Choosing a Movie Together | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Welchen Film sollen wir ansehen?

   Which movie should we watch?

   Welchen

   which

   Film

   movie / film

   sollen wir

   should we

   ansehen

   watch / view

   More detail

   Welchen means “which” here and is the form used with the masculine singular noun Film when that noun is the direct object of the verb. The choice is therefore based on the noun’s gender, number, and object role—not on singularity alone. Compare the useful forms welcher (masculine nominative), welche (feminine singular or plural), and welches (neuter singular); for a masculine accusative object, use welchen. Example: Welchen Zug nehmen wir? — “Which train are we taking?” Film is the noun “film/movie.” Its plural is Filme. In this sentence, Film is masculine singular and follows the object-marking form Welchen. Sollen wir combines the modal verb sollen with the subject pronoun wir (“we”). Sollen expresses what is suggested, expected, or considered appropriate; with this question and the fixed translation, it gives “should we.” The finite modal verb is in second position, while the other verb goes to the end. Example: Sollen wir anfangen? — “Should we start?” Ansehen is the infinitive meaning “to watch” or “to view” in this context. It is a separable verb: in a main clause with a finite form, the prefix separates, as in Wir sehen den Film an — “We are watching the film.” After the modal sollen, the infinitive remains together at the end: sollen wir ... ansehen. The related verb sehen means “see” or “look,” whereas ansehen commonly focuses on watching or viewing something. Together, Welchen Film asks which movie is being selected, sollen wir asks what the speakers ought to do, and ansehen supplies the action. The complete utterance means: “Which movie should we watch?”

2. Ich möchte etwas Leichtes, vielleicht eine Komödie.

   I want something light, maybe a comedy.

   Ich möchte

   I would like

   etwas

   something

   Leichtes

   light (something)

   vielleicht

   maybe

   Komödie

   comedy

   More detail

   Ich möchte expresses the speaker’s wish: “I would like.” möchte is the first-person singular form of mögen in the subjunctive II form used for a polite or softened wish; it is not the simple present form mag (“like”). A reusable pattern is Ich möchte + ... for stating what you would like. etwas means “something” and is an indefinite pronoun. It does not by itself state a numerical count. It can be followed by a nominalized adjective, as in etwas Leichtes. Leichtes means “something light” here. The base adjective is leicht; its initial capital letter shows that it is being used as a noun-like adjective. In etwas Leichtes, the ending -es marks the neuter form required by this construction. The adjective describes the unspecified thing, not the word etwas as a separate physical object. For example: Ich möchte etwas Warmes. — “I would like something warm.” vielleicht means “maybe” or “perhaps.” It marks the following idea as a possibility rather than a firm choice. It does not change the tense or person of the surrounding verb. eine Komödie means “a comedy.” Komödie is a feminine noun; its plural is Komödien. Here the noun phrase is the thing wanted, so it functions as the object of möchte. The indefinite article eine identifies one member of the category without needing to be understood as an emphasized numerical count. For example: Ich möchte eine Komödie sehen. — “I would like to watch a comedy.” Together, Ich möchte etwas Leichtes says that the speaker would like something light, and vielleicht eine Komödie proposes a comedy as a possible example or choice. The complete utterance therefore means: “I want something light, maybe a comedy.”

3. Dieser Film hat sehr gute Kritiken und klare Untertitel.

   This film has strong reviews and clear subtitles.

   Dieser

   this

   Film

   film

   hat

   has

   sehr

   very

   gute

   good; strong

   Kritiken

   reviews

   klare

   clear

   Untertitel

   subtitles

   More detail

   Dieser points to the specific film and is the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative meaning “this.” In this sentence it agrees with Film, the subject. The corresponding feminine form is diese, as in diese Komödie (“this comedy”); the form must match the noun’s grammatical gender and number. Film means “film” or “movie.” Its plural is Filme. Here it is the singular subject of the sentence. hat is the third-person singular present form of haben (“to have”): haben → er/sie/es hat. The verb can express possession, but here it presents reviews and subtitles as features associated with the film. Example: Der Film hat ein gutes Ende. — “The film has a good ending.” sehr means “very” and intensifies the adjective that follows it. sehr gut means “very good”; in the fixed sentence, the intensified adjective is translated naturally as “strong” when describing reviews. gute is an inflected form of gut (“good”). It describes Kritiken, so it is plural; in this noun phrase it has the ending -e: gute Kritiken. The form changes with the noun phrase’s grammatical conditions, for example gute Untertitel (“good subtitles”) but guter Film (“good film”). Kritiken is the plural of Kritik. In this context, Kritik means a review or critical assessment, not merely criticism in the abstract. The phrase sehr gute Kritiken means “very good reviews,” rendered in the fixed translation as “strong reviews.” klare is an inflected form of klar (“clear”). It describes Untertitel and has the same plural -e ending here: klare Untertitel. Example: Der Film hat klare Bilder. — “The film has clear images.” Untertitel means “subtitles.” This word has the same visible form in the singular and plural; the plural meaning here is shown by the plural adjective klare and by the fixed translation. A singular example is ein Untertitel (“a subtitle”). Together, Dieser Film hat means “This film has,” followed by two coordinated objects: sehr gute Kritiken (“strong reviews”) and klare Untertitel (“clear subtitles”). Thus the complete utterance means: “This film has strong reviews and clear subtitles.”

