Making a clinic appointment when you feel unwell | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich habe Husten und fühle mich heute müde.

   I have a cough and feel tired today.

   Ich habe

   I have

   Husten

   cough

   fühle mich

   feel

   heute

   today

   müde

   tired

   More detail

   Ich habe means “I have” here. habe is the first-person singular present form of haben (“to have”): ich habe, du hast, er/sie hat. German uses haben in the expression Husten haben to describe having a cough. Example: Ich habe Fieber. — “I have a fever.” Husten means “cough.” It is a masculine noun: der Husten. In this symptom expression, German commonly uses it without an article: Ich habe Husten. This does not mean that the cough is being counted as one item. fühle mich means “feel myself” in form, but in this sentence it means “feel” in the sense of experiencing a condition. fühle is the first-person singular present form of fühlen (“to feel”), and mich is the matching reflexive pronoun for ich. The reflexive pattern is sich fühlen: Ich fühle mich ..., Du fühlst dich .... Example: Ich fühle mich besser. — “I feel better.” heute means “today.” It is an adverb, so it does not change form. Here it places the feeling in the present day. Example: Heute arbeite ich. — “Today I am working.” müde means “tired.” It is an adjective used after the reflexive verb sich fühlen, so it describes the speaker’s condition and has no adjective ending here: Ich fühle mich müde. Compare the useful opposite wach (“awake”): Ich fühle mich wach. — “I feel awake.” Together, Ich habe Husten states that the speaker has a cough, and fühle mich heute müde states that the speaker feels tired today. und links the two statements, giving the complete meaning: “I have a cough and feel tired today.”

2. Du solltest in der Arztpraxis anrufen und um einen Termin bitten.

   You should call the clinic and ask for an appointment.

   Du solltest

   you should

   Arztpraxis

   doctor’s office; clinic

   anrufen

   call

   um … bitten

   ask for

   Termin

   appointment

   More detail

   Du solltest gives advice to one person addressed informally: “you should.” Du is the singular informal subject form. Solltest is the second-person singular Konjunktiv II form of sollen, used here for advice; the base form is sollen. With a modal verb such as sollen, the following action verbs remain in the infinitive: Du solltest anrufen = “You should call.” Arztpraxis means a doctor’s office or medical practice. It is a compound noun: Arzt + Praxis, and its grammatical gender is feminine: die Arztpraxis. In in der Arztpraxis, der is the feminine singular dative article because in expresses location here. Example: Die Arztpraxis ist heute geöffnet. — “The doctor’s office is open today.” anrufen means “to call,” especially to call a person or institution by telephone. It is a separable verb: in a finite main clause, Ich rufe an means “I call,” but after solltest the infinitive stays together: Du solltest anrufen. Its base form is anrufen; the finite form rufst ... an carries the separation. um ... bitten is the useful construction for asking for something. The verb bitten means “to ask” or “to request,” and with um it takes the requested thing in the accusative: um etwas bitten. Example: Ich bitte um Hilfe. — “I ask for help.” In this sentence, um introduces einen Termin, while the infinitive bitten appears at the end of the coordinated infinitive phrase. Termin means “appointment.” It is masculine: der Termin; in einen Termin, the masculine singular indefinite article is in the accusative form. This article marks the noun phrase’s grammatical case here; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Example: Ich brauche einen Termin. — “I need an appointment.” Together, Du solltest introduces advice, in der Arztpraxis anrufen says to call the doctor’s office, and um einen Termin bitten says to ask for an appointment. The complete meaning is: “You should call the clinic and ask for an appointment.”

3. Was soll ich sagen, wenn ich anrufe?

   What should I say when I call?

