Choosing a restaurant for a short lunch | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Welches Restaurant sollen wir zum Mittagessen wählen?

   Which place should we choose for lunch?

   Welches

   which

   Restaurant

   restaurant

   sollen wir

   should we

   zum Mittagessen

   for lunch

   wählen

   choose

   More detail

   Welches means “which” here and selects one option from several possible restaurants. It is the neuter singular form of the question word welcher; Restaurant is neuter, so welches Restaurant is the required form. The form is also identical in the nominative and accusative for neuter singular, so its shape alone does not show the case. Restaurant is a neuter noun: das Restaurant. German nouns are capitalized. In this sentence it is the thing being chosen, so it functions as the object of wählen. sollen wir combines the modal verb sollen with the subject pronoun wir (“we”). In this question, sollen asks what choice is advisable or what the speakers ought to do; it does not by itself assert that they must choose. The finite modal verb is in second position, while the other verb goes to the end: Welches Restaurant sollen wir ... wählen? Compare the reusable pattern Was sollen wir machen? — “What should we do?” zum Mittagessen means “for lunch.” zum is the contraction of zu dem; Mittagessen is the neuter noun das Mittagessen, meaning the midday meal. Here this phrase gives the meal occasion for which the restaurant is being chosen. The noun can also be used without the contraction in a different structure, for example Das Mittagessen ist fertig. — “Lunch is ready.” wählen is the infinitive “to choose.” Its finite forms include ich wähle (“I choose”) and wir wählen (“we choose”). With a modal verb such as sollen, the infinitive remains at the end: Wir sollen ein Restaurant wählen. — “We should choose a restaurant.” Together, Welches Restaurant asks which restaurant is intended, sollen wir ... wählen asks what the speakers should choose, and zum Mittagessen specifies the occasion. The complete meaning is: “Which place should we choose for lunch?”

2. Lass uns einen Ort in der Nähe wählen, der gut passt.

   Let's pick somewhere close and convenient.

   Lass uns

   let’s

   Ort

   place

   in der Nähe

   nearby

   wählen

   choose

   der

   that/which

   gut passt

   fits well

   More detail

   Lass uns is a reusable way to suggest an action together: Lass uns + infinitive, meaning “let’s …”. Lass is the imperative of lassen addressed to one person; uns means “us” and marks the group included in the suggestion. Example: Lass uns anfangen. — “Let’s start.” Ort means a place or location. Its base form is the masculine noun der Ort; here it appears after the masculine accusative article einen: einen Ort. Example: Wir suchen einen ruhigen Ort. — “We are looking for a quiet place.” in der Nähe means nearby or close by. The phrase literally uses Nähe, “proximity/nearby area,” with in der; learn it as a fixed location phrase. Example: Das Café ist in der Nähe. — “The café is nearby.” wählen is the infinitive “to choose.” With Lass uns, the infinitive comes at the end of the suggested action: Lass uns … wählen — “Let’s choose …”. Its finite forms include ich wähle and wir wählen. Example: Wir wählen das kleinere Menü. — “We choose the smaller menu.” der introduces the relative clause describing Ort. Here it is the masculine singular nominative relative pronoun “that/which”; it is nominative because it is the subject of passt, not because it is next to the noun alone. The relative pronoun agrees with the antecedent Ort in gender and number, while its case comes from its role inside the relative clause. Example: Ich kenne einen Ort, der ruhig ist. — “I know a place that is quiet.” gut passt means “fits well” or, in this context, “is suitable/convenient.” The verb is passen, and passt is its third-person singular present form, matching der as the subject. gut modifies how well the place fits the purpose. Example: Dieser Zeitpunkt passt gut. — “This time works well.” Together, Lass uns einen Ort in der Nähe wählen says “Let’s choose a place nearby.” The relative clause der gut passt identifies that place as one that works well for the situation. Thus the whole utterance means “Let’s pick somewhere close and convenient.”

