug

   train

   fährt … ab

   is leaving; departs

   von

   from

   anderen

   different; other

   Gleis

   track; platform

   More detail

   Zug means “train” here. Its base form is der Zug; the plural is die Züge. It is a masculine noun, and here it is the singular subject in a definite, nominative noun phrase, so the article is der. Example: Der Zug kommt. — “The train is coming.” fährt ... ab comes from the separable verb abfahren, “to depart” or “to leave.” fährt is the present-tense third-person singular form of fahren, agreeing with der Zug; ab moves to the end of the clause. Example: Der Zug fährt ab. — “The train departs.” Here, the two parts together express that the train is leaving. von means “from” and introduces the place of departure here. It takes the dative case in this phrase. Example: Der Bus fährt von diesem Bahnhof ab. — “The bus leaves from this station.” anderen means “different” or “other” here. It is the dative singular neuter form of the attributive adjective ander-, used with Gleis. In einem anderen Gleis, the dative is required by von, and the indefinite article plus the neuter noun determine the adjective ending -en. Example: Wir nehmen einen anderen Weg. — “We are taking a different route.” Gleis means “track”; in this station context, it corresponds to “platform.” Its base form is das Gleis, and its plural is die Gleise. In von einem ... Gleis, einem is the dative singular neuter form of the indefinite article, matching the neuter noun after the dative preposition von. The chunks combine as Der Zug (“the train”) + fährt ... ab (“is leaving/departs”) + von einem anderen Gleis (“from a different platform”). Together, the utterance means: “The train is leaving from a different platform.”

3. Auf der Anzeige steht, dass wir stattdessen das andere Gleis nehmen sollen.

   The board says we should use the other platform instead.

   Anzeige

   display board

   steht

   says; is displayed

   stattdessen

   instead

   andere

   other

   Gleis

   platform; track

   nehmen

   take; use

   sollen

   should; be supposed to

   More detail

   Anzeige means a display or information board. In this sentence, it is the board conveying the travel information. German nouns are capitalized; die Anzeige is feminine. Example: Die Anzeige ist kaputt. — “The display is broken.” steht is the third-person singular present form of stehen (“to stand”). With written information, German uses stehen for what is displayed or stated in a notice: Auf dem Schild steht ... — “The sign says ...” Here, steht agrees with the singular subject die Anzeige. stattdessen means “instead” and marks the alternative that should be used. It is an adverb and does not change form. Example: Wir nehmen den Bus stattdessen. — “We’ll take the bus instead.” andere is an inflected form of ander-, meaning “other” or “different.” In das andere Gleis, the neuter singular noun Gleis is preceded by the definite article das, so the adjective has the ending -e. Compare ein anderes Gleis — “a different platform/track,” where the adjective ending changes after ein. Gleis means “platform” in the intended railway context, and it can also mean “track” in other contexts. Its base form is the singular noun das Gleis; the plural is die Gleise. In the phrase das andere Gleis, it is the accusative object of nehmen. nehmen is the infinitive “to take.” In a transport context, German commonly uses it for choosing or using a means of transport or route: Wir nehmen den Zug. — “We’re taking the train.” Here it follows the modal verb sollen, so it remains in the infinitive. sollen is the first-person plural present form of the modal verb sollen. With wir, it expresses that “we” are supposed to do something or that the information says we should do it. In the subordinate clause introduced by dass, the finite modal sollen goes to the end, while the other verb stays in the infinitive immediately before it: dass wir ... nehmen sollen — “that we should ... take/use.” The sentence begins with Auf der Anzeige, literally “on the display board.” The clause steht, dass ... says what is written or shown there. Inside the dass clause, wir is the subject, das andere Gleis is the object of nehmen, and stattdessen marks it as the alternative. Together, dass wir stattdessen das andere Gleis nehmen sollen means “that we should use the other platform instead.” Thus the whole utterance means: “The board says we should use the other platform instead.”

4. Dann sollten wir jetzt den Schildern folgen.

   Then we should follow the signs now.