   Was

   what

   soll ich

   should I

   sagen

   say

   wenn

   when

   anrufe

   call

   More detail

   Was asks for the content of the intended speech: “what”. It is an interrogative pronoun and can stand for the thing or words being asked about. Example: Was machst du? — “What are you doing?” soll ich combines soll, the first-person singular present form of the modal verb sollen, with ich, “I”. Here sollen expresses what the speaker ought to do or is expected to do, so soll ich ...? means “should I ...?” or “what am I supposed to ...?”. The infinitive that completes the modal construction comes later: soll ich sagen. sagen is the infinitive “to say”. With a modal verb, the infinitive remains in this form: Ich soll es sagen. — “I am supposed to say it.” Do not confuse sagen (“say”) with sprechen (“speak/talk”); sagen focuses especially on the words or information expressed. wenn introduces a subordinate clause. In this sentence it has the temporal meaning “when”, referring to the time of the call. It can also mean “if” in other contexts, so the intended meaning comes from the sentence and context. In a German subordinate clause introduced by wenn, the finite verb goes to the end. anrufe is the first-person singular present form of the separable verb anrufen, “to call” someone, especially by telephone. The base form is anrufen; in a main clause its parts separate: Ich rufe an. In the wenn clause they stay together at the end: wenn ich anrufe — “when I call”. The ending -e marks the first-person singular present form here. Together, Was soll ich sagen asks which words the speaker should use, and wenn ich anrufe specifies the time or situation: “when I call”. The complete utterance is therefore “What should I say when I call?”

4. Sag ihnen, dass du dich nicht gut fühlst und einen Arzt sehen möchtest.

   Tell them you feel unwell and would like to see a doctor.

   Sag

   tell

   ihnen

   them

   dass

   that

   du

   you

   dich

   yourself

   nicht

   not

   gut

   well; good

   fühlst

   feel

   und

   and

   einen

   a

   Arzt

   doctor

   sehen

   see

   möchtest

   would like

   More detail

   Sag is the imperative of sagen (“to say/tell”) for du (“you”). It gives a direct instruction: “Tell …”. A reusable pattern is Sag [person], dass ... — “Tell [person] that ...”. ihnen is the dative plural pronoun meaning “to them” or, with sagen, simply “them”: jemandem etwas sagen means “to tell someone something.” Its form is dative plural; the sentence does not identify the individual people more specifically. dass introduces a subordinate clause meaning “that.” In this kind of clause, the finite verb normally goes to the end: ..., dass du ... fühlst (“... that you feel ...”). du is the nominative second-person singular pronoun, “you,” and is the subject of the dass clause. dich is the accusative reflexive pronoun referring back to du. Together with fühlen, sich fühlen means “to feel” in the sense of experiencing a condition: Ich fühle mich müde. — “I feel tired.” nicht negates the following description here. gut means “well” in sich gut fühlen, so sich nicht gut fühlen means “not feel well” or “feel unwell.” gut can also mean “good” when it describes a noun, but here it describes how someone feels. fühlst is the second-person singular present form of fühlen: ich fühle, du fühlst. Because the subject is du, the verb has this ending, and because the meaning is “feel,” it appears with the reflexive dich here. und joins two coordinated things that du does: feeling unwell and wanting to see a doctor. The subject du is understood again in the second part. einen is the accusative masculine form of the indefinite article ein. It marks Arzt as the direct object of sehen; it does not by itself assert a numerical count in the English sense. Compare the forms: ein Arzt (nominative masculine) and einen Arzt (accusative masculine). Arzt is the masculine noun “doctor.” Its plural is Ärzte: ein Arzt — “a doctor”; zwei Ärzte — “two doctors.” sehen is the infinitive “to see.” In einen Arzt sehen, the doctor is the person seen or consulted. After a modal-like form such as möchtest, the other verb remains an infinitive: Ich möchte einen Arzt sehen. — “I would like to see a doctor.” möchtest is the second-person singular form of möchten, used here to express a polite or less direct wish: “would like.” It is related to mögen, but möchten is the form normally used for a present wish or request. The finite verb is at the end because it is inside the dass clause: dass du ... sehen möchtest. The sentence first gives the instruction Sag ihnen (“Tell them”). The content of what should be told is introduced by dass: du dich nicht gut fühlst (“you feel unwell”) and einen Arzt sehen möchtest (“you would like to see a doctor”). Together: “Tell them you feel unwell and would like to see a doctor.”

