Rescheduling an appointment | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich muss meinen Termin auf einen anderen Tag verschieben.

   I need to move my appointment to another day.

   Ich muss

   I need to / I must

   Termin

   appointment

   anderen

   another / different

   Tag

   day

   verschieben

   move / reschedule

   More detail

   Ich muss expresses necessity: “I need to” or “I must.” muss is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb müssen. With a modal verb, the other verb stays in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause: Ich muss arbeiten. — “I need to work.” Termin means an appointment or scheduled time. Its base form is the masculine noun der Termin; here meinen Termin is the accusative singular object of the action. The possessive determiner meinen has the masculine accusative singular form in this phrase: Ich verschiebe meinen Termin. — “I am rescheduling my appointment.” anderen means “another” or “different” here. It is the inflected attributive form of the adjective ander- before the masculine noun Tag. In einen anderen Tag, the ending reflects the noun phrase’s grammatical form. Compare ein anderer Tag — “another day” as a subject, and einen anderen Tag — “another day” as an accusative phrase. Tag means “day.” It is the masculine noun der Tag, with plural die Tage. In auf einen anderen Tag, it is masculine accusative singular. The preposition auf takes the accusative here because the phrase presents a change to a new date or destination, rather than a fixed location. verschieben means “to move,” and with an appointment it naturally means “to reschedule” or “to postpone.” It is the infinitive used after muss; its first-person present form is ich verschiebe. Example: Wir verschieben den Termin. — “We are rescheduling the appointment.” Together, Ich muss meinen Termin identifies the necessity involving the speaker’s appointment, while auf einen anderen Tag verschieben specifies moving it to a different day. The full utterance means, “I need to move my appointment to another day.”

2. Ich kann den Kalender für Sie prüfen.

   I can check the calendar for you.

   Ich kann

   I can

   Kalender

   calendar

   für Sie

   for you

   prüfen

   check

   More detail

   Ich kann introduces the speaker’s ability or possibility: “I can.” können is the base form; kann is its present-tense form for ich. With a modal verb such as kann, the other verb stays in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause. Kalender means “calendar.” Its citation form is der Kalender; here, den Kalender is the direct object. The masculine article changes from der to den in the accusative case. This article change marks the calendar as the thing being checked. für Sie means “for you.” für is a preposition that takes the accusative case. Capitalized Sie is the formal second-person pronoun; it has the same form for one or more people, while the capitalization distinguishes it from the ordinary plural pronoun sie in writing. prüfen means “to check” or “to examine.” It is the infinitive of the regular verb. In this sentence, it follows the modal kann and remains in the infinitive: Ich kann ... prüfen = “I can check ...”. Together, Ich kann den Kalender für Sie prüfen means “I can check the calendar for you.” The structure is reusable as Ich kann [object] für Sie [infinitive]: “I can [verb] [something] for you.”

3. Gibt es später in dieser Woche noch einen Termin?

   Is there anything later this week?

   Gibt es

   is there

   später

   later

   dieser

   this

   Woche

   week

   noch

   still; another

   Termin

   appointment

   More detail

   Gibt es is the reusable German pattern for asking whether something exists or is available: Gibt es ...? = “Is there ...?” The form gibt is the present-tense third-person singular form of geben (“to give”), but in es gibt the whole expression means “there is/are.” The question pattern stays Gibt es, even when the thing being asked about is plural. später means “later” here. It is the comparative form of spät (“late”): spät → später → am spätesten (“late” → “later” → “latest”). In this sentence it places the possible appointment at a later time. dieser belongs to the phrase in dieser Woche, “this week.” Woche is feminine, and after in for a time period without movement, the phrase uses the dative case: dieser Woche. The demonstrative dieser changes according to the noun’s gender, number, and case; here it is feminine singular dative. Woche means “week.” A useful time phrase is diese Woche (“this week”) when it is not governed by a preposition, but in dieser Woche uses the dative form shown here. noch adds the idea of something further or additional in this question: “still” or “another.” In noch einen Termin, it asks whether there is an additional appointment available, without itself stating how many appointments there are. Termin means “appointment” or “scheduled time.” It is a masculine noun. With es gibt, the noun phrase is in the accusative case, so the indefinite article is einen: es gibt einen Termin = “there is an appointment.” Together, Gibt es introduces an existence or availability question; später in dieser Woche specifies the time; and noch einen Termin asks about an additional appointment. The whole utterance means: “Is there another appointment later this week?” The fixed translation “Is there anything later this week?” conveys the same availability question, while the German wording explicitly names an appointment.

