Taking a Break at Work | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich habe heute viel Arbeit.

   I have a lot of work today.

   Ich

   I

   habe

   have

   heute

   today

   viel

   a lot of

   Arbeit

   work

   More detail

   Ich means “I” here: the speaker is the subject. It is the first-person singular personal pronoun in the nominative case. The corresponding object form is mich, as in Sie sieht mich. — “She sees me.” habe is the present-tense first-person singular form of haben, “to have.” The subject Ich selects this form; with du, the form is hast: Du hast Zeit. — “You have time.” Here, habe expresses possession or having something available, not an action being done to the work. heute is the time adverb “today.” It places the situation on the current day. Example: Heute lerne ich Deutsch. — “Today I am learning German.” viel means “a lot of” before Arbeit in this sentence. It expresses a large amount, without stating a specific number. German uses viel with an uncountable or mass meaning; viele is used with plural countable nouns, as in viele Aufgaben — “many tasks.” Arbeit means “work” here. It is the feminine noun die Arbeit, but the noun appears without an article in this sentence because Arbeit is used as an uncountable activity or workload. Its plural is Arbeiten, which can refer to separate pieces or kinds of work in suitable contexts. Example: Ich habe viel Arbeit. — “I have a lot of work.” Together, Ich habe gives “I have,” heute specifies when, and viel Arbeit names a large amount of work. The complete utterance therefore means “I have a lot of work today.”

2. Du siehst müde aus, also mach eine Pause.

   You look tired, so take a break.

   siehst … aus

   look (appear)

   müde

   tired

   also

   so

   mach

   take / make

   Pause

   break

   More detail

   siehst … aus is the separated form of aussehen, “to look” or “to appear.” With du, the present-tense form is du siehst … aus; the prefix aus moves to the end of the clause. The verb describes someone’s appearance or apparent condition, rather than simply saying that the person is tired as a fact. Example: Du siehst glücklich aus. — “You look happy.” müde means “tired.” It is an adjective describing the subject du. In Du siehst müde aus, it follows aussehen and describes how the person appears. Example: Das Kind sieht müde aus. — “The child looks tired.” also connects the observation with its consequence: “so” or “therefore.” Here it introduces the advice that follows. It is not part of the meaning of müde or aussehen. mach is the informal singular imperative of machen, “to do” or “to make.” In the expression eine Pause machen, German uses machen where English naturally uses “take”: eine Pause machen means “to take a break.” The imperative addresses one person with du; the subject is normally omitted. Example: Mach die Tür zu. — “Close the door.” Pause is a feminine noun meaning “break” or “pause.” In the fixed sentence it appears in the accusative phrase eine Pause, because it is the thing made in the expression eine Pause machen. The indefinite article presents the break as unspecified; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Together, Du siehst müde aus means “You look tired.” also links that observation to the consequence, and mach eine Pause gives the informal singular instruction “take a break.” The whole utterance is therefore: “You look tired, so take a break.”

3. Ich mache mir Sorgen, weil die Frist näher kommt.

   I'm worried because the deadline is approaching.

   mache mir Sorgen

   am worried

   weil

   because

   Frist

   deadline

   näher

   closer; approaching

   kommt

   comes

   More detail

   mache mir Sorgen is the fixed expression for being worried or concerned. The verb mache is the first-person singular present form of machen (“to make”); mir means “to me” here, and Sorgen is the plural noun “worries.” Together, the expression literally presents worries as being caused for the speaker, but it is learned as a unit: sich Sorgen machen = “to worry.” Example: Ich mache mir Sorgen um ihn. — “I’m worried about him.” weil introduces the reason for the preceding statement: “because.” In a German clause introduced by weil, the finite verb normally moves to the end. Thus, the clause after weil has its verb at the end rather than in the usual main-clause position. Frist is a feminine noun meaning “deadline” or “time limit.” Its definite singular form here is die Frist (“the deadline”). Example: Die Frist endet morgen. — “The deadline ends tomorrow.” näher is the comparative form of the adjective nah (“near”): nah → näher (“nearer/closer”). In this sentence, it describes the deadline as getting closer in time. The comparison is understood relative to an earlier point, not necessarily to a named second object. Example: Der Termin rückt näher. — “The appointment is getting closer.” kommt is the third-person singular present form of kommen (“to come”). Its subject here is die Frist, so the form is singular. In näher kommen, the verb combines with näher to mean “to approach” or “to get closer.” Example: Der Winter kommt näher. — “Winter is approaching.” The complete structure is Ich mache mir Sorgen, weil die Frist näher kommt. The main clause says that the speaker is worried. The weil clause gives the reason: die Frist is the approaching deadline, and näher kommt says that it is getting closer. Therefore, the whole utterance means “I’m worried because the deadline is approaching.”

