Checking an email before sending | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Könntest du diese E-Mail prüfen, bevor ich sie sende?

   Could you check this email before I send it?

   Könntest du

   Could you

   diese

   this

   E-Mail

   email

   prüfen

   check

   bevor

   before

   ich

   I

   sie

   it

   sende

   send

   More detail

   Könntest du is the polite request pattern “could you …?”. könntest is the second-person singular form of können in the Konjunktiv II; here it expresses a tentative or polite request, not simply past time. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first: Könntest du ...? The infinitive belonging to it comes at the end of the main clause: prüfen. diese means “this” here and agrees with E-Mail. Because E-Mail is feminine and is the accusative object of prüfen, the form is diese; the feminine nominative and accusative forms are identical. This is the feminine singular form, not a general form for every noun. Example: diesen Bericht means “this report,” with the masculine accusative form diesen. E-Mail is the noun “email.” In diese E-Mail prüfen, it is the thing being checked, so it receives the accusative case. German nouns are capitalized. prüfen is the infinitive “to check” or “to examine.” After a modal verb such as können, German uses the infinitive without zu: Ich kann die E-Mail prüfen. — “I can check the email.” bevor introduces a subordinate clause meaning “before.” In a German subordinate clause introduced by bevor, the finite verb normally moves to the end. The pattern is bevor + subject + ... + finite verb. ich is the first-person singular subject, “I.” It is the person who performs the action in the subordinate clause. sie means “it” here and refers to the email, as confirmed by the fixed translation. Its form is feminine singular accusative, matching the grammatical gender and role of E-Mail; it is not the subject of this clause. German sie can have other functions in other contexts, but those are not intended here. sende is the first-person singular present-tense form of senden, “to send.” The subject ich determines this form: ich sende. Example: Ich sende die Datei. — “I send the file” or, depending on context, “I am sending the file.” Because this verb is inside the bevor clause, it appears at the end. Together, Könntest du diese E-Mail prüfen asks politely whether the other person can check this email. bevor ich sie sende adds the time condition “before I send it,” with sie referring back to the email. The full meaning is: “Could you check this email before I send it?”

2. Ich kann sie prüfen. Was soll ich zuerst prüfen?

   I can check it. What should I check first?

   Ich kann

   I can

   sie

   it

   prüfen

   check

   Was

   what

   soll ich

   should I

   zuerst

   first

   More detail

   Ich kann expresses ability or possibility: “I can.” kann is the first-person singular present form of können (“to be able to / can”). With a modal verb such as können, the other verb stays in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause: Ich kann ... prüfen = “I can check ...”. sie means “it” here and is the thing being checked, consistent with the fixed translation and the preceding context. In this use, it is the feminine singular accusative form of the third-person pronoun; German pronoun form depends on grammatical case and gender, not on the English word “it.” prüfen means “to check” or “to examine.” It is the infinitive of prüfen, and it remains unchanged after kann and soll. Example: Ich kann den Text prüfen. — “I can check the text.” Was asks for a thing or information: “what.” It introduces the second question. Compare Wer? (“Who?”), which asks about a person, and Wann? (“When?”), which asks about a time. soll ich means “should I.” soll is the first-person singular present form of sollen (“should / be supposed to”), and ich is the subject “I.” In a question beginning with Was, the finite verb comes directly after the question word: Was soll ich ...? — “What should I ...?” zuerst means “first” or “to begin with.” It indicates that the checking should start with this item or action before other possible steps. Example: Was soll ich zuerst lesen? — “What should I read first?” The first sentence combines Ich kann + sie + prüfen: “I can check it.” The second uses the question pattern Was soll ich ...? and places prüfen at the end because it is the infinitive governed by soll: “What should I check first?”

3. Bitte fang mit der Betreffzeile an.

   Please start with the subject line.

   Bitte

   please

   fang … an

   start

   Betreffzeile

   subject line

   More detail

   Bitte means “please” here and makes the request polite. It can also be used in other polite requests, such as Bitte warten. — “Please wait.” fang ... an is the informal singular imperative of the separable verb anfangen, “to start” or “to begin.” The form fang addresses one person using informal du; the separable prefix an moves to the end of this clause. For example, Fang jetzt an. means “Start now.” The an belongs with fang, even though the two parts are separated. Betreffzeile means “subject line.” It is a feminine noun: die Betreffzeile; its plural is die Betreffzeilen. The word is a compound referring to the line that states an email or message’s subject. Example: Die Betreffzeile ist klar. — “The subject line is clear.” Together, Bitte politely introduces the request, fang ... an tells one person to begin, and mit der Betreffzeile identifies what to begin with. The complete meaning is: “Please start with the subject line.”