3. Das Restaurant in dieser Straße hat eine einfache Mittagskarte.

   The place on this street has a simple lunch menu.

   Restaurant

   restaurant

   dieser

   this

   Straße

   street

   hat

   has

   einfache

   simple

   Mittagskarte

   lunch menu

   More detail

   Restaurant means “restaurant” here. It is a neuter noun: das Restaurant in the singular. For example, Das Restaurant ist offen. means “The restaurant is open.” dieser means “this” in the phrase in dieser Straße. The demonstrative stem dies- takes different endings; here dieser is feminine singular dative because in describes a location and Straße is feminine. The form is therefore not chosen by proximity alone. Compare diese Straße (“this street,” nominative or accusative) with in dieser Straße (“on/in this street,” dative). Straße means “street.” Its singular form is feminine: die Straße; after the location phrase in dieser Straße, the dative is required. The complete phrase means “on this street” in the fixed translation. hat is the third-person singular present form of haben (“to have”). The subject here is Das Restaurant, so German uses hat; with a plural subject, the form is haben: Die Restaurants haben eine Karte. means “The restaurants have a menu.” einfache means “simple” here. Its base form is the adjective einfach. In eine einfache Mittagskarte, the adjective has the ending -e because it modifies the feminine singular accusative noun phrase introduced by eine. The adjective describes the menu, not the restaurant. Mittagskarte means “lunch menu.” It is a compound noun formed from Mittag (“midday/noon”) and Karte (“menu” in this context). The noun is feminine: die Mittagskarte; after hat, it appears as the accusative object in eine einfache Mittagskarte. Together, Das Restaurant in dieser Straße is the subject: “The restaurant on this street.” hat expresses possession or availability, and eine einfache Mittagskarte is what it has: “a simple lunch menu.” The whole utterance means “The place on this street has a simple lunch menu,” with Restaurant specifying that the place is a restaurant.

4. Das Café in der Nähe des Parks ist vielleicht ruhiger.

   The cafe near the park might be quieter.

   Café

   cafe

   in der Nähe

   nearby

   Parks

   park

   ist

   is

   vielleicht

   perhaps

   ruhiger

   quieter

   More detail

   Café means “cafe” here. It is a neuter noun in German, written with a capital letter. The definite form is das Café; an indefinite form is ein Café. in der Nähe is a reusable phrase meaning “near” or “nearby.” Nähe is a feminine noun, and der here is its dative singular article after in in this location phrase. For example: Das Hotel ist in der Nähe. — “The hotel is nearby.” Parks means “park” in the phrase des Parks. Park is masculine, and des Parks is genitive singular, expressing the nearby landmark’s relationship: “of the park,” naturally “near the park.” The genitive singular adds -s to this noun: der Park → des Parks. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. Here it links the cafe to the description that follows. vielleicht means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It signals uncertainty about the statement rather than changing the identity of the cafe or park. For example: Vielleicht ist sie zu Hause. — “Perhaps she is at home.” ruhiger is the comparative form of the adjective ruhig (“quiet”): ruhig → ruhiger (“quieter”). As a predicate adjective after ist, it has no adjective ending here. The comparative presents the cafe as quieter than some comparison point understood from the situation; it does not itself specify what that point is. For example: Dieses Zimmer ist ruhiger. — “This room is quieter.” Together, Das Café identifies the cafe, in der Nähe des Parks locates it near the park, and ist vielleicht ruhiger says that it might be quieter. The complete meaning is: “The cafe near the park might be quieter.”

5. Aber es ist weiter weg.

   But it is farther away.