4. Wenn du kurz weggehst, kannst du danach besser arbeiten.

   Stepping away can help you work better afterward.

   Wenn

   if; when

   weggehst

   step away; leave

   kurz

   briefly

   kannst du

   you can

   danach

   afterward

   besser

   better

   arbeiten

   work

   More detail

   Wenn introduces a condition: “if” or, for a repeated situation, “when.” It starts the subordinate clause here. In German, the finite verb goes to the end of a clause introduced by wenn. weggehst means “you step away” here. Its base form is weggehen, a separable verb: in a main clause, du gehst weg; after wenn, the parts appear together at the end as du weggehst. The ending -st marks the second-person singular form with du. kurz means “briefly” or “for a short time.” It modifies the stepping away, not the later work. For example: Ich gehe kurz weg. — “I’m stepping away briefly.” kannst du expresses ability or possibility: “you can.” können is the base form, and kannst is its second-person singular form with du. With a modal verb such as können, the other verb stays in the infinitive: Du kannst arbeiten. — “You can work.” danach means “afterward” or “after that.” It points to a time following the brief step away. For example: Danach arbeite ich weiter. — “Afterward, I continue working.” besser means “better” in this sentence. It is the comparative form related to gut (“well” or “good”); the comparison is understood against working less effectively before. As an adverb, besser describes how the work is done. Ich schlafe besser. — “I sleep better.” arbeiten means “to work.” Its base form is also arbeiten; here it is an infinitive because it follows kannst. For example: Wir arbeiten heute. — “We are working today.” The sentence has the reusable pattern Wenn [condition], kannst du [infinitive] [afterward/time] [comparative adverb]. The subordinate clause Wenn du kurz weggehst gives the condition. The main clause kannst du danach besser arbeiten says that, after that action, you are able to work more effectively. Together: “If you briefly step away, you can work better afterward.”

5. Vielleicht sollte ich meine Augen eine Minute lang schließen.

   Maybe I should rest my eyes for a minute.

   Vielleicht

   maybe

   sollte ich

   I should

   meine

   my

   Augen

   eyes

   eine Minute lang

   for a minute

   schließen

   close

   More detail

   Vielleicht means “maybe” and expresses uncertainty. It is an adverb and does not change form. Example: Vielleicht kommt er morgen. — “Maybe he is coming tomorrow.” sollte ich means “I should” here. sollte is the first-person singular form of sollen in Konjunktiv II. In this use, it presents a tentative recommendation, not past time. The infinitive belonging to this modal construction appears later: sollte ich ... schließen. Compare Ich soll gehen. — “I am supposed to go” — with Ich sollte gehen. — “I should go.” meine is the possessive determiner meaning “my.” It agrees with plural Augen, which is the accusative object of schließen; meine is the plural form in this noun phrase. Compare mein Auge — “my eye” — with meine Augen — “my eyes.” Augen means “eyes” here. Its singular base form is Auge, and Augen is its plural form. The plural does not involve a change from u to ü; the singular contains au, and the plural retains that spelling. As the things being closed, Augen functions as the direct object. Example: Meine Augen sind müde. — “My eyes are tired.” eine Minute lang expresses a duration of one minute. Minute is feminine, and eine is the form used with this feminine noun in the duration phrase; lang marks how long the action lasts. The pattern eine ... lang can be reused with other time spans, for example eine Stunde lang — “for an hour.” schließen is the infinitive meaning “to close.” It is used after the modal form sollte; the person and modal meaning are carried by sollte ich, while schließen remains an infinitive. In this sentence, closing the eyes conveys the intended meaning “rest my eyes.” Example: Bitte schließen Sie die Tür. — “Please close the door.” Together, Vielleicht sollte ich presents a tentative suggestion by the speaker, meine Augen identifies the speaker’s eyes as the object, schließen gives the suggested action, and eine Minute lang gives its duration. The whole utterance means: “Maybe I should rest my eyes for a minute.”

6. Trink Wasser und atme eine Minute lang langsam.

   Drink water and breathe slowly for a minute.