4. Später in dieser Woche gibt es am Nachmittag einen freien Termin.

   There is an afternoon opening later this week.

   Später

   later

   dieser

   this

   Woche

   week

   gibt es

   there is

   Nachmittag

   afternoon

   freien

   available

   Termin

   appointment or opening

   More detail

   Später means “later” here and is the comparative form of spät (“late”). It is used as a time adverb: spät = late, später = later. Example: Ich komme später. — “I’ll come later.” dieser appears in dieser Woche. The phrase means “this week”; dieser is the feminine dative form of dieser (“this”), because in takes the dative when it expresses a time period here. The noun is Woche, whose gender is feminine: die Woche; after in, the form is dieser Woche. Woche means “week.” Its common singular forms include die Woche (nominative/accusative) and der Woche (dative/genitive). Example: Nächste Woche habe ich Zeit. — “I have time next week.” gibt es is the reusable German existential construction “there is/are.” It uses the third-person singular form gibt of geben together with impersonal es; the form does not change to agree with the thing introduced after it. Example: Hier gibt es Kaffee. — “There is coffee here.” Nachmittag means “afternoon.” In am Nachmittag, am is the contraction of an dem, and the dative marks the time period: “in the afternoon.” Example: Am Nachmittag arbeite ich. — “I work in the afternoon.” freien means “available” or “free” in this context. It is the inflected form of the adjective frei (“free, available”). In einen freien Termin, the adjective has the ending -en because it follows the masculine accusative article einen; the adjective agrees with Termin in case, number, and gender. Example: Wir suchen einen freien Platz. — “We are looking for an available seat.” Termin means an appointment or a scheduled time slot. In this sentence, the fixed translation selects the meaning “opening,” namely an available appointment slot. It is a masculine noun: der Termin; after einen, it is accusative: einen Termin. Example: Ich habe morgen einen Termin. — “I have an appointment tomorrow.” Together, später in dieser Woche gives the time “later this week.” gibt es introduces the existence of something, and am Nachmittag specifies when it is available. einen freien Termin means “an available appointment slot.” The complete utterance therefore means: “There is an afternoon opening later this week.”

5. Das passt für mich.

   That works for me.

   Das

   That

   passt

   works

   für mich

   for me

   More detail

   Das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It points to an option or situation already established in the conversation; in this context, it can refer to the proposed appointment or arrangement. Its form is the neuter singular demonstrative, but the pronoun’s grammatical form does not by itself identify the exact real-world referent. passt comes from passen, “to suit” or “to work.” It is the present-tense third-person singular form: passen → er/sie/es passt. The subject is Das, so the verb is singular. In this use, passen describes suitability, not physical fitting. For example: Der Termin passt. — “The appointment works.” für mich means “for me.” für is a preposition that takes the accusative case; mich is the accusative form of the first-person pronoun ich. Compare ich — “I” as subject, but für mich — “for me” after für. Together, Das passt für mich. literally presents the referenced option as suiting the speaker, producing the natural meaning “That works for me.” The sentence is a straightforward way to accept or approve a suggested arrangement.

6. Ich kann an diesem Nachmittag kommen.

   I can come that afternoon.

   Ich kann

   I can

   diesem

   that

   Nachmittag

   afternoon

   kommen

   come

   More detail

   Ich kann means “I can” here: kann is the first-person singular present form of können (“to be able to, can”). With a modal verb such as können, the other verb stays in the infinitive and normally goes to the end of the clause. For example: Ich kann warten. — “I can wait.” diesem means “that” here. It is a form of the demonstrative determiner dieser and is in the dative singular masculine form. The dative form is required by the time expression an diesem Nachmittag; Nachmittag is masculine, so the determiner is diesem. The form itself does not identify a particular referent beyond the context; here the fixed translation supports “that afternoon.” Nachmittag means “afternoon.” It is a masculine noun: der Nachmittag. In the expression an diesem Nachmittag, the preposition an introduces a time expression and uses the dative here, giving the meaning “that afternoon.” Example: Am Nachmittag arbeite ich. — “In the afternoon I work.” kommen means “come.” It is the infinitive of kommen; the first-person form is ich komme. After kann, the infinitive appears without zu: Ich kann kommen. — “I can come.” Together, Ich kann expresses ability or availability, an diesem Nachmittag specifies the time, and kommen states the action. The whole utterance means: “I can come that afternoon.”

7. Ich aktualisiere den Termin.

   I will update the appointment.