4. Die Betreffzeile ist klar, aber das Thema des Treffens wäre hilfreich.

   The subject line is clear, but the meeting topic would help.

   Betreffzeile

   subject line

   klar

   clear

   Thema

   topic

   Treffens

   meeting

   hilfreich

   helpful

   More detail

   Betreffzeile means “subject line.” It is a compound noun: Betreff (“subject”) + Zeile (“line”). German nouns are capitalized. In the fixed sentence, the feminine noun appears with die: die Betreffzeile. The previous sentence uses the same noun in mit der Betreffzeile, where the dative form of the feminine definite article follows mit. klar means “clear” here. As a predicate adjective after ist, it does not take an ending: Die Betreffzeile ist klar = “The subject line is clear.” The adjective can also describe a noun directly, with an ending chosen by the surrounding grammar: eine klare Betreffzeile = “a clear subject line.” Thema means “topic” or “subject.” Its base form is the neuter noun das Thema; its plural is die Themen. In this sentence, das Thema is the subject of the second clause, so the definite article is das: das Thema. Treffens is the genitive singular form of das Treffen, “the meeting.” The phrase des Treffens means “of the meeting” or “the meeting’s,” and it specifies which topic is meant: das Thema des Treffens = “the topic of the meeting.” The form Treffens is not a separate noun meaning “meeting”; it is the inflected form of Treffen. hilfreich means “helpful” or “useful.” It is a predicate adjective in wäre hilfreich, so it has no adjective ending. Its base form is hilfreich; a useful opposite is nicht hilfreich (“not helpful”). The first clause, Die Betreffzeile ist klar, uses ist, the present-tense form of sein (“to be”), to state that the subject line is clear. aber means “but” and joins the contrasting second clause. In das Thema des Treffens wäre hilfreich, wäre is the Konjunktiv II form of sein, giving the meaning “would be.” Thus the second clause says that the meeting topic would be helpful. Together, the utterance means: “The subject line is clear, but the meeting topic would help.”

5. Ist die richtige Datei angehängt?

   Is the correct file attached?

   Ist … angehängt

   is attached

   richtige

   correct

   Datei

   file

   More detail

   Ist ... angehängt combines ist, the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), with angehängt, the past participle of anhängen (“to attach”). Together here they describe the file’s attached state: “is attached.” In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first, so Ist ...? asks whether that state holds. The separated words form one construction in this sentence; do not treat ist as meaning “is attached” by itself. Example: Ist der Bericht angehängt? — “Is the report attached?” richtige means “correct” here. Its base form is richtig; richtige is the adjective form used with the feminine singular noun Datei after the definite article die. The adjective ending marks this noun phrase’s grammatical pattern; the adjective itself is not derived from Datei. Example: die richtige Antwort — “the correct answer.” Datei means “file.” It is a feminine noun: die Datei; its plural is die Dateien. The noun identifies the item whose attachment is being asked about. Example: Die Datei ist groß. — “The file is large.” The complete structure is Ist + die richtige Datei + angehängt?: “Is the correct file attached?” The question asks about the attachment status of the file identified as correct. In the following context, the answer confirms that a final version is attached, but that does not change the meaning or grammatical structure of this question.

6. Ja, die endgültige Version ist angehängt.

   Yes, the final version is attached.

   Ja

   yes

   endgültige

   final

   Version

   version

   ist angehängt

   is attached

   More detail

   Ja means “yes” and confirms the statement that follows. It is a standalone response word and does not change the grammar of the sentence. endgültige means “final” here. Its base form is endgültig; the ending -e appears because the adjective comes before the feminine singular noun Version with the definite article die: die endgültige Version. This ending is part of the adjective’s form in this noun phrase, not part of the noun. Example: die endgültige Antwort — “the final answer.” Version is a feminine noun: die Version; its plural is die Versionen. It refers here to the version that is final, rather than to an earlier or provisional version. Example: Die Version ist neu. — “The version is new.” ist angehängt says that something is attached. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), and angehängt is the participle of anhängen (“to attach”). Together, sein plus this participle presents the resulting state: “is attached.” Example: Die Datei ist angehängt. — “The file is attached.” As a whole, Ja confirms the statement, die endgültige Version identifies what is attached, and ist angehängt describes its current state. The sentence therefore means: “Yes, the final version is attached.”

7. Habe ich alle eingetragen, die diese E-Mail brauchen?

   Did I include everyone who needs this email?

