Reporting a hotel room problem | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Die Klimaanlage in meinem Zimmer funktioniert nicht.

   The air conditioner in my room is not working.

   Klimaanlage

   air conditioner

   meinem

   my

   Zimmer

   room

   funktioniert

   works

   nicht

   not

   More detail

   Klimaanlage means “air conditioner” here. It is a feminine noun: die Klimaanlage. German nouns are capitalized. A useful example is Die Klimaanlage ist laut. — “The air conditioner is loud.” meinem means “my” in the form required here. It is the dative singular form of the possessive determiner mein. The preposition in takes the dative when it describes a fixed location, and Zimmer is neuter: in meinem Zimmer — “in my room.” The form changes with grammatical case and gender/number: for example, mein Zimmer is nominative or accusative neuter, while meinem Zimmer is dative neuter. Zimmer means “room.” It is a neuter noun: das Zimmer. In this sentence it is the object of the location phrase in meinem Zimmer, identifying where the air conditioner is. funktioniert means “works” or “is working” here. It is the third-person singular present form of funktionieren: ich funktioniere, du funktionierst, er/sie/es funktioniert. The subject is Die Klimaanlage, which is singular, so the verb has the third-person singular form. An example is Der Drucker funktioniert. — “The printer works.” nicht means “not.” Here it negates the statement that the air conditioner functions. With funktioniert nicht, it produces the meaning “is not working.” Together, Die Klimaanlage is the subject, in meinem Zimmer gives its location, and funktioniert nicht says that it is not working. The whole utterance means: “The air conditioner in my room is not working.”

2. Das tut mir leid.

   I am sorry about that.

   Das

   that

   tut mir leid

   I’m sorry

   More detail

   Das means “that” here and refers to the situation being discussed: the air conditioner not working. As a demonstrative pronoun, it is neuter singular in form; its concrete referent is supplied by the context and translation. tut mir leid is the fixed German apology expression “I’m sorry.” The verb form tut is the present-tense third-person singular form of tun (“to do”), but here it belongs to the separable verb leidtun, meaning “to be sorry.” mir is the dative form of ich (“I”); it marks the person who feels sorry. The wording is therefore not best learned as a literal word-for-word translation of “I do sorry.” A reusable pattern is Das tut mir leid. for apologizing about an identified situation. The experiencer can change while the subject Das remains the same: Das tut ihnen leid. means “They are sorry about that.” Here ihnen is the dative form referring to “they,” and tut remains third-person singular because the subject is still Das. Together, Das identifies what the speaker is sorry about, and tut mir leid expresses the speaker’s apology: “I am sorry about that.”

3. Haben Sie die Fernbedienung ausprobiert?

   Have you tried the remote?

   Haben Sie

   have you

   Fernbedienung

   remote control

   ausprobiert

   tried

   More detail

   Haben Sie is the formal “you” question pattern in German. haben is the base form “to have”; here it is the finite auxiliary in the present tense, and Sie is the formal second-person pronoun, written with a capital letter. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Haben Sie ...? This is also the auxiliary used to form the perfect with ausprobiert. Fernbedienung means “remote control” here. It is a feminine noun: die Fernbedienung; the form die Fernbedienung is the accusative singular after ausprobiert, because it is the thing being tried. The word is a compound built from fern (“distant”) and Bedienung (“operation/control”), but it is best learned as the everyday noun for a remote control. Example: Wo ist die Fernbedienung? — “Where is the remote control?” ausprobiert is the past participle of ausprobieren, “to try out.” The useful chain is ausprobieren → probierte aus (simple past) → hat ausprobiert (perfect). In this question, haben carries the tense and ausprobiert stays at the end, as is typical for a German perfect construction. Example: Ich habe das neue Programm ausprobiert. — “I tried the new program.” Together, Haben Sie places the formal subject-question pattern first, die Fernbedienung identifies what was tried, and ausprobiert completes the perfect construction: “Have you tried the remote?” The following context confirms that sie (“it”) refers back to the remote control.

4. Ich habe sie ausprobiert.

   I tried it.

   Ich habe

   I have

   sie

   it

   ausprobiert

   tried; tested

   More detail

   Ich habe combines the subject Ich (“I”) with the auxiliary habe, the first-person singular present form of haben. Here habe helps form the German perfect: Ich habe ... ausprobiert means “I tried ...”. In this construction, the auxiliary carries the person and number, while the completed action appears in the participle at the end. Example: Ich habe das Buch gelesen. — “I read the book.” sie is the object pronoun meaning “it” here, referring to the item being tried in the supplied exchange—the remote control mentioned in the preceding question. German sie can have different grammatical functions in other contexts, but this occurrence is the object of ausprobiert; its intended meaning here is not “they.” ausprobiert is the past participle of ausprobieren, “to try out” or “to test.” The verb is formed from the separable prefix aus- and probieren; its participle is ausprobiert, not a form with an extra ge. With haben, it expresses a completed trial. In a present-tense main clause, the same verb separates: Ich probiere die Fernbedienung aus. — “I am trying out the remote control.” Together, Ich habe + sie + ausprobiert gives the perfect-tense statement “I tried it.” The subject is “I,” sie is the thing tried, and ausprobiert names the completed action. The wording is a neutral, reusable way to report that something has been tested or tried out.