5. Ich möchte auch fragen, wann noch Termine frei sind.

   I also want to ask what times are available.

   Ich möchte

   I want to

   auch

   also

   fragen

   ask

   wann

   when

   noch

   still

   Termine

   appointments

   frei

   available

   sind

   are

   More detail

   Ich möchte expresses “I would like to” or “I want to” in a polite way. möchte is the first-person singular form used here; it comes from mögen, but in this use it expresses a wish rather than simple liking. The reusable pattern is Ich möchte + infinitive: Ich möchte warten. — “I would like to wait.” auch means “also” and adds this action to something already mentioned or understood. It does not identify what that earlier action is by itself. Example: Ich möchte auch kommen. — “I would also like to come.” fragen is the infinitive “to ask.” After möchte, the following verb remains in the infinitive: Ich möchte fragen — “I would like to ask.” Compare Ich frage — “I ask / am asking,” where the verb is finite and agrees with ich. wann introduces a question about time. In this sentence it begins an embedded question: fragen, wann ... — “ask when ...” In context, the question concerns which appointment times are available, so the natural translation is “what times are available,” not necessarily a request for one exact clock time. Example: Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt. — “I don’t know when he is coming.” noch means “still” or “remaining” here. With availability, it indicates that appointments may still be available: Sind Termine noch frei? — “Are appointments still available?” Its meaning combines with frei; noch alone does not mean “available.” Termine is the plural of Termin, meaning “appointments” or scheduled times. The singular is ein Termin; the plural is Termine. Example: Ich brauche einen Termin. — “I need an appointment.” frei means “free” here in the sense of “available,” not occupied or already booked. It is a descriptive adjective used after sind, so it does not receive an ending in this position. Example: Der Termin ist frei. — “The appointment is available.” sind is the third-person plural form of sein (“to be”), agreeing with plural Termine. The forms relevant here are ist for singular and sind for plural: Der Termin ist frei. — “The appointment is available”; Die Termine sind frei. — “The appointments are available.” Because this is an embedded question introduced by wann, the finite verb appears at the end: wann noch Termine frei sind. Together, Ich möchte auch fragen means “I would also like to ask.” The embedded question wann noch Termine frei sind means “when appointments are still available,” naturally rendered in the fixed translation as “what times are available.” The whole utterance therefore means: “I also want to ask what times are available.”

6. Das hilft ihnen, einen Termin zu finden, der für dich passt.

   That will help them find an appointment that works for you.

   Das

   That

   hilft

   helps

   ihnen

   them

   Termin

   appointment

   zu finden

   to find

   der

   that; which

   für dich

   for you

   passt

   works

   More detail

   Das is a standalone demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here and functions as the subject. Its precise referent is not named in this sentence. German present-tense hilft can be translated as “will help” when the context places the helping in the future; the form itself is present tense. hilft is the third-person singular form of helfen. This verb commonly takes the person helped in the dative: jemandem helfen. ihnen is the dative plural pronoun “them,” the person receiving help. The capitalized form Ihnen is formal “you” in the dative; lowercase ihnen here means “to them.” Compare the basic forms sie (they/them, depending on case) and ihnen (to them, the dative form); the form must be chosen from its grammatical role, not just its meaning in English. Termin means “appointment.” It is a masculine noun: der Termin; its plural is die Termine. In einen Termin, the masculine indefinite article is in the accusative because the appointment is the object of finden. einen is an article form, not by itself a statement that exactly one appointment exists. zu finden means “to find.” It consists of finden plus zu, a common infinitive construction. With helfen, German can use the pattern jemandem helfen, etwas zu tun: “to help someone do something.” The infinitive remains finden; zu is placed directly before it here. der begins a relative clause and means “that” or “which.” It is a masculine singular nominative relative pronoun referring here to Termin. Its nominative form reflects its role as the subject of the relative clause, not its role in the main clause. A useful pattern is ein Termin, der ... — “an appointment that ...”. für dich means “for you.” The preposition für takes the accusative, so the second-person singular pronoun is dich, not the nominative form du. This phrase identifies the person for whom the appointment must be suitable; it does not itself say who will find it. passt is the third-person singular present form of passen, “to fit” or, in this context, “to suit/work for.” The subject is der (“that,” referring to the appointment), which is why the verb is singular. A reusable pattern is Der Termin passt für mich. — “The appointment works for me.” Together, Das hilft ihnen, einen Termin zu finden means “That will help them find an appointment.” The relative clause der für dich passt specifies the appointment: it is one that works for you. Thus the complete utterance means “That will help them find an appointment that works for you.”

