Borrowing a Laptop Charger at Work | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Der Akku meines Laptops ist fast leer.

   My laptop battery is almost empty.

   Akku

   battery

   meines

   my

   Laptops

   laptop

   ist

   is

   fast

   almost

   leer

   empty

   More detail

   Akku means “battery,” commonly a rechargeable battery or battery pack. Its full form is Akku, and the plural is Akkus. Example: Der Akku ist leer. — “The battery is empty.” meines means “my” here and belongs to the possessive form mein-. It has the ending -es because it accompanies the genitive singular noun Laptops, whose gender is masculine. Possessive forms change according to the noun phrase’s case, gender, and number: mein Laptop — “my laptop,” but meines Laptops — “of my laptop.” Laptops means “laptop” here. The base form is Laptop; Laptops is the singular genitive form after meines. Example: Die Tastatur meines Laptops ist neu. — “My laptop’s keyboard is new.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein, “to be.” The present-tense forms include ich bin, du bist, and er/sie/es ist. Example: Der Akku ist voll. — “The battery is full.” fast means “almost” or “nearly.” It indicates that something is close to a state but has not quite reached it. Example: Der Akku ist fast voll. — “The battery is almost full.” leer means “empty” or, for a battery, “out of charge.” As a predicate after ist, it has no adjective ending: Der Akku ist leer. — “The battery is empty.” Its useful opposite in this context is voll, “full.” Together, Der Akku meines Laptops means “my laptop’s battery” or “the battery of my laptop.” ist fast leer says that this battery is nearly out of charge. The complete utterance therefore means: “My laptop battery is almost empty.”

2. Du kannst dir mein Ladegerät bis zum Meeting ausleihen.

   You can borrow my charger until the meeting.

   Du kannst dir

   you can ... for yourself

   Ladegerät

   charger

   bis zum

   until the

   Meeting

   meeting

   ausleihen

   borrow

   More detail

   Du kannst dir introduces the reusable pattern Du kannst dir ... ausleihen: “You can borrow ...”. kannst is the second-person singular present form of können (“can, be able to”). With a modal verb, the other verb stays in the infinitive and appears at the end of the clause. dir is the dative form of du; in sich etwas ausleihen, it marks the person borrowing something for themselves. Example: Du kannst dir ein Buch ausleihen. — “You can borrow a book.” Ladegerät means “charger”. Its base form is das Ladegerät; the plural is die Ladegeräte. In the sentence, mein Ladegerät means “my charger”: mein identifies the charger as belonging to the speaker. bis zum means “until the”. Here, zum is the contraction of zu dem, and it is used with the neuter noun das Meeting: bis zum Meeting. This time expression sets the endpoint of the borrowing period. Meeting is a neuter noun: das Meeting, “the meeting”. The loanword keeps the same form in this phrase after zum, while the article combination shows the required form: zu dem → zum. ausleihen means “borrow” in this use. It is a separable verb: the infinitive is ausleihen, but without a modal it can split, as in Du leihst dir ein Ladegerät aus. — “You borrow a charger.” With können, it remains as the infinitive at the end: Du kannst dir ... ausleihen. The pattern sich etwas ausleihen means borrowing something; with a different construction, jemandem etwas ausleihen can mean lending something to someone. Together, Du kannst dir mein Ladegerät ausleihen says that the addressee has permission or ability to borrow the speaker’s charger. bis zum Meeting adds the endpoint, so the complete meaning is: “You can borrow my charger until the meeting.”

3. Ist es mit meinem Laptop kompatibel?

   Is it compatible with my laptop?

   Ist es

   is it

   mit

   with

   meinem

   my

   Laptop

   laptop

   kompatibel

   compatible

   More detail

   Ist es begins a yes/no question. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”); in a statement, the usual order would be Es ist ..., but the verb comes first in this question. es is a neuter singular pronoun meaning “it” here. Example: Ist es neu? — “Is it new?” mit means “with” and requires the dative case for the noun phrase that follows it. A useful reusable pattern is mit + dative: mit dem Drucker (“with the printer”). meinem means “my” in the dative masculine or neuter singular form. The ending belongs to the possessive determiner mein, not to the noun. Here, mit requires dative, and Laptop is masculine singular, so mein becomes meinem. This form is not itself a statement of quantity. Laptop is the noun “laptop.” Its usual gender is masculine: der Laptop; after dative mit, the noun phrase is mit meinem Laptop. The plural is commonly Laptops. kompatibel is an adjective meaning “compatible.” It is used predicatively after sein, so it has no adjective ending here. It describes whether two things can work together. A reusable pattern is kompatibel mit + dative: Dieser Adapter ist mit dem Drucker kompatibel. — “This adapter is compatible with the printer.” Together, Ist es ... kompatibel? forms the yes/no question pattern “Is it compatible ...?”, while mit meinem Laptop specifies the other item in the compatibility relationship. Thus the complete utterance means, “Is it compatible with my laptop?”