5. Die Temperatur ändert sich nicht.

   The temperature does not change.

   Temperatur

   temperature

   ändert sich

   changes

   nicht

   not

   More detail

   Temperatur means “temperature.” It is a feminine German noun: die Temperatur. German nouns are capitalized. The plural is Temperaturen. ändert sich comes from sich ändern, “to change.” In this sentence, ändert is the present-tense third-person singular form of ändern, agreeing with die Temperatur; sich is the reflexive pronoun required by this verb in this use. The useful pattern is etwas ändert sich = “something changes.” For example: Das Wetter ändert sich. — “The weather is changing.” nicht means “not.” Here it negates the verb phrase ändert sich, so the sentence says that the temperature does not change. German normally places nicht after the reflexive verb in this short main-clause pattern. Together, Die Temperatur identifies what is being discussed, ändert sich expresses change, and nicht reverses that assertion: “The temperature does not change.”

6. Ich schicke jemanden, der sie überprüft.

   I will send someone to check it.

   schicke

   send

   jemanden

   someone

   der

   who

   sie

   it

   überprüft

   checks

   More detail

   schicke is the first-person singular present form of schicken (“to send”). In this sentence, the present tense refers to a planned future action: “I will send.” The subject ich supplies the first-person meaning. For a reusable pattern, Ich schicke ... means “I send / I will send ...”, with the time understood from context. jemanden is the accusative form of jemand (“someone”). The ending marks this person as the direct object of schicken: the person is the one being sent. The useful contrast is jemand for a subject and jemanden for an accusative object, as in Jemand kommt. (“Someone is coming.”) versus Ich sehe jemanden. (“I see someone.”) der begins a relative clause and refers back to jemanden. Here it is the masculine singular nominative relative pronoun, because this person is the subject of überprüft. Its form is determined by its role inside the relative clause, while its masculine singular agreement connects it to the masculine-form antecedent jemanden. A reusable pattern is jemand, der ... (“someone who ...”). sie is the accusative form of the third-person feminine pronoun in this context, translated here as “it.” The preceding context identifies the intended referent as die Temperatur (“the temperature”), which is feminine in German. As the object of überprüft, it is the thing being checked. The same form can also mean “her” or “them” in other contexts, so its intended meaning here comes from the fixed translation and context. überprüft is the third-person singular present form of überprüfen (“to check” or “to inspect”). The subject is der (“who”), referring to the person being sent; sie is the object. The separable verb überprüfen is not split here. In der sie überprüft, the relative clause places the finite verb at the end, a normal German relative-clause pattern. Together, Ich schicke jemanden means “I will send someone.” The relative clause der sie überprüft identifies what that person will do: “who will check it.” Thus the whole utterance means “I will send someone to check it.”

7. Wie lange könnte die Reparatur dauern?

   How long might the repair take?

   Wie lange

   how long

   könnte

   might; could

   Reparatur

   repair

   dauern

   take; last

   More detail

   Wie lange asks about duration: “how long.” It is a reusable question pattern, as in Wie lange bleibt sie? — “How long is she staying?” The question does not itself state whether the duration is short or long. könnte is the third-person singular form of können in the Konjunktiv II. Here it expresses a possible estimate, so könnte ... dauern means “might ... take” or “could ... last.” The subject is die Reparatur, so the singular form is used. Compare kann for a more direct possibility or ability and könnte for a more tentative possibility. Example: Das könnte schwierig sein. — “That might be difficult.” die Reparatur means “the repair.” Reparatur is a feminine noun, and die here marks a definite singular noun in the subject position. The noun refers to the repair itself, not to the person carrying it out. Example: Die Reparatur beginnt morgen. — “The repair begins tomorrow.” dauern means “to last” or, with an activity such as a repair, “to take [a length of time].” It is the infinitive after the modal verb könnte, so it remains at the end of this question. Its base form is dauern; a finite present-tense example is Die Reparatur dauert zwei Stunden. — “The repair takes two hours.” Together, Wie lange asks for the duration, könnte presents that duration as uncertain or tentative, and die Reparatur dauern identifies the repair as the thing whose duration is being estimated. The whole utterance means: “How long might the repair take?”

8. Ich bin mir nicht sicher.

   I am not sure.