   Aber

   but

   es ist

   it is

   weiter

   farther

   weg

   away

   More detail

   Aber means “but” and marks a contrast with something already mentioned. It is a coordinating conjunction and does not itself identify what is being contrasted. es ist contains es, the third-person singular pronoun used here as the subject, and ist, the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for es. The fixed sentence and translation do not identify the specific referent of es; the pronoun simply presents it as “it.” Example: Es ist ruhig. — “It is quiet.” weiter is the comparative form of weit (“far” or “wide”). The useful comparison is weit → weiter (“far” → “farther/further”). In this sentence, weiter compares the subject’s distance with a previously relevant location or distance. Example: Der Bahnhof ist weiter. — “The train station is farther away.” weg is an adverb meaning “away.” Together, weiter weg is the reusable pattern for “farther away.” Weiter supplies the comparison, while weg specifies that the comparison concerns distance away from a reference point. Example: Das Hotel ist weiter weg. — “The hotel is farther away.” Taken together, Aber es ist weiter weg. means “But it is farther away.” The order is aber + subject and verb (es ist) + comparative distance expression (weiter weg).

6. Brauchen wir für das Restaurant in der Nähe eine Reservierung?

   Do we need a reservation for the nearby place?

   Brauchen

   need

   wir

   we

   für

   for

   Restaurant

   restaurant

   in der Nähe

   nearby

   Reservierung

   reservation

   More detail

   Brauchen means “need” here. Its base form is brauchen; brauchen is also the present-tense form used with wir (“we need”). In a yes/no question, the conjugated verb comes first: Brauchen wir ...? means “Do we need ...?” Example: Brauchen wir einen Tisch? — “Do we need a table?” wir means “we.” It is the first-person plural subject pronoun. The verb form agrees with this subject: wir brauchen (“we need”), not the singular ich brauche (“I need”). für means “for” and introduces what something is intended for or concerns. It takes the accusative case in German. In für das Restaurant, das is the accusative form of the neuter definite article; the article looks the same as nominative das. das Restaurant refers here to “the restaurant,” matching the fixed translation’s “the nearby place.” Restaurant is a neuter noun, so its definite article is das: das Restaurant. The noun’s plural is die Restaurants. Example: Das Restaurant ist offen. — “The restaurant is open.” in der Nähe means “nearby” or literally “in the vicinity.” It is a fixed prepositional expression: in is followed here by the dative form der because the expression describes a location rather than movement into a location. The phrase modifies das Restaurant, giving “the restaurant nearby.” eine Reservierung means “a reservation.” Reservierung is a feminine noun, so its indefinite article is eine. The article does not by itself assert a numeric count; it presents a reservation as an unspecified one. Its plural is Reservierungen. Example: Wir haben eine Reservierung. — “We have a reservation.” Together, Brauchen wir forms the yes/no question “Do we need,” für das Restaurant in der Nähe specifies that the need concerns the nearby restaurant, and eine Reservierung names what may be needed. The complete utterance therefore means: “Do we need a reservation for the nearby place?”

7. Wahrscheinlich nicht. Um diese Zeit finden wir normalerweise einen Tisch.

   Probably not. Around this time, we can usually find a table.

   Wahrscheinlich nicht

   probably not

   Um diese Zeit

   around this time

   finden

   find

   normalerweise

   usually

   Tisch

   table

   More detail

   Wahrscheinlich nicht expresses “probably not.” wahrscheinlich is an adverb meaning “probable/probably”; nicht negates the implied proposition. The phrase is a useful short answer when the speaker does not expect something to be true, while still leaving some uncertainty. Um diese Zeit means “around this time.” The temporal preposition um is used here with a time expression. diese agrees with the feminine noun Zeit; in this form, the relevant accusative form is identical to the nominative feminine form. Example: Um diese Zeit arbeite ich. — “I work around this time.” finden means “find.” In the sentence, it is the present-tense form used with wir: wir finden. The infinitive and the wir form have the same spelling here. Example: Wir finden den Eingang. — “We find the entrance.” normalerweise means “usually” or “normally.” It is an adverb describing what generally happens. Its position can vary: Normalerweise finden wir einen Tisch. — “Usually, we find a table.” Tisch means “table.” The noun has masculine grammatical gender: der Tisch. In this sentence, einen Tisch is the direct object of finden; einen is the masculine accusative form of the indefinite article. This article does not by itself assert a numerical count; it introduces the table as an indefinite object. Example: Wir brauchen einen Tisch. — “We need a table.” Together, Wahrscheinlich nicht gives the negative, uncertain response. Um diese Zeit sets the approximate time, and wir finden normalerweise einen Tisch says that finding a table is the usual situation for the speakers at that time. The complete meaning is: “Probably not. Around this time, we can usually find a table.”