   Habe ich

   have I

   alle

   everyone; all

   eingetragen

   included; entered

   die

   who

   diese

   this

   E-Mail

   email

   brauchen

   need

   More detail

   Habe ich uses the first-person singular present form of haben (“to have”) as an auxiliary. In a German yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Habe ich ...? = “Did I ...?” The past-participial meaning is completed by eingetragen at the end. alle means “everyone” here, referring to all relevant people. It is an indefinite pronoun, not a statement about a numeric count. In this sentence it is the object of eingetragen. Compare the reusable pattern Ich habe alle eingetragen. — “I included everyone.” eingetragen is the past participle of the separable verb eintragen, “to enter” or, in this context, “to include on a list.” The participle combines with habe to form the conversational past construction: habe ... eingetragen. The prefix ein- is part of the verb; it is not a separate word meaning “in” in this sentence. die is a plural relative pronoun meaning “who” here. It links alle with the information that follows and is the subject of brauchen. The plural form matches the people meant by alle; the relative pronoun’s grammatical role is subject in its own clause. diese means “this” and modifies E-Mail. It is the feminine singular form used here; German diese also has other forms depending on the noun’s gender, number, and grammatical case. For example, diese Version means “this version.” E-Mail is a feminine noun meaning “email.” In diese E-Mail, the noun phrase is the object of brauchen, so it means “this email” as the thing needed. The noun is commonly written with a capital letter because German nouns are capitalized. brauchen means “need.” Its form is plural here because die refers to multiple people: die ... brauchen = “who need ...”. The infinitive/base form is also brauchen; compare Die Person braucht ... — “The person needs ...” and Die Personen brauchen ... — “The people need ...”. Together, alle, die diese E-Mail brauchen means “everyone who needs this email.” The complete question uses the German question order Habe ich, places the object alle before its relative clause, and puts the participle eingetragen at the end: “Did I include everyone who needs this email?”

8. Die Liste sieht vollständig aus.

   The list looks complete.

   Liste

   list

   sieht … aus

   looks; seems

   vollständig

   complete

   More detail

   Liste means a list. The observed form is singular; its plural is Listen. In German, the noun is feminine, which is reflected by die in this sentence. Example: Die Liste ist lang. — “The list is long.” sieht ... aus comes from the separable verb aussehen, “to look” or “to appear.” Here, sieht is the present-tense form for the singular subject, and the prefix aus appears at the end of the clause. The construction describes an impression or appearance, not necessarily a permanent fact. Example: Der Plan sieht gut aus. — “The plan looks good.” vollständig means “complete” or “complete in content.” It is an adjective; unlike the verb sieht, it does not carry the subject’s person or number here. Example: Die Antwort ist vollständig. — “The answer is complete.” Together, Die Liste is the subject, sieht ... aus expresses how it appears, and vollständig describes that appearance. The whole utterance therefore means: “The list looks complete.”

9. Dann denke ich, dass sie zum Senden bereit ist.

   Then I think it is ready to send.

   Dann

   then

   denke

   think

   ich

   I

   dass

   that

   sie

   it

   Senden

   sending

   bereit

   ready

   ist

   is

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here, linking this statement to the preceding situation. It is also used for a later step in time: Dann öffne ich die Datei. — “Then I open the file.” denke is the first-person singular present form of denken (“to think”): ich denke. The ending -e marks the ich form here. In ich denke, dass ..., it introduces the speaker’s opinion; the following dass clause gives the thought’s content. ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” German keeps this pronoun as the subject of denke; the verb form agrees with it. dass introduces a dependent clause meaning “that.” In this clause, the finite verb comes at the end: dass sie ... ist. This verb-final pattern is reusable after dass, for example: Ich weiß, dass er kommt. — “I know that he is coming.” Here sie means “it,” referring to the feminine singular item understood from the context: die Liste (“the list”). German sie can also have other functions in other contexts, but this sentence and its translation support the singular “it” reading. Its form is feminine singular in this use; the verb ist is singular as well. zum Senden expresses “to send” or “for sending.” Senden is the capitalized nominalized infinitive of senden (“to send”), and zum is the contraction of zu dem. German commonly uses this pattern for an activity: zum Lesen — “for reading.” The capitalization signals that Senden is being used as a noun-like form. bereit means “ready.” With sein, the reusable pattern is bereit sein, etwas zu tun (“to be ready to do something”). In this sentence, the activity is expressed by zum Senden, so bereit describes the item’s readiness for sending. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The base-form chain is sein → ist for a third-person singular subject in the present. Here it stands at the end because it is the finite verb of the dass clause. Together, Dann denke ich means “Then I think.” dass sie zum Senden bereit ist means “that it is ready to send,” with dass starting the dependent clause and ist placed at its end. The complete utterance is: “Then I think it is ready to send.”