4. Es sollte passen, aber überprüfe zuerst den Anschluss.

   It should be, but check the connector first.

   Es sollte

   it should

   passen

   fit; be suitable

   überprüfe

   check

   zuerst

   first

   Anschluss

   connector; connection

   More detail

   Es sollte expresses an expectation: “it should …”. sollte is the form of sollen used here for a third-person singular subject, es; in this context, sollen marks what is expected or likely, not an order. Compare: Es soll passen. = “It is supposed to fit”; Es sollte passen. = “It should fit.” passen means “to fit” or “to be suitable.” It is the infinitive after sollte, so the modal construction is sollte + infinitive: Das sollte funktionieren. = “That should work.” In the preceding question, compatibility with the laptop supports the suitability/fit meaning here. überprüfe is the informal singular imperative of überprüfen (“to check” or “to verify”), addressed to one person. The imperative directly gives the instruction: Überprüfe das Kabel. = “Check the cable.” It is distinct from the infinitive überprüfen and from the third-person form überprüft. zuerst means “first” in the sense of doing something before the other relevant steps. It can be placed before the object or later in the clause: Prüfe zuerst den Stecker. = “Check the plug first.” Here it modifies the checking instruction, not the expected fit. Anschluss is a masculine noun meaning “connector” in this technical context; it can also mean a connection or port in other contexts. Its base form is der Anschluss. After the definite article in the accusative, it appears as den Anschluss: Ich überprüfe den Anschluss. = “I am checking the connector.” The article and noun combination marks the connector as the object being checked. Together, Es sollte passen states the expected result, while aber introduces a contrast. überprüfe zuerst den Anschluss gives a direct instruction to check the connector before proceeding. The whole utterance means: “It should fit, but check the connector first.”

5. Es passt, und der Akku lädt jetzt.

   It fits, and the battery is charging now.

   Es

   it

   passt

   fits

   Akku

   battery

   lädt

   is charging

   jetzt

   now

   More detail

   Es is the German third-person singular neuter pronoun, meaning “it” here. The fixed translation and context identify an object as the intended referent, but they do not uniquely name that object. A reusable pattern is Es + verb when the object is already understood: Es funktioniert. — “It works.” passt is the present-tense form of passen with a third-person singular subject: passen → er/sie/es passt. Here it means “fits,” as in being the right fit. Das passt. — “That fits.” The same verb can also mean “suits” or “is suitable,” depending on context. Akku is a masculine noun meaning “rechargeable battery.” In the sentence, the masculine noun phrase is der Akku; its plural is Akkus. Batterie is another common German word for “battery,” often used for a replaceable or non-rechargeable battery, while Akku specifically highlights rechargeability. lädt is the third-person singular present form of laden, here meaning “is charging”: laden → er/sie/es lädt. This verb has a vowel change in some present-tense forms: ich lade, but du lädst and er/sie/es lädt. In this sentence, der Akku is the subject, so lädt agrees with it in the third-person singular. Der Akku lädt. — “The battery is charging.” jetzt means “now” and places the charging action at the present time. It can be moved for emphasis without changing the basic time reference: Jetzt lädt der Akku. — “The battery is charging now.” Together, Es passt says that the understood object fits, and der Akku lädt jetzt says that the battery is charging at this time. The two clauses are joined by und, giving the complete meaning: “It fits, and the battery is charging now.”

6. Leg es zurück auf meinen Schreibtisch, wenn du fertig bist.

   Put it back on my desk when you finish.