7. Ich rufe jetzt in der Arztpraxis an.

   I will call the clinic now.

   Ich

   I

   rufe … an

   call

   jetzt

   now

   Arztpraxis

   clinic

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular subject: “I.” German uses ich for the speaker as the subject of a clause. Example: Ich schreibe. — “I am writing.” rufe ... an is the separated form of anrufen, “to call” by telephone in this use. In the present tense, the first-person singular form is ich rufe; the separable prefix an moves to the end of the clause: Ich rufe an. — “I am calling.” The form chain is anrufen → ich rufe ... an. Do not treat rufe as a complete form of a different verb here; an belongs with it. jetzt means “now.” With the present-tense verb, it places the calling at the current moment or makes it an immediate action: Ich rufe jetzt an. — “I’ll call now.” Arztpraxis means “doctor’s office” or “clinic.” It is a feminine noun, so after the location expression in here it appears as der Arztpraxis: in der Arztpraxis. The compound combines Arzt (“doctor”) and Praxis (“practice/office”), but Arztpraxis is the useful noun as a whole. Example: Die Arztpraxis ist heute geschlossen. — “The doctor’s office is closed today.” Together, in der Arztpraxis anrufen means “call the clinic/doctor’s office.” Thus Ich rufe jetzt in der Arztpraxis an. means “I will call the clinic now.”

8. Schreib deine Symptome auf, damit du sie klar erklären kannst.

   Write your symptoms down so you can explain them clearly.

   Schreib … auf

   write down

   Symptome

   symptoms

   damit

   so that

   klar

   clearly

   erklären

   explain

   kannst

   can

   More detail

   Schreib ... auf is the informal singular imperative of the separable verb aufschreiben, “to write down.” In a main-clause imperative, the prefix auf appears at the end: Schreib deine Symptome auf. The form addresses one person with du; a formal command would use a different construction, such as Schreiben Sie ... auf. Symptome means “symptoms” here. It is the plural of das Symptom; the possessive deine agrees with this plural noun and means “your.” Example: Notiere deine Symptome. — “Write down your symptoms.” damit introduces a subordinate purpose clause: “so that” or “so.” It connects the writing with its intended purpose. In a damit clause, the finite verb normally goes to the end. klar means “clearly” in this sentence, describing how the explaining is done. German uses the same form klar as an adjective and as an adverb here. Example: Bitte sprich klar. — “Please speak clearly.” erklären is the infinitive meaning “to explain.” Its base form is erklären; it remains an infinitive after the modal verb kannst. Example: Ich möchte das erklären. — “I would like to explain that.” kannst is the du form of können, “can” or “be able to.” können is a modal verb, so the other verb appears as an infinitive at the end of the subordinate clause: du ... erklären kannst. The subject du is the person who can explain. In this sentence, sie is the accusative pronoun “them,” referring to the symptoms; the full clause makes that object role clear. It is not the reflexive “yourself”; German uses sich for that meaning. Together, Schreib deine Symptome auf gives the command “Write down your symptoms.” damit du sie klar erklären kannst adds the purpose “so you can explain them clearly.” The complete utterance is: “Write your symptoms down so you can explain them clearly.”