4. Können wir den Trailer ansehen, bevor wir uns entscheiden?

   Can we watch the trailer before we choose?

   Können wir

   Can we…?

   Trailer

   trailer

   ansehen

   watch; look at

   bevor

   before

   entscheiden

   decide; choose

   More detail

   Können wir is a reusable way to ask whether a group is able or allowed to do something: “Can we …?” können is the modal verb können (“can, be able to”), and wir is the first-person plural subject (“we”). In a yes/no question, the finite modal comes first: Können wir ...? The other verb stays in the infinitive at the end of the main clause. Trailer means “trailer.” German nouns are capitalized. Here it is the direct object of ansehen, so the masculine article changes from nominative der Trailer to accusative den Trailer. The article marks the noun’s grammatical case; it does not add a separate meaning such as “one.” ansehen means “watch” or “look at” in this context. It is the infinitive of the separable verb ansehen; in a finite main-clause form, the parts separate, as in Wir sehen den Trailer an. With the modal können, the infinitive remains together at the end: Wir können den Trailer ansehen. bevor introduces a time clause meaning “before.” The clause after it is subordinate, so its finite verb goes to the end: bevor wir uns entscheiden. This pattern is reusable: Ich lese die Anleitung, bevor ich beginne. — “I read the instructions before I begin.” entscheiden means “decide” or, in this sentence, “choose.” The relevant reusable verb is reflexive sich entscheiden; with wir, its reflexive form is uns: wir entscheiden uns. In the fixed sentence, entscheiden is the finite present-tense form for wir, not an infinitive; it happens to have the same spelling as the infinitive. For a decision between options, German commonly uses sich für etwas entscheiden: Wir entscheiden uns für den Film. — “We choose the film.” Together, Können wir den Trailer ansehen asks whether “we” can watch the trailer. bevor wir uns entscheiden adds the time relation “before we choose.” The complete meaning is: “Can we watch the trailer before we choose?”

5. Der Trailer sollte uns bei der Entscheidung helfen.

   The trailer should help us decide.

   Trailer

   trailer

   sollte

   should

   uns

   us

   bei

   at; with

   Entscheidung

   decision

   helfen

   help

   More detail

   Trailer means “trailer” here. It is a masculine noun, shown by the article der in the sentence. German nouns are capitalized. Example: Der Trailer ist kurz. — “The trailer is short.” sollte is the form of sollen used here for “should.” It presents the helping as expected or intended, not as a certain fact. The infinitive form is sollen; with a following infinitive, that infinitive usually goes to the end: Der Trailer sollte helfen. — “The trailer should help.” uns means “us.” In this sentence it is the first-person plural pronoun referring to the speaker together with other people. Its form is identical in accusative and dative; here helfen requires a dative object, so uns is the people receiving help. Compare Er hilft uns. — “He helps us.” bei means “at” or “with” in this use and takes the dative. The phrase bei der Entscheidung therefore means “in making the decision” or, more literally, “with the decision.” der is the dative form of the feminine article die in die Entscheidung. Entscheidung means “decision.” It is a feminine noun: die Entscheidung. The related verb is entscheiden, “to decide”; the noun names the decision rather than the act expressed by the verb. Example: Die Entscheidung ist schwer. — “The decision is difficult.” helfen means “to help.” Its base form is the infinitive helfen, and it normally takes a dative person: jemandem helfen — “to help someone.” With a modal such as sollte, helfen remains an infinitive and appears at the end. Together, Der Trailer is the subject, sollte expresses “should,” uns identifies the people receiving help, and bei der Entscheidung specifies what the help concerns. helfen completes the modal construction at the end. The whole utterance means: “The trailer should help us decide.”

6. Die Geschichte sieht lustig aus, aber nicht zu schwierig.

   The story looks fun but not too difficult.