   Ich

   I

   aktualisiere

   update

   Termin

   appointment

   More detail

   Ich means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It is used for the person speaking. Example: Ich komme morgen. — “I am coming tomorrow.” aktualisiere is the first-person singular present form of aktualisieren (“to update”). The ending -e marks the ich form: ich aktualisiere. German present tense can also refer to a planned or expected future action, so the fixed translation uses “I will update.” Example: Ich aktualisiere die Datei. — “I will update the file.” Termin means “appointment” here. Its base form is the masculine noun der Termin; after the definite article den, it is in the accusative form required for the direct object. The noun itself has no visible ending change in this form: der Termin → den Termin. Example: Ich verschiebe den Termin. — “I am postponing the appointment.” The pattern is Ich + first-person verb form + den + masculine direct object: “I will update the appointment.” den Termin is what is being updated, and the present-tense verb form gives the intended future-oriented meaning in this utterance.

8. Soll ich die gleichen Unterlagen mitbringen?

   Should I bring the same documents?

   Soll ich

   Should I …?

   die gleichen

   the same

   Unterlagen

   documents

   mitbringen

   bring along

   More detail

   Soll ich introduces a yes/no question about whether the speaker should do something. soll is the form of sollen for ich in this question pattern: Soll ich ...? = “Should I ...?” The modal verb is in position 1, the subject ich follows it, and the other verb stays at the end. die gleichen means “the same” here. gleich is the adjective; gleichen is its inflected form after the definite article die and before the plural noun. Compare der gleiche, die gleiche, and die gleichen with different noun forms. Example: Wir nehmen die gleichen Busse. — “We take the same buses.” Unterlagen is the plural of Unterlage, referring here to documents or papers. The singular is eine Unterlage; the plural adds -n: Unterlage → Unterlagen. Example: Die Unterlagen sind vollständig. — “The documents are complete.” mitbringen is a separable verb meaning “to bring along.” Its base form is mitbringen. With a modal verb, it remains an infinitive at the end: Soll ich die Unterlagen mitbringen? In a clause without a modal, the separable prefix moves to the end: Ich bringe die Unterlagen mit. — “I bring the documents along.” Together, Soll ich asks about the speaker’s recommended or expected action, die gleichen Unterlagen identifies the documents as the same ones, and mitbringen supplies the action. The whole utterance means: “Should I bring the same documents?”

9. Bitte bringen Sie Ihre Karte und das ausgefüllte Formular mit.

   Please bring your card and the completed form.

   Bitte

   please

   bringen … mit

   bring along

   Sie

   you (formal)

   Ihre

   your (formal)

   Karte

   card

   ausgefüllte

   completed

   Formular

   form

   More detail

   Bitte makes the request polite. It can stand at the beginning of a request without changing the requested action. bringen ... mit is the separable verb mitbringen, meaning “to bring along.” In a main-clause request with formal Sie, the finite part appears as bringen near the subject and the particle mit appears at the end: Bringen Sie das mit. — “Bring that along.” Do not treat mit here as an independent verb; together with bringen it forms mitbringen. Sie is the formal second-person pronoun, used for one or more people. It is capitalized in this use. The wording bringen Sie is a formal imperative/request pattern; the verb form is bringen, not an infinitive added after another auxiliary. Ihre means “your” when addressing someone formally. It is a possessive determiner, and here it modifies Karte. The ending -e fits the feminine singular noun phrase Ihre Karte in this context; Ihre can also have other endings with other noun genders, numbers, or cases. For example, Ihr Formular means “your form,” while Ihre Formulare means “your forms.” Karte is a feminine noun: die Karte, “the card”; its plural is die Karten. In this utterance, Ihre Karte is one of the things the listener is asked to bring. Karte can refer to different kinds of cards in other contexts, but the fixed translation supports the meaning “card” here. ausgefüllte describes something that has been filled in or completed. It comes from ausfüllen (“to fill in”) and is a participle used adjectivally. In das ausgefüllte Formular, the definite article das marks the neuter singular noun phrase, and the adjective has the weak ending -e. The adjective agrees with Formular, not with Karte. Formular is a neuter noun: das Formular, “the form”; its plural is die Formulare. The phrase das ausgefüllte Formular means “the completed form”: das identifies the form, and ausgefüllte says that it has already been filled in. Together, bringen Sie ... mit asks the formally addressed listener to bring something along. The two objects are Ihre Karte and das ausgefüllte Formular, so the complete meaning is: “Please bring your card and the completed form.”