   Dann

   then

   sollten wir

   we should

   jetzt

   now

   Schildern

   signs

   folgen

   follow

   More detail

   Dann means “then” and places the suggested action after something already established. Example: Dann gehen wir. — “Then we’ll go.” sollten wir expresses “we should.” sollten is the form of the modal verb sollen used with wir; in this sentence it is Konjunktiv II, giving a recommendation rather than a firm command. Its shape is also identical to the simple-past form, so the context determines the reading here. Compare Wir sollen warten. — “We are supposed to wait” with Wir sollten warten. — “We should wait.” The modal is followed by an infinitive at the end of the clause. jetzt means “now” and locates the action in the present situation. Example: Wir sollten jetzt gehen. — “We should go now.” Schildern is the plural of das Schild, “the sign.” With folgen, the sign phrase is in the dative: den Schildern. In the dative plural, the definite article is den, and the noun normally adds -n when it does not already end in -n. folgen means “to follow.” This verb takes a dative object in German: Ich folge dem Schild. — “I follow the sign.” After the modal sollten, it remains in the infinitive form folgen. Together, Dann sollten wir jetzt den Schildern folgen. means “Then we should follow the signs now.” The structure is Dann + sollten wir + jetzt + dative phrase den Schildern + infinitive folgen.

5. Haben wir genug Zeit, um dorthin zu kommen?

   Do we have enough time to get there?

   Haben wir

   do we have

   genug

   enough

   Zeit

   time

   dorthin

   there; to that place

   um … zu kommen

   in order to come

   More detail

   Haben wir begins a yes/no question. haben is the base form “to have”; here it is the first-person plural form, used with wir (“we”). German commonly places the finite verb before the subject in this kind of question. Compare the statement Wir haben genug Zeit. (“We have enough time.”) with the question Haben wir genug Zeit? (“Do we have enough time?”). genug means “enough” and indicates that the amount meets the relevant need. It can be used with a noun, as in genug Zeit (“enough time”), or independently, as in Das ist genug. (“That is enough.”) It does not itself state a precise quantity. Zeit is the noun “time.” Its base form is die Zeit, so it is feminine in German; the form shown here is the ordinary singular form. genug Zeit is a reusable pattern for asking or stating whether there is sufficient time: Wir haben genug Zeit. (“We have enough time.”) dorthin is a direction word meaning “there” or “to that place.” Unlike a word for being located there, it presents the destination or direction. The particular place is understood from the situation; the supplied sentence does not identify it more specifically. um ... zu kommen is a purpose construction meaning “in order to get there” in this sentence. kommen is the infinitive, with the base meaning “to come”; in context, the fixed translation naturally renders it as “get there” because dorthin supplies the destination. The pattern um + purpose phrase + zu + infinitive expresses what an action is for. Here, the purpose is reaching that place: Wir fahren früh los, um pünktlich anzukommen. (“We leave early in order to arrive on time.”) Together, Haben wir genug Zeit asks whether the available time is sufficient. um dorthin zu kommen specifies what that time must be sufficient for: reaching the understood destination. The complete utterance therefore means “Do we have enough time to get there?”

6. Ja, wenn wir jetzt losgehen.

   We do if we leave now.

   Ja

   yes

   wenn wir

   if we

   jetzt

   now

   losgehen

   leave; set off

   More detail

   Ja means “yes” here. It is a standalone affirmative response and can be placed before a statement: Ja, .... wenn wir introduces a condition: wenn means “if/when,” and wir is the first-person plural pronoun “we.” In the fixed sentence, the intended reading is conditional: “if we …”. A clause beginning with wenn is a subordinate clause, so its finite verb comes at the end. For example: Wenn wir Zeit haben, gehen wir. — “If we have time, we’ll go.” jetzt means “now,” marking the present time relevant to the condition. It can also occur in a main clause: Wir gehen jetzt. — “We are going now.” losgehen means “to set off” or “to leave.” Its base form is the separable verb losgehen, built from los and gehen; the meaning is more specific than gehen (“go”), because it emphasizes starting a journey or movement. In a main clause, the parts separate: Wir gehen jetzt los. — “We are setting off now.” After wenn, they stay together at the end of the subordinate clause: wenn wir jetzt losgehen. The form losgehen is both the infinitive and the present-tense form used with wir here; the surrounding subject shows the person and number. Together, Ja, wenn wir jetzt losgehen. means “Yes, if we leave/set off now.” Ja affirms the response, and wenn wir jetzt losgehen states the condition under which the implied situation holds.

7. Ich halte meine Fahrkarte bereit.

   I'll keep my ticket ready.