   Leg … zurück

   put back

   es

   it

   auf

   onto

   meinen

   my

   Schreibtisch

   desk

   wenn

   when

   du

   you

   fertig

   finished

   bist

   are

   More detail

   Leg ... zurück is the informal singular imperative of zurücklegen, “to put back.” The prefix zurück is separable: in this imperative, Leg appears at the beginning and zurück at the end of the main clause. The implied subject is singular informal du; German commonly leaves this subject unstated in an imperative. Example: Leg das Buch zurück. — “Put the book back.” es is an object pronoun meaning “it” here. Its exact referent is not uniquely identified by the supplied sentence, but it is the thing being put back. The pronoun form es is used for a neuter singular referent in the relevant grammatical system; its form is also unchanged between nominative and accusative. auf meinen Schreibtisch expresses the destination “onto my desk.” With auf, a destination involving movement takes the accusative, unlike a location without movement, which takes the dative. meinen is the accusative masculine singular form of the possessive determiner mein; the inflection belongs to mein, while Schreibtisch is the masculine noun “desk.” Compare Das Buch liegt auf meinem Schreibtisch. — “The book is on my desk.” Here meinem is dative because the sentence describes location rather than movement toward the desk. wenn du fertig bist is a temporal subordinate clause meaning “when you finish” in this context. wenn introduces a condition or repeated/temporal situation; here it marks the time at which the putting back should happen. du is the informal singular “you.” fertig means “finished” or “done,” and bist is the second-person singular present form of sein, “to be”: ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. In a German subordinate clause, the finite verb normally moves to the end, so bist follows fertig. The expression du bist fertig literally describes you as being done, and in this sentence it supplies the completion condition. Together, Leg es zurück gives the instruction to put the unspecified object back, auf meinen Schreibtisch gives the destination, and wenn du fertig bist gives the time condition. The complete meaning is: “Put it back on my desk when you finish.”

7. Ich lege es zurück, bevor du gehst.

   I'll put it back before you leave.

   lege … zurück

   put back

   es

   it

   bevor

   before

   gehst

   leave; go

   More detail

   lege ... zurück: This is the separable verb zurücklegen, meaning “to put back” here. lege is the first-person singular present form of legen: ich lege; the prefix zurück moves to the end of the main clause. Example: Ich lege den Schlüssel zurück. — “I put the key back.” es: This is the accusative form of the neuter pronoun meaning “it.” Here, the fixed translation identifies the thing being put back as “it.” Example: Ich sehe es. — “I see it.” bevor: This introduces a subordinate clause meaning “before.” In German, the finite verb in this clause comes at the end. Pattern: bevor + subject + ... + verb. gehst: This is the second-person singular present form of gehen: du gehst. In this sentence, gehen is understood as “leave” because of the fixed translation. Example: Ruf mich an, bevor du gehst. — “Call me before you leave.” Together, Ich lege es zurück means “I put it back,” and bevor du gehst means “before you leave.” The separable verb keeps zurück at the end of the main clause, while gehst goes to the end of the bevor clause. In context, the German present form is translated with the future-oriented English “I’ll put it back,” referring to an action that will happen before the other person leaves.

8. Dann habe ich genug Zeit, bevor ich es wieder brauche.

   That gives me enough time before I need it again.

   Dann

   then

   habe ich

   I have

   genug

   enough

   Zeit

   time

   bevor

   before

   es

   it

   wieder

   again

   brauche

   need

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here and links this result to what was just mentioned. In this sentence it can be understood as “then/that way,” leading into the speaker’s consequence. Example: Dann gehen wir. — “Then we’ll go.” habe ich uses haben (“to have”) in the first-person singular present: ich habe. Because Dann occupies the first position, the finite verb habe comes before the subject ich: Dann habe ich .... This is a common German verb-second pattern, where the first position can contain an adverb rather than the subject. Example: Heute habe ich Zeit. — “Today I have time.” genug means “enough” and does not change form here. It can quantify a noun directly: genug Zeit — “enough time.” Example: Wir haben genug Wasser. — “We have enough water.” Zeit is the noun “time”; its base form is Zeit, and its usual singular article is die: die Zeit. In genug Zeit, it names the amount of time available. Example: Ich habe keine Zeit. — “I have no time.” bevor means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. In that clause, the finite verb normally moves to the end. Example: Ich esse, bevor ich gehe. — “I eat before I leave.” es is a third-person singular pronoun with neuter grammatical form. Here it is the object of brauche, and its form is es in both nominative and accusative; its specific referent is the already established thing meant by “it.” wieder means “again,” indicating that the need occurs another time. Example: Ich komme wieder. — “I’ll come again.” brauche is the first-person singular present form of brauchen, “to need.” The forms are ich brauche, du brauchst, and er/sie/es braucht. Because it appears after bevor, it is placed at the end of the subordinate clause: bevor ich es wieder brauche — “before I need it again.” Together, Dann habe ich genug Zeit expresses the resulting situation: “Then I have enough time” or, in the fixed translation, “That gives me enough time.” The subordinate clause bevor ich es wieder brauche specifies the deadline: this amount of time is available before the speaker needs the established thing again. The complete meaning is: “That gives me enough time before I need it again.”