Deciding Which Task to Do First | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich habe heute Morgen zu viele Aufgaben.

   I have too many tasks this morning.

   Ich habe

   I have

   heute Morgen

   this morning

   zu viele

   too many

   Aufgaben

   tasks

   More detail

   Ich habe uses haben in the present tense with the first-person singular subject ich: ich habe = “I have.” The form habe is the inflected form of haben; it is not the noun or adjective that follows it. Example: Ich habe Zeit. — “I have time.” heute Morgen expresses the time “this morning.” heute means “today,” while Morgen means “morning” in this phrase and is capitalized because it is a noun. Example: Heute Morgen arbeite ich. — “This morning I am working.” zu viele means “too many.” zu adds the idea that the amount exceeds what is suitable or manageable. viele is the plural form used with a countable plural noun; its base form is viel (“much/many”), with viele used here before Aufgaben. Compare viele Aufgaben (“many tasks”) with zu viele Aufgaben (“too many tasks”). Aufgaben means “tasks.” It is the plural of Aufgabe (“task”); the plural form ends in -n here. Example: Ich habe drei Aufgaben. — “I have three tasks.” Together, Ich habe + heute Morgen + zu viele Aufgaben produces: “I have too many tasks this morning.” The sentence presents the speaker as having an excessive number of tasks during the specified morning.

2. Ordne sie zuerst nach Priorität.

   List them by priority first.

   Ordne

   list / arrange

   sie

   them

   zuerst

   first

   nach

   according to / by

   Priorität

   priority

   More detail

   Ordne is the imperative singular form of ordnen, “to arrange” or “to sort.” It addresses one person informally: Ordne die Aufgaben. — “Sort the tasks.” The imperative tells the listener to carry out the action; it is not a statement that the listener is already sorting. sie is an accusative plural pronoun meaning “them” here. It is the object of ordne, so it names the items being arranged; in the supplied context, these are the tasks. The related forms are sie for plural “they” in the subject position and ihnen for plural “them” after a dative requirement, but this sentence needs the accusative form because the tasks are directly arranged. zuerst is an adverb meaning “first.” It places the sorting step before other implied steps, without itself stating how many steps there are. Example: Lies zuerst die E-Mail. — “Read the email first.” nach introduces the criterion used for sorting. With a noun, the reusable pattern is nach + [criterion], meaning “according to/by [criterion].” In this use, nach governs the dative case. Priorität is a feminine noun meaning “priority.” Its basic form is die Priorität; after nach, the dative form with an article would be nach der Priorität. The sentence uses the noun without an article in the compact phrase nach Priorität, “by priority.” Together, Ordne sie means “Arrange/list them,” zuerst adds “first,” and nach Priorität specifies the sorting criterion. The complete instruction is therefore: “List them by priority first.”

3. Diese E-Mail ist dringend.

   This email is urgent.

   Diese

   this

   E-Mail

   email

   ist

   is

   dringend

   urgent

   More detail

   Diese means “this” here and is the feminine singular nominative form of the demonstrative dies-. It agrees with the subject noun E-Mail, which is feminine in German. Compare dieser for masculine singular nominative and diese for feminine singular or plural in the relevant nominative forms. E-Mail is the noun “email.” Its plural is E-Mails. In this sentence it is the subject, so it appears in the basic form rather than a case-marked form. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. It links the subject to the description dringend. For example, Der Bericht ist wichtig. means “The report is important.” dringend means “urgent” here. As a predicate adjective after ist, it does not take an adjective ending: Die E-Mail ist dringend. means “The email is urgent.” Wichtig means “important,” but it describes importance rather than the need for immediate attention. Together, Diese E-Mail identifies one particular email as the subject, ist links it to a description, and dringend supplies that description. The complete meaning is “This email is urgent.”

4. Der Bericht ist wichtig.

   The report is important.

   Bericht

   report

   wichtig

   important

   More detail

   Bericht means “report” here. Its base form is der Bericht, a masculine noun. In the sentence, Bericht is the subject, so the masculine singular nominative article is der. Its plural is die Berichte. Example: Der Bericht ist neu. — “The report is new.” wichtig describes the report as important. It is an adjective in its basic form. Because it follows the linking verb ist and describes the subject directly, it has no adjective ending here. Its comparison is wichtiger (“more important”), with the superlative am wichtigsten (“most important”). Example: Diese E-Mail ist wichtig. — “This email is important.” The complete pattern is Der + noun + ist + adjective: Der Bericht ist wichtig. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), agreeing with the singular subject Der Bericht. Together, the sentence means “The report is important.”

5. Wann ist die Frist für den Bericht?

   When is the report deadline?

   Wann ist

   When is …?

   Frist

   deadline

   für

   for

   Bericht

   report

   More detail

   Wann ist asks for the time or date of something. Wann means “when?” and ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The reusable pattern is Wann ist ...? = “When is ...?” Frist means a deadline: the latest time by which something is due. The observed form is die Frist; its base form is also Frist, and the feminine article is part of its noun phrase. Example: Die Frist endet am Freitag. — “The deadline ends on Friday.” für means “for” and introduces what the deadline concerns. With a definite masculine noun in the accusative, it is followed by den, as in für den Bericht. The preposition itself does not change; the article changes because of the noun phrase’s grammatical case. Bericht means “report.” Its base form is der Bericht; after für, it appears as den Bericht, the accusative form of the masculine noun phrase. Example: Ich schreibe einen Bericht. — “I am writing a report.” Together, die Frist für den Bericht means “the deadline for the report.” The full question Wann ist die Frist für den Bericht? asks when that deadline is: “When is the report deadline?”

6. Er muss morgen Nachmittag fertig sein.

   It is due tomorrow afternoon.