   Trink

   drink

   Wasser

   water

   atme

   breathe

   Minute

   minute

   lang

   for a duration

   langsam

   slowly

   More detail

   Trink is the informal singular imperative of trinken (“to drink”). It addresses one person with du. The present-tense form is du trinkst, but the imperative is Trink! Example: Trink genug Wasser. — “Drink enough water.” Wasser means “water.” It is a neuter noun: das Wasser; in this sentence it is used without an article in the usual general sense. Example: Das Wasser ist kalt. — “The water is cold.” und connects the two commands: “and.” The second command is therefore coordinated with the first, not presented as a separate time or condition. atme is the informal singular imperative of atmen (“to breathe”), again addressing one person with du. The present-tense form is du atmest, while the imperative is Atme! Example: Atme tief. — “Breathe deeply.” eine Minute is a duration expression meaning “a minute” here. Minute is a feminine noun (die Minute), and this noun phrase has the accusative form used for a measured duration; the feminine article form eine looks the same in the nominative and accusative. In combination with lang, the phrase specifies a duration rather than merely naming a minute. Example: Ich warte eine Minute. — “I’ll wait for a minute.” lang follows the time expression and marks how long the action lasts: eine Minute lang means “for a minute.” This duration use is different from the adjective lang meaning “long” in a description such as ein langer Weg (“a long way”). langsam describes how the breathing should be carried out: “slowly.” German commonly uses the adjective form as an adverb without adding a special ending. The adjective can also describe a noun: ein langsamer Zug means “a slow train.” Together, Trink Wasser gives the first imperative, “Drink water,” and und atme eine Minute lang langsam adds the coordinated imperative “and breathe slowly for a minute.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Drink water and breathe slowly for a minute.”

7. Dann kann ich den letzten Teil beenden.

   Then I can finish the last section.

   Dann

   then

   kann ich

   I can

   letzten

   last

   Teil

   section; part

   beenden

   finish

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here and places the action after an earlier point or event. It can also introduce a consequence in other sentences. Example: Dann gehen wir nach Hause. — “Then we’ll go home.” kann ich combines kann, the present-tense form of können for ich, with the subject pronoun ich (“I”). In this sentence, können expresses ability or possibility: “I can.” The modal verb is in the second position of this statement, while the other verb moves to the end. Useful forms include ich kann, du kannst, and wir können. Example: Ich kann heute arbeiten. — “I can work today.” letzten is the form of the adjective letzt (“last, final”) used with the masculine singular accusative noun phrase den letzten Teil. The phrase is the direct object of beenden; den and the adjective ending -en mark the relevant masculine accusative form. Adjective inflection in German reflects the noun phrase’s case, gender, number, and determiner. For example, der letzte Teil is nominative, while den letzten Teil is accusative. Example: Sie liest das letzte Kapitel. — “She is reading the last chapter.” Teil is a masculine noun meaning “part” or “section” here. Its basic singular form is Teil; the plural is Teile. The phrase der Teil is nominative, while den Teil is accusative when the part is the object of an action. Example: Dieser Teil ist schwierig. — “This section is difficult.” beenden is the infinitive “to finish” or “to bring to an end.” It follows the modal verb kann, so the finite modal carries the tense and person, and beenden remains an infinitive at the end of the clause. Its present forms include ich beende and sie beendet; the past participle is beendet. Example: Wir beenden die Aufgabe. — “We finish the task.” Together, den letzten Teil is the direct object, “the last section,” and beenden describes the action applied to it. With Dann (“then”), kann ich (“I can”), and the final-position infinitive, the complete utterance means: “Then I can finish the last section.”

8. Ich sehe mir den Entwurf an, während du dich ausruhst.

   I will review the draft while you rest.

   sehe … an

   review; look over

   Entwurf

   draft

   während

   while

   dich ausruhst

   rest

   More detail

   sehe ... an is the first-person singular present form of the separable verb sich etwas ansehen, meaning “to look over/review something.” In the sentence, sehe is the conjugated part and an is placed at the end of the main clause. The dative pronoun mir is part of the construction: sich etwas ansehen commonly appears with a reflexive dative meaning “to look at something for oneself.” Example: Ich sehe mir den Film an. — “I’m watching the film.” Entwurf means “draft.” Its article shows the form used here: der Entwurf is masculine in the basic form, while den Entwurf is accusative because it is the thing being reviewed. Example: Ich prüfe den Entwurf. — “I check the draft.” während introduces a subordinate clause meaning “while.” It links two actions that occur during the same period and sends the conjugated verb of its clause to the end. A reusable pattern is während + subject + ... + verb. dich ausruhst comes from the reflexive verb sich ausruhen, “to rest.” ausruhst is the present-tense second-person singular form used with du; dich is the corresponding reflexive pronoun. In this subordinate clause, the conjugated verb appears last: während du dich ausruhst — “while you rest.” The prefix aus- remains attached here because the verb is at the end of the subordinate clause. Example: Du ruhst dich nach der Arbeit aus. — “You rest after work.” Together, Ich sehe mir den Entwurf an means “I will review the draft” in the intended context; German present tense can express a planned or upcoming action. The subordinate clause während du dich ausruhst adds the simultaneous time condition “while you rest.” Thus the complete utterance means: “I will review the draft while you rest.”