   Ich

   I

   halte

   keep

   meine

   my

   Fahrkarte

   ticket

   bereit

   ready

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here: the speaker is the person keeping the ticket ready. German personal pronouns change with their role; ich is the first-person singular subject form. halte is the first-person singular present form of halten (“to hold” or “to keep”). In this sentence, halten ... bereit is the reusable pattern “keep something ready,” rather than simply “hold” something. The subject is ich, so the verb has the ending in halte: ich halte. Example: Ich halte die Tür offen. — “I keep the door open.” meine means “my” and belongs to the speaker. It agrees with the noun it accompanies, not with the speaker: Fahrkarte is feminine and is the direct object here, so the form is meine. For comparison, mein Ticket uses the form mein with a neuter noun in the same basic object pattern. The possessive form expresses ownership or association; it does not itself state how many tickets there are. Fahrkarte means “ticket,” specifically a travel ticket. It is a feminine noun, so its dictionary form is written with a capital letter: die Fahrkarte. The compound combines Fahr- (“travel/ride”) with Karte (“card” or “ticket”); learners should use the established word Fahrkarte rather than treat the parts as a freely interchangeable phrase. bereit means “ready” or “prepared.” In etwas bereit halten, it describes the state in which the object is being kept. It is not the verb’s base form: the verb is halten, while bereit is an adjective used here as part of the construction. Example: Ich bin bereit. — “I am ready.” Together, Ich halte gives “I keep,” meine Fahrkarte gives “my ticket” as the object, and bereit specifies its state. The full utterance therefore means “I’ll keep my ticket ready.” German uses the present form halte here; the English translation uses “I’ll” to express the intended future-oriented action.

8. Halt sie griffbereit; das Personal kontrolliert sie vielleicht, bevor wir einsteigen.

   Keep it handy; staff may check it before we board.

   Halt

   keep

   sie

   it

   griffbereit

   handy; within reach

   Personal

   staff

   kontrolliert

   checks

   vielleicht

   perhaps

   bevor

   before

   wir

   we

   einsteigen

   board; get on

   More detail

   Halt is the informal singular imperative of halten (“to keep/hold”). It addresses one person and gives that person a request or instruction. The related present-tense form is du hältst, but the imperative is Halt!. sie means “it” here as the accusative object of halten, referring to the item understood from the context. In German, this form can also represent other grammatical possibilities in other contexts, but the fixed translation and context support the singular item reading here. Example: Halt es fest. — “Hold it firmly.” griffbereit means “within reach” or “ready to hand.” The reusable pattern is etwas griffbereit halten: keep something where it can be reached easily. It is an adjective and does not take a different form in this predicate-like use. Example: Ich halte mein Handy griffbereit. — “I keep my phone within reach.” Personal means “staff” or “personnel.” It is a collective noun referring to staff as a group; in this sentence it is the singular subject of kontrolliert. Example: Das Personal hilft den Gästen. — “The staff helps the guests.” kontrolliert is the third-person singular present form of kontrollieren (“to check” or “inspect”). The subject is das Personal, so the verb has the singular form. In this sentence, vielleicht makes the checking possible rather than certain. Example: Die Mitarbeiterin kontrolliert die Fahrkarte. — “The employee checks the ticket.” vielleicht means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It signals uncertainty about the checking; it is not itself a verb or a separate future tense marker. Example: Vielleicht kommt er später. — “Perhaps he will come later.” bevor introduces a subordinate clause meaning “before.” The clause bevor wir einsteigen states the time relation: the possible checking comes before the boarding. German places the finite verb at the end of this subordinate clause. wir is the first-person plural pronoun “we.” It is the subject of einsteigen, identifying the group that boards. Example: Wir warten hier. — “We are waiting here.” einsteigen means “to board” or “to get on,” especially a vehicle. It is a separable verb: in a main clause, wir steigen ein; after bevor, the infinitive remains together at the end: bevor wir einsteigen. Example: Wir steigen in den Zug ein. — “We get on the train.” Together, Halt sie griffbereit means “Keep it within reach,” with the imperative Halt directing one person to keep the object sie in an accessible position. Das Personal kontrolliert sie vielleicht means “Staff may check it,” with vielleicht expressing possibility. Finally, bevor wir einsteigen adds “before we board.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Keep it handy; staff may check it before we board.”