8. Dann wählen wir das Restaurant in dieser Straße.

   Then let's choose the place on this street.

   Dann

   then

   wählen

   choose

   wir

   we

   das Restaurant

   the restaurant

   in

   in/on

   dieser

   this

   Straße

   street

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here and places the choice after the preceding consideration. It can also connect a consequence: Dann gehen wir. — “Then we’ll go.” wählen is the infinitive “to choose.” In this sentence, wir supplies the subject, so the finite form is wählen: wir wählen — “we choose.” The same verb can also mean “to elect” in an appropriate context, but that is not the meaning here. wir means “we”: the speaker includes themself and at least one other person. The form does not identify exactly how many people are included. Compare ich — “I” — for the speaker alone. das Restaurant means “the restaurant.” Restaurant is a neuter noun, so its definite article is das; this article has the same form in the nominative and accusative. Here the noun phrase is the direct object of wählen: Wir wählen das Restaurant. — “We choose the restaurant.” in means “in” or “on,” depending on the relation expressed. With a location, it is followed by the dative; with movement into a place, it commonly takes the accusative. Here it introduces a location, so in dieser Straße means “on this street.” dieser means “this” in the form required before the feminine noun Straße after dative in. The demonstrative agrees with Straße in gender and number and shows the dative form: diese Straße — “this street” as a basic nominative/accusative phrase, but in dieser Straße — “on/in this street.” Straße means “street.” It is a feminine noun: die Straße; in the dative singular after locational in, the phrase is in dieser Straße. The spelling includes ß, which is part of the noun’s standard form. Putting the chunks together: Dann (“then”) + wählen wir (“we choose”) + das Restaurant (“the restaurant”) + in dieser Straße (“on this street”) gives “Then let’s choose the place on this street.” The German uses the first-person plural wählen wir to present the choice as a joint action; the fixed translation expresses that naturally as “let’s choose.”

9. Dann haben wir mehr Zeit zum Essen.

   That leaves us more time to eat.

   Dann

   then

   haben wir

   we have

   mehr

   more

   Zeit

   time

   zum Essen

   for eating

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here and links this sentence to the preceding choice: “Then …”. It can also refer to a later time in other contexts, but here it marks the consequence of that choice. haben wir uses haben, whose base form is haben (“to have”), in the present tense, first-person plural: wir haben = “we have”. In this sentence, the combination with mehr Zeit naturally means that the choice leaves or gives us additional time; it does not describe ownership of time. mehr is the comparative form meaning “more”. It is related to the base quantity word viel (“much” or “a lot”): viel → mehr. The form mehr does not change for the noun’s gender or number. For example, Wir haben mehr Zeit. means “We have more time.” Zeit means “time”. Its base form is Zeit; the noun is feminine, as shown by die Zeit. In this sentence it refers to available time, not a particular clock time. A useful contrast is viel Zeit (“a lot of time”) versus mehr Zeit (“more time”). zum Essen expresses “to eat” in this sentence. zum is the contraction of zu dem, and Essen is the capitalized nominalized infinitive from essen (“to eat”). As a nominalized infinitive, Essen is treated as a neuter noun (das Essen); in zu dem it appears in the contracted form zum. The same pattern appears in zum Lernen (“to study” or “for studying”). Together, Dann haben wir mehr Zeit zum Essen means “That leaves us more time to eat.” The sequence is “Then” + “we have” + “more time” + “to eat”; in context, it presents the extra time as the result of the preceding choice.