Booking and tidying a shared office room | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich brauche einen ruhigen Raum für einen Anruf.

   I need a quiet room for a call.

   brauche

   need

   ruhigen

   quiet

   Raum

   room

   für

   for

   Anruf

   call

   More detail

   brauche is the first-person singular present form of brauchen, “to need.” With Ich, it means “I need.” Example: Ich brauche Hilfe. — “I need help.” ruhigen means “quiet” here. Its base form is ruhig. The ending -en appears because ruhig describes masculine singular Raum in the accusative within einen ruhigen Raum. The adjective agrees with the noun phrase, not with the verb. Raum means “room” here. The noun is masculine: der Raum; its plural is die Räume. In einen ruhigen Raum, it is accusative because it is the thing that is needed. Example: Ich brauche einen ruhigen Raum. — “I need a quiet room.” für means “for” and can introduce an intended use or purpose. It takes the accusative, so the masculine noun phrase here is einen Anruf, not nominative ein Anruf. Anruf means “call” here, commonly a telephone call. The noun is masculine: der Anruf; in the phrase einen Anruf, the accusative marking is carried by the indefinite article einen, while the noun itself remains Anruf. Example: Ich erwarte einen Anruf. — “I am expecting a call.” Together, Ich brauche (“I need”) + einen ruhigen Raum (“a quiet room”) + für einen Anruf (“for a call”) gives: “I need a quiet room for a call.”

2. Schau zuerst in den Kalender des gemeinsamen Büros.

   Check the shared office calendar first.

   Schau

   check; look

   zuerst

   first

   in den

   into the; in the

   Kalender

   calendar

   gemeinsamen

   shared; common

   Büros

   office

   More detail

   Schau is the singular informal imperative of schauen (“to look”). In this sentence, in etwas schauen means to look into or check something, so it is naturally used for checking a calendar. The implied subject is du (“you”). Example: Schau in den Schrank. — “Look in the cupboard.” zuerst means “first” or “first of all” and places the checking at the beginning of the relevant actions. Example: Lies zuerst die Nachricht. — “Read the message first.” in den combines the preposition in with the masculine accusative article den. With schauen, in describes the direction or target of looking, so the accusative is used here: in den Kalender schauen. The same preposition can take the dative when it describes a location rather than a direction or target; for example, im Kalender means “in the calendar” as a location (im = in dem). Kalender is the masculine noun “calendar.” Its singular forms include der Kalender (nominative) and den Kalender (accusative). Example: Ich öffne den Kalender. — “I open the calendar.” gemeinsamen means “shared” or “common” here. Its base form is the adjective gemeinsam. The ending -en appears because the adjective modifies masculine accusative Kalender after the definite article den: den gemeinsamen Kalender. Example: Wir nutzen einen gemeinsamen Kalender. — “We use a shared calendar.” Büros is the singular genitive form of the neuter noun Büro (“office”). The ending -s marks possession or association: der Kalender des Büros means “the office’s calendar” or “the calendar of the office.” The genitive article des also shows that Büros is genitive singular. Here, des gemeinsamen Büros means “of the shared office.” Example: Die Tür des Büros ist offen. — “The office door is open.” Together, in den Kalender schauen gives “check the calendar,” des gemeinsamen Büros specifies which calendar it is, and zuerst says that this should happen first. The complete utterance is therefore: “Check the shared office calendar first.”

3. Der kleine Raum scheint heute Nachmittag frei zu sein.

   The small room looks available this afternoon.

   kleine

   small

   Raum

   room

   scheint

   seems; looks

   heute Nachmittag

   this afternoon

   frei

   available; free

   zu sein

   to be

   More detail

   kleine describes the room as small. Its base form is klein; here it has the ending -e because it is an attributive adjective before the masculine singular noun Raum with the definite article der: der kleine Raum. Example: ein kleiner Raum = “a small room”; the ending changes with the article and noun phrase. Raum means “room” here. Its base form is already the singular form; the plural is Räume. Example: Die Räume sind frei. = “The rooms are available.” scheint is the third-person singular present form of scheinen, used here for an appearance or impression: “seems” or “looks.” The subject is der kleine Raum, so the singular form is required. A highly reusable pattern is etwas scheint ... zu sein = “something seems to be ...”. Example: Der Termin scheint wichtig zu sein. = “The appointment seems to be important.” heute Nachmittag gives the time: “this afternoon.” German can use this time expression without a preposition. heute means “today,” and Nachmittag means “afternoon”; the noun is capitalized because German nouns are capitalized. Example: Ich arbeite heute Nachmittag. = “I am working this afternoon.” frei is a predicate adjective meaning “available” in this context: the room can be used or booked. After sein, this adjective is not given an attributive ending: Der Raum ist frei, not Der Raum ist freie. In other contexts, frei can also mean “free” in senses such as not occupied or not restricted; here the fixed translation supports “available.” Example: Der Platz ist frei. = “The seat is available.” zu sein is the infinitive phrase “to be”: sein is the base infinitive of “to be,” and zu marks the infinitive in this construction. It combines with scheint even though the two parts are separated by heute Nachmittag: scheint heute Nachmittag frei zu sein = “seems to be available this afternoon.” Together, Der kleine Raum is the subject, scheint ... zu sein expresses an appearance rather than a direct assertion, heute Nachmittag specifies the time, and frei describes the room's availability. The whole utterance therefore means: “The small room looks available this afternoon.”

4. Trag die Buchung in den Kalender ein, bevor du den Raum benutzt.

   Add the booking to the calendar before you use it.