   Ich

   I

   bin mir … sicher

   be sure

   nicht

   not

   More detail

   Ich means “I” and is the first-person singular subject form. It identifies the speaker as the person whose state is being described. bin is the first-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. In this sentence, it links the subject to the state described by mir ... sicher. mir is the first-person singular dative form of ich. German uses this dative reflexive pronoun in the construction sich sicher sein, literally expressing being sure for oneself. The form changes with the subject: ich bin mir sicher, but du bist dir sicher. nicht means “not” and negates the following certainty expressed by sicher. It turns “I am sure” into “I am not sure.” sicher is an adjective meaning “sure” or “certain” here. With sein, it describes the speaker’s state; it is not inflected in this use. Its comparative form is sicherer (“more certain”), as in Ich bin mir jetzt sicherer (“I am more certain now”). Together, Ich bin mir nicht sicher. means “I am not sure.” The pattern Ich bin mir [nicht] sicher is reusable for expressing the speaker’s certainty or uncertainty about something. The preceding question concerns how long a repair might take, but this sentence itself only states the speaker’s uncertainty; it does not specify what will happen next.

9. Jemand kann bald kommen.

   Someone can come shortly.

   Jemand

   someone

   kann

   can; is able to

   bald

   soon; shortly

   kommen

   come

   More detail

   Jemand means “someone” and refers to an unspecified person. It is an indefinite pronoun, so the person is not identified. It is grammatically singular: Jemand kommt. means “Someone is coming.” Do not treat it as a plural form meaning “some people.” kann is the present-tense form of the modal verb können for er, sie, and es, and it expresses ability or possibility here: “can” or “may be able to.” The related forms are ich kann, du kannst, and wir können. With a modal verb, the other verb normally stays in the infinitive and moves to the end: Sie kann warten. — “She can wait.” bald means “soon” or “shortly.” It places the possible event in the near future. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person or number. For example, Wir kommen bald. means “We are coming soon.” kommen is the infinitive “to come.” In this sentence it is the lexical verb selected by kann; the modal carries the finite verb position, while kommen remains at the end. The verb contrasts with gehen, “to go,” when the direction is away rather than toward the relevant place or person. Together, Jemand supplies an unspecified singular person, kann expresses that coming is possible or feasible, bald places it soon, and kommen names the event. The complete meaning is: “Someone can come shortly.”

10. Ich werde im Zimmer warten.

    I will wait in the room.

    Ich werde

    I will

    im

    in the

    Zimmer

    room

    warten

    wait

    More detail

    Ich werde means “I will” here: Ich is the first-person singular pronoun, and werde is the first-person singular form of werden. With a following infinitive, werden forms the German future: Ich werde warten = “I will wait.” The infinitive stays at the end of the clause. For comparison, Ich werde gehen means “I will go.” im is the contraction of in dem, meaning “in the” here. The form dem marks the dative after this use of in, which describes a stationary location rather than movement into a place. The contraction is common in ordinary German: im Haus = “in the house.” Zimmer is a neuter singular noun meaning “room.” Its basic form is das Zimmer; after in for a stationary location, it appears with the dative article: in dem Zimmer, contracted to im Zimmer. The plural is die Zimmer. warten is the infinitive meaning “to wait.” It is the base form used after the future auxiliary werde. A useful contrast is warten auf + accusative, meaning “wait for”: Ich warte auf den Bus = “I am waiting for the bus.” Together, Ich werde ... warten expresses a future action, and im Zimmer gives its location. The complete utterance means “I will wait in the room.”

11. Bitte sagen Sie uns Bescheid, wenn das Problem weiter besteht.

    Please let us know if the problem continues.

    Bitte

    please

    sagen Sie uns Bescheid

    let us know

    Problem

    problem

    weiter

    further; continuing

    besteht

    continues

    More detail

    Bitte is the standard polite word “please.” It can introduce a request, as here, or follow a request as a polite softener. sagen Sie uns Bescheid is a reusable German construction meaning “let us know.” sagen is the verb “say/tell”; in the formal request sagen Sie ..., the infinitive form sagen comes before formal Sie. uns means “to us” and is the dative form of wir (“we”). Bescheid sagen is a fixed expression, so Bescheid is not translated literally here. Example: Sagen Sie mir Bescheid. — “Let me know.” Problem is the noun “problem.” In this sentence it appears with the neuter article das: das Problem. Its plural is die Probleme. weiter is an adverb meaning “further” or, with an ongoing situation, “still/continuing.” Here it indicates that the situation persists rather than describing movement farther away. besteht comes from bestehen, “to exist” or “to persist.” In the fixed sentence it means “continues/persists.” besteht is the present-tense third-person singular form, agreeing with singular das Problem; the full form chain is bestehen → besteht. With a plural subject, the form is bestehen, as in Die Probleme bestehen weiter. — “The problems continue.” The clause wenn das Problem weiter besteht means “if the problem continues”: wenn introduces the condition, das Problem is the subject, and weiter besteht expresses persistence. Together, Bitte sagen Sie uns Bescheid, wenn das Problem weiter besteht. is a formal request: “Please let us know if the problem continues.”