   Geschichte

   story

   sieht … aus

   looks

   lustig

   fun

   aber

   but

   schwierig

   difficult

   More detail

   Geschichte means “story” here. It is a feminine noun: die Geschichte in the singular, die Geschichten in the plural. Example: Die Geschichte ist spannend. — “The story is exciting.” Sieht ... aus comes from the separable verb aussehen, “to look” or “to appear.” In this sentence, sieht is the third-person singular present form, agreeing with die Geschichte, while the prefix aus appears at the end: Die Geschichte sieht ... aus. Compare Ich sehe ... aus — “I look ...” and Er sieht ... aus — “He looks ...”. Example: Der Film sieht interessant aus. — “The film looks interesting.” Lustig means “fun” or “funny” here. With aussehen, it describes the impression something gives: Der Film sieht lustig aus. — “The film looks fun.” The exact intended sense in this sentence is “fun,” not necessarily “funny.” Aber connects a contrast: “but.” The first description is followed by a different, limiting description. Example: Der Film ist lang, aber spannend. — “The film is long, but exciting.” Schwierig means “difficult.” Its base form is schwierig; the comparative is schwieriger, “more difficult,” and the superlative is am schwierigsten, “most difficult.” Example: Die Aufgabe ist schwieriger. — “The task is more difficult.” In aber nicht zu schwierig, nicht negates the adjective phrase and zu means “too,” so the meaning is “but not too difficult.” The complete structure is Die Geschichte sieht [adjective] aus, aber nicht zu [adjective]: “The story looks [adjective], but not too [adjective].” Thus Die Geschichte sieht lustig aus, aber nicht zu schwierig. means “The story looks fun but not too difficult.”

7. Dann nehmen wir diesen Film.

   Then let's choose this film.

   Dann

   then

   nehmen

   choose; take

   diesen

   this

   Film

   film

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here and links this decision to what was just discussed. When an element such as Dann comes first in a German main clause, the finite verb still occupies the second position: Dann nehmen wir .... nehmen is the base form “to take.” In this sentence, nehmen is the present-tense form for wir (“we”), and with wir it also forms a common suggestion meaning “let’s choose ...”: Nehmen wir den Zug. — “Let’s take the train.” The context and fixed translation give it the meaning “choose,” rather than the more literal “take.” wir is the first-person plural subject, “we.” The sequence nehmen wir is not a question here: after an initial element such as Dann, this verb–subject order is normal in a statement. In this use, the speaker includes themself and the listener in the suggestion. diesen is the masculine singular accusative form of the demonstrative determiner dies-, meaning “this” with the selected object. Film is a masculine noun, and it is the direct object of nehmen, so the form is diesen Film. Compare the nominative form dieser Film (“this film”) with the accusative form diesen Film. Film means “film” or “movie.” It is a masculine noun and is capitalized in German. Example: Wir sehen einen Film. — “We are watching a film.” Together, Dann nehmen wir diesen Film. means “Then let’s choose this film.” Dann sets the next step, nehmen wir presents a joint suggestion, and diesen Film identifies the film chosen.

8. Holen wir uns einen Snack, bevor der Film beginnt.

   Let's get a snack before it starts.

   Holen wir uns

   let’s get ourselves

   Snack

   snack

   bevor

   before

   Film

   film

   beginnt

   begins; starts

   More detail

   Holen wir uns is a reusable way to suggest “let’s get ...”. holen is the base verb “to fetch/get”; in the verb-first pattern Holen wir ...?, wir is the subject and the sentence functions as a first-person-plural suggestion. uns is the reflexive form used with wir here: sich etwas holen means “to get something for oneself.” The thing obtained follows the verb: Holen wir uns einen Kaffee. = “Let’s get ourselves a coffee.” Snack is a masculine noun: der Snack. Here it appears as einen Snack, the accusative object of holen. The indefinite article marks an unspecified snack; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Example: Ich kaufe einen Snack. = “I’m buying a snack.” bevor introduces a subordinate clause meaning “before”. In a German bevor clause, the finite verb normally comes at the end: bevor der Film beginnt. Film is a masculine noun: der Film. In der Film beginnt, it is the subject, so it has the nominative form der. The article and noun identify the film as the subject of the following clause; the translation’s “it” refers to this film. beginnt is the present-tense, third-person-singular form of beginnen, “to begin/start”: der Film beginnt. The base form is beginnen; the ending -t marks the third-person-singular present form here. Example: Der Kurs beginnt um neun. = “The course starts at nine.” Together, Holen wir uns einen Snack suggests getting a snack, and bevor der Film beginnt sets the time limit: “before the film starts.” Thus the complete utterance means, “Let’s get a snack before it starts.”