   Trag … ein

   enter / record

   Buchung

   booking

   Kalender

   calendar

   bevor

   before

   du

   you

   Raum

   room

   benutzt

   use

   More detail

   Trag … ein is the informal singular imperative of the separable verb eintragen (“to enter” or “to record”). In this sentence, Trag is the verb form placed at the beginning, while the separable prefix ein appears at the end of the main clause. The command is addressed to one person with informal du. Example: Trag den Termin ein. — “Enter the appointment.” Buchung means “booking” here. Its useful base form is die Buchung; in die Buchung it is the direct object of eintragen, so it is in the accusative, although the feminine article has the same form in nominative and accusative. Example: Ich bestätige die Buchung. — “I confirm the booking.” Kalender means “calendar.” The phrase in den Kalender describes the destination of the entry: the booking is put into the calendar. The preposition in takes the accusative here because the sentence describes movement or placement into something; den is the masculine accusative form of der. Example: Sie trägt den Termin in den Kalender ein. — “She enters the appointment in the calendar.” bevor means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. In that clause, the finite verb goes to the end: bevor du den Raum benutzt. This pattern lets one action be located earlier than another. Example: Wasch deine Hände, bevor du isst. — “Wash your hands before you eat.” du is the informal second-person singular pronoun, meaning “you” for one person. It is the subject of benutzt in the bevor clause. Its formal counterpart is Sie, but that is a different form and register. Raum means “room.” The observed form is den Raum: der Raum is masculine, and den marks the accusative direct object of benutzt. Example: Wir betreten den Raum. — “We enter the room.” benutzt is the present-tense second-person singular form of benutzen, “to use.” The ending -t marks the du form here; the same form also occurs with er, sie, or es, so the subject must be read from context or the pronoun. Example: Du benutzt den Computer. — “You use the computer.” Together, Trag die Buchung in den Kalender ein means “Enter the booking in the calendar.” bevor du den Raum benutzt places that action before the use of the room. The fixed translation’s “it” refers to the room, and the preceding context also identifies the room as the relevant available place. The complete meaning is: “Add the booking to the calendar before you use it.”

5. Soll ich nach dem Anruf etwas tun?

   Should I do anything after the call?

   Soll ich

   Should I

   nach

   after

   Anruf

   call

   etwas

   anything

   tun

   do

   More detail

   Soll ich is a reusable way to ask whether the speaker ought to do something: sollen is the modal verb, and ich is its first-person singular subject. In a yes/no question, the conjugated modal comes first and the other verb remains an infinitive at the end. Compare Soll ich warten? — “Should I wait?” nach means “after” here. For a time expression, German uses nach with the dative: nach dem Anruf means “after the call.” This is a time relation, not movement toward something. Anruf is the noun “call,” specifically a phone call in this context. Its base form is masculine: der Anruf. After nach, the masculine article changes to dative dem: nach dem Anruf. The noun itself remains Anruf here. etwas is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something” in a statement and commonly “anything” in a question such as this one. It does not specify what the thing is. Example: Möchtest du etwas trinken? — “Would you like something to drink?” tun means “do.” It is the infinitive used with the modal verb sollen; the finite form of sollen carries the question’s person and tense, while tun stays at the end. Example: Was soll ich tun? — “What should I do?” Together, Soll ich asks about the speaker’s recommended action, nach dem Anruf sets the time to after the call, and etwas tun means do anything. The complete meaning is: “Should I do anything after the call?”

6. Räum den Schreibtisch auf und nimm deine Sachen mit.

   Clear the desk and take your things with you.

   Räum … auf

   clear up; tidy up

   Schreibtisch

   desk

   nimm … mit

   take along

   Sachen

   things; belongings

   More detail

   Räum … auf is the informal singular imperative of aufräumen, “to tidy up” or “to clear up.” The base verb is aufräumen; its separable prefix auf- appears at the end here, after the object: Räum den Tisch auf. — “Clear the table.” The form Räum addresses one person informally; the longer imperative Räume … auf is also possible. Schreibtisch means “desk.” It is a masculine noun: der Schreibtisch. Here it is the object of the command, so with an article it would be Räum den Schreibtisch auf. The noun itself does not change visibly for this case. nimm … mit is the informal singular imperative of mitnehmen, “to take along” or “to take with you.” The verb is separable, so mit- appears at the end. nimm is the irregular imperative form of nehmen; do not replace it with the regular-looking nehm in this command. Example: Nimm einen Schirm mit. — “Take an umbrella with you.” Sachen means “things” or, in this context, “belongings.” It is the plural of Sache. In deine Sachen, deine is the possessive form agreeing with the plural noun; the phrase is the object of nimm … mit. Example: Wo sind deine Sachen? — “Where are your things?” Together, Räum den Schreibtisch auf gives “Clear the desk,” and nimm deine Sachen mit gives “take your things with you.” The two imperatives are joined by und: “Clear the desk and take your things with you.”

7. Ich lasse den Raum ordentlich zurück, bevor ich gehe.

   I'll leave it tidy before I go.

   lasse

   leave

   Raum

   room

   ordentlich

   tidy; neat

   zurück

   back

   bevor

   before

   gehe

   go

   More detail

   lasse is the first-person singular present form of lassen. Together with zurück, it forms the separable verb zurücklassen, meaning “to leave something behind.” Here, lasse ... zurück says that the speaker leaves the room behind in the stated tidy condition. Example: Ich lasse das Buch zu Hause zurück. — “I leave the book at home.” Raum means “room” here. The form den Raum shows that the noun is masculine and is the direct object of zurücklassen: der Raum is the nominative form, while den Raum is its accusative form. The article carries the case marking; Raum itself does not change. Example: Wir betreten den Raum. — “We enter the room.” ordentlich describes the condition in which the room is left: tidy or neat. It has no adjective ending here because it describes the object's state