   Er muss

   it must

   morgen

   tomorrow

   Nachmittag

   afternoon

   fertig

   finished; ready

   sein

   be

   More detail

   Er muss combines the masculine singular pronoun er with muss, the third-person singular present form of müssen (“must; have to”). In this context, er refers to der Bericht (“the report”), so English uses “it,” not “he”: the report has to be finished. With a modal verb such as müssen, the other verb goes to the end in the infinitive: Er muss arbeiten = “He has to work.” morgen means “tomorrow.” It is an adverb, so it is not capitalized. morgen Nachmittag is the reusable time expression “tomorrow afternoon”; Nachmittag is capitalized because German nouns are capitalized. fertig means “finished” or “ready.” Here it describes the required state of the report. As a predicative adjective after sein, it has no adjective ending: Der Bericht ist fertig = “The report is finished.” sein is the infinitive “to be.” Its base form is sein; a present-tense form in a simple clause is ist for a third-person singular subject, as in Der Bericht ist fertig. Here sein remains an infinitive because muss is the modal verb. Together, Er muss morgen Nachmittag fertig sein means that the report must be finished tomorrow afternoon. In the supplied context, this gives the deadline meaning “It is due tomorrow afternoon.”

7. Dann beantworte zuerst die dringende E-Mail.

   Then answer the urgent email first.

   Dann

   then

   beantworte

   answer

   zuerst

   first

   dringende

   urgent

   E-Mail

   email

   More detail

   Dann means “then” and places this instruction after an earlier point in the sequence. It can also refer to a later time: Dann arbeite ich am Bericht. means “Then I will work on the report.” beantworte is the imperative form of beantworten (“to answer”). It addresses one person informally (du), so the implied subject is “you”: Beantworte die Frage! — “Answer the question!” The verb beantworten takes the thing being answered directly, without a preposition. zuerst means “first” or “before the other tasks.” Here it modifies the instruction to answer the email before the later work mentioned in the context. It is not part of the verb form. dringende is the form of the adjective dringend (“urgent”) used with E-Mail in die dringende E-Mail. The ending -e appears here because the adjective follows the definite article die in this noun phrase. The adjective itself is not derived from E-Mail; dringend describes the email’s urgency. E-Mail is a noun meaning “email.” German nouns are capitalized. In this sentence, die E-Mail is the direct object of beantworte; the feminine article die and the adjective form dringende belong to that noun phrase. Together, Dann beantworte gives the instruction “Then answer,” zuerst specifies that this should happen first, and die dringende E-Mail identifies what should be answered. The complete meaning is: “Then answer the urgent email first.”

8. Danach arbeite ich am Bericht.

   After that I will work on the report.

   Danach

   after that

   arbeite

   work

   ich

   I

   am

   on the

   Bericht

   report

   More detail

   Danach means “after that” and points back to an earlier event or instruction. It is useful for ordering actions: Danach gehe ich nach Hause. — “After that, I go home.” arbeite is the first-person singular present form of arbeiten, “to work.” The ending -e here shows ich: ich arbeite; with du, the form is du arbeitest. German present tense can describe a planned future action when the time is clear, so arbeite is compatible with “will work” here. ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out arbeite. am is the contraction of an dem. With the verb pattern an etwas arbeiten, German uses an with the dative to express working on something. The dative article for masculine der Bericht becomes dem Bericht, contracted here to am Bericht. Bericht is a masculine noun meaning “report.” Its basic form is der Bericht; after an in this pattern, it appears as dem Bericht within the contraction am Bericht. Example: Ich arbeite an einem Bericht. — “I am working on a report.” Together, Danach places the action after the earlier step, ich arbeite says that the speaker performs it, and am Bericht specifies the task. The whole utterance means: “After that I will work on the report.”

9. Das sollte dir helfen, dich weniger gestresst zu fühlen.

   That should help you feel less stressed.

   Das

   that

   sollte

   should

   dir

   to you

   helfen

   help

   dich

   yourself

   weniger

   less

   gestresst

   stressed

   zu fühlen

   to feel

   More detail

   Das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It is the subject of the sentence and has neuter singular form; the sentence does not identify a more specific referent for it. sollte is a form of sollen. Here it expresses “should”, presenting the helpful result as expected or intended. Example: Das sollte funktionieren. — “That should work.” dir is the dative form of du (“you”). helfen commonly takes the person helped in the dative: Das hilft mir. — “That helps me.” The forms are mir (“to me”), dir (“to you”), and ihm/ihr (“to him/to her”) for singular recipients. helfen means “to help”. Its base form is helfen; in a main clause it can inflect, for example ich helfe (“I help”) and du hilfst (“you help”). Here it remains an infinitive after sollte. dich is the accusative reflexive form corresponding to du. It refers back to the person addressed within the phrase dich ... zu fühlen: the addressee is the one who feels. The contrast is du as subject and dich as the reflexive object, as in Du fühlst dich gut. — “You feel good.” weniger means “less” and modifies gestresst, indicating a lower degree of stress. It is the comparative form related to wenig (“little/not much”); the corresponding higher-degree expression is mehr (“more”). Example: Ich bin weniger müde. — “I am less tired.” gestresst is an adjective meaning “stressed”. It describes the state the addressee is to feel. It can also be used after sein, as in Ich bin gestresst. — “I am stressed.” zu fühlen is the infinitive fühlen (“to feel”) with the infinitive marker zu. Together with dich, dich zu fühlen means “to feel” in the relevant reflexive construction. After helfen, German can use a zu-infinitive: Das hilft mir, besser zu schlafen. — “That helps me sleep better.” The structure is Das sollte dir helfen, dich weniger gestresst zu fühlen: “That should help you feel less stressed.” Das is the expected helpful thing, dir helfen identifies the person receiving the help, and dich weniger gestresst zu fühlen states the intended result.