Checking the weather before leaving | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kannst du die Wetter-App prüfen, bevor wir losgehen?

   Can you check the weather app before we leave?

   Kannst du

   Can you …?

   Wetter-App

   weather app

   prüfen

   check

   bevor

   before

   wir

   we

   losgehen

   leave; set off

   More detail

   Kannst du is the reusable question pattern “Can you …?”. kannst is the second-person singular present form of können (“to be able to; can”), and du is the informal singular “you.” In a yes/no question, the conjugated verb comes before the subject: Kannst du ...? The requested action is supplied by the infinitive later in the sentence. Wetter-App is a compound noun: Wetter means “weather” and App means “app.” The compound as a whole means “weather app.” German nouns are capitalized, including the parts of this hyphenated compound. prüfen means “to check” or “to examine.” It is the infinitive used after können; the conjugated form of können carries the tense and person, while prüfen remains in the infinitive. Example: Kannst du den Termin prüfen? — “Can you check the appointment?” bevor means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. In a German subordinate clause introduced by bevor, the conjugated verb normally goes to the end. The pattern is bevor + subject + ... + conjugated verb. wir means “we,” the first-person plural subject form. It identifies the group that performs the action in the subordinate clause; the sentence itself does not specify who else belongs to that group. losgehen means “to leave” or “to set off.” It is a separable verb: in a main clause, the parts separate, as in Wir gehen los. — “We are setting off.” Here it appears as the infinitive losgehen at the end of the bevor clause, where the verb-final structure keeps the form together. Together, Kannst du ... prüfen? asks whether the listener can perform the action. die Wetter-App prüfen means “check the weather app,” and bevor wir losgehen means “before we leave.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Can you check the weather app before we leave?”

2. Die App sagt, dass es vielleicht regnet.

   It says there is some chance of rain.

   Die App

   the app

   sagt

   says

   dass

   that

   vielleicht

   perhaps; maybe

   es … regnet

   it rains; it is raining

   More detail

   Die App means “the app.” App is a feminine noun, so the definite article is die in the singular nominative here. In the supplied context, this refers to the weather app being checked. sagt is the third-person singular present form of sagen (“to say”). Compare Die App sagt ... (“The app says ...”) with Die Apps sagen ... (“The apps say ...”): the verb changes because the subject changes from singular to plural. dass introduces the content of what is said: “that …”. In a clause introduced by dass, German normally places the finite verb at the end. Reusable pattern: X sagt, dass ... [verb]. vielleicht means “perhaps” or “maybe.” Here it marks uncertainty about rain: the app reports that rain is possible, not certain. es regnet uses regnet, the third-person singular present form of regnen (“to rain”). In this weather expression, es is a grammatical subject for the weather situation, not a person or a previously mentioned object. Example: Morgen regnet es. — “It will rain tomorrow.” German uses the present form here for a future event indicated by morgen. Together, Die App sagt, dass ... introduces the app’s report. The subordinate clause dass es vielleicht regnet says that rain is possible, with regnet at the end because of dass. The whole utterance means: “The app says there is some chance of rain.”

3. Der Himmel ist schon bewölkt.

   The sky looks cloudy already.

   Himmel

   sky

   ist

   is

   schon

   already

   bewölkt

   cloudy

   More detail

   Himmel means “sky” here. The base noun is der Himmel, a masculine singular noun; Der is the definite article in the nominative because Himmel is the subject. Example: Der Himmel ist klar. — “The sky is clear.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The useful present-tense contrast is ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist; the form changes with the subject. Example: Die Straße ist nass. — “The street is wet.” schon means “already” in this sentence. It places the cloudy condition earlier than expected or before the relevant time. It contrasts with noch (“still/yet”) in many time expressions. Example: Sie ist schon zu Hause. — “She is already at home.” bewölkt is an adjective meaning “cloudy” or “covered with clouds.” After sein, it describes the subject predicatively and does not take an attributive adjective ending in this position. A useful contrast is klar (“clear”): Der Himmel ist bewölkt. — “The sky is cloudy.” Together, Der Himmel is the subject, ist links it to the description, schon adds the time meaning “already,” and bewölkt supplies the description. The whole utterance means “The sky is already cloudy.” The fixed translation’s “looks cloudy” conveys the observed appearance in natural English, while the German wording literally states that the sky is cloudy.

4. Die Temperatur wird heute Abend auch sinken.

   The temperature will also drop this evening.

   Temperatur

   temperature

   wird

   will, with an infinitive

   heute Abend

   this evening

   auch

   also

   sinken

   to drop; to fall

   More detail

   Temperatur means “temperature” here. It is a feminine noun: die Temperatur; German nouns are capitalized. Its plural is die Temperaturen. Example: Die Temperatur ist niedrig. — “The temperature is low.” wird is the third-person singular present form of werden. With the infinitive sinken, it forms the future construction wird ... sinken, meaning “will drop.” In this main clause, the finite verb wird is in the second constituent position and the infinitive is at the end. Example: Die Temperatur wird steigen. — “The temperature will rise.” heute Abend is a time expression meaning “this evening”: heute means “today” and Abend means “evening.” Example: Wir treffen uns heute Abend. — “We are meeting this evening.” auch means “also” or “too.” Here it presents the temperature’s dropping as an additional relevant event; this sentence does not identify the other event explicitly. sinken is the infinitive meaning “to drop” or “to fall,” used here for a temperature. Its present-tense third-person singular form is sinkt: Die Temperatur sinkt. — “The temperature is dropping.” It is a strong verb: its simple past is sank, and its perfect participle is gesunken, used with sein: Die Temperatur ist gesunken. — “The temperature has dropped.” Together, Die Temperatur identifies what changes, wird ... sinken places the change in the future, heute Abend specifies when it will happen, and auch marks it as an additional event. The complete meaning is: “The temperature will also drop this evening.”

5. Soll ich eine leichte Jacke mitnehmen?

   Should I carry a light jacket?

   Soll ich

   Should I …?

   leichte

   light

   Jacke

   jacket

   mitnehmen

   take along

   More detail

   Soll ich is a reusable way to ask whether the speaker ought to do something or whether doing it would be appropriate: Soll ich ...? = “Should/Shall I ...?” soll is the 1st-person singular present form of the modal verb sollen; the subject is ich. With a modal verb, the other verb remains in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause. Example: Soll ich warten? — “Should I wait?” leichte describes Jacke here as light in weight. Its base form is leicht. In eine leichte Jacke, the adjective is attributive and has the ending -e because it agrees with the feminine singular accusative noun phrase; the accusative is required because the jacket is what is taken along. leicht can also mean “easy” in other contexts, but that is not its meaning here. Example: Das ist eine leichte Tasche. — “That is a light bag.” Jacke is the feminine noun meaning “jacket.” Its plural is Jacken: zwei Jacken — “two jackets.” In this sentence, eine leichte Jacke is the direct object of the action. The indefinite article eine marks an unspecified jacket; it does not by itself state a numerical count beyond identifying one item grammatically. mitnehmen means “to take along” or “to bring with oneself.” It is a separable verb, built from mit- and nehmen; the full infinitive is written as one word. In an ordinary main clause without a modal, the prefix separates: Ich nehme eine leichte Jacke mit. — “I am taking a light jacket along.” After soll, the infinitive stays together at the end: Soll ich die Jacke mitnehmen? — “Should I take the jacket along?” Together, Soll ich introduces the question about what the speaker ought to do, eine leichte Jacke names the item being taken, and mitnehmen supplies the action. The complete utterance therefore means: “Should I take a light jacket along?”

6. Eine leichte Jacke und ein kleiner Regenschirm würden helfen.

   A light jacket and a small umbrella would help.

   Eine

   a

   leichte

   light

   Jacke

   jacket

   und

   and

   ein

   a

   kleiner

   small

   Regenschirm

   umbrella

   würden

   would

   helfen

   help

   More detail

   Eine introduces the feminine singular noun Jacke in this sentence. It is an indefinite article, so it presents a jacket without identifying a specific one; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. In the nominative, the feminine forms are eine and, with a definite article, die. leichte describes Jacke here as light in weight. Its base form is leicht; the ending -e marks the adjective form used with feminine singular nominative eine Jacke. The same adjective can appear with other endings, for example ein leichter Mantel (“a light coat”). Jacke means “jacket.” The noun is feminine: die Jacke; its plural is die Jacken. The noun is the subject together with Regenschirm, not an object of helfen. und joins the two coordinated subjects: eine leichte Jacke and ein kleiner Regenschirm. It has the same basic joining function as in other lists or paired statements. ein introduces Regenschirm, which is masculine singular in this sentence: der Regenschirm. Like eine, it is an indefinite article and does not by itself mean “one” as a stated quantity. With a definite article, the phrase would be der Regenschirm (“the umbrella”). kleiner means “small” here. Its base form is klein; the -er ending is the form used with masculine singular nominative ein Regenschirm. Compare eine kleine Tasche (“a small bag”), where the adjective ending changes because the noun phrase has different grammatical features. Regenschirm means “umbrella.” It is a masculine compound noun: der Regenschirm; the plural is die Regenschirme. The observed form is singular, but the coordinated subject as a whole is plural because it contains both noun phrases. würden expresses the translated “would” and agrees with the plural coordinated subject. It is a form of werden used here as the subjunctive II auxiliary for a conditional or hypothetical statement. With a singular subject, the corresponding form is würde: Eine Jacke würde helfen (“A jacket would help”). helfen is the infinitive “to help.” After the auxiliary würden, German places the lexical verb in the infinitive: würden helfen (“would help”). The verb helfen normally takes a dative recipient when one is expressed, as in Ich helfe meiner Freundin (“I help my friend”); no recipient is expressed in the fixed sentence. Together, eine leichte Jacke and ein kleiner Regenschirm form the coordinated subject. würden helfen says that these items would be helpful, producing the whole meaning: “A light jacket and a small umbrella would help.”

7. Dann kann ich beides in meine Tasche packen.

   Then I can put both in my bag.

   Dann

   then

   kann ich

   I can

   beides

   both

   in

   in; into

   meine

   my

   Tasche

   bag

   packen

   put; pack

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here, referring to the next step in the situation. It can also introduce a sentence and occupy the first position, as it does here. kann ich combines the finite form kann of können (“can; be able to”) with the subject ich (“I”). Because Dann is placed first, the finite verb still comes second: Dann kann ich .... The infinitive belonging to kann comes later. Compare: Ich kann beides packen. — “I can pack both.” beides is the neuter pronoun “both” or “both things.” In this context, it refers to the two items mentioned in the preceding sentence: the light jacket and the small umbrella. The form is a pronoun, not a noun that needs a separate article. in means “in; into.” With packen, it expresses movement into a container, so the destination is marked by the accusative here. A location without movement commonly uses the dative instead: Die Sachen sind in der Tasche. — “The things are in the bag.” meine is the possessive determiner “my.” It is accusative feminine singular in this sentence because it modifies Tasche, which is feminine, and in ... packen marks the destination with the accusative. The related forms include mein with a neuter noun, as in mein Buch, and meinen with a masculine accusative noun, as in meinen Rucksack. Tasche means “bag.” It is a feminine noun: die Tasche; its plural is die Taschen. The capital letter marks it as a noun in German. packen is the infinitive “to pack” or, in this context, “to put inside.” After the modal verb kann, German uses the infinitive at the end of the clause: Ich kann die Sachen packen. — “I can pack the things.” Together, Dann kann ich gives “Then I can,” beides gives “both,” and in meine Tasche packen gives “put [them] into my bag.” The whole utterance is therefore: “Then I can put both in my bag.”

8. Das sollte für den Regen und den kühleren Abend reichen.

   That should be enough for the rain and the cooler evening.

   Das

   that

   sollte

   should

   für

   for

   Regen

   rain

   kühleren

   cooler

   Abend

   evening

   reichen

   be enough

   More detail

   Das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It is a neuter singular form, but the sentence does not by itself identify exactly what it refers to. Compare the forms in a simple contrast: das “that” for a neuter referent, die “that” for a feminine referent, and der “that” for a masculine referent. The pronoun is the subject of this sentence. sollte is the third-person singular form of sollen in the Konjunktiv II, commonly translated as “should” when expressing an expectation or a likely result. Here it presents sufficiency as an expectation: “should be enough,” rather than as a direct command. The form sollte can also express a recommendation in other contexts, so its exact force comes from the surrounding construction. für introduces what something is intended to cover or be sufficient for. In this use it governs the accusative case. The same pattern is reusable in Das reicht für heute. — “That is enough for today.” Regen is the masculine noun “rain.” In den Regen, the definite article den marks masculine accusative after für; the noun itself does not change form. The phrase means that the available thing is sufficient for the rain, with the intended meaning supplied by the fixed translation. kühleren is the comparative form of the adjective kühl (“cool”). The comparison chain is kühl “cool”, kühler “cooler”, am kühlsten “coolest.” In den kühleren Abend, it has the meaning “the cooler evening,” comparing this evening with some relevant alternative or reference point. The ending -en belongs to the adjective kühleren, not to Abend: after the masculine accusative article den, the adjective takes this weak ending. Example: Wir gehen am kühleren Abend spazieren. — “We go for a walk on the cooler evening.” Abend is the masculine noun “evening.” Because für governs the accusative and Abend is masculine, the noun phrase is den kühleren Abend. The adjective and noun together form the second thing covered by für. reichen is the infinitive of reichen, meaning “to be enough” in this construction. With a modal-type form such as sollte, the lexical verb remains in the infinitive: Das sollte reichen. — “That should be enough.” Here reichen is extended by two coordinated objects of für: für den Regen und den kühleren Abend. Taken together, Das sollte ... reichen means “That should be enough.” The prepositional phrase specifies what it should be enough for: für den Regen and den kühleren Abend, joined by und. Thus the whole utterance means: “That should be enough for the rain and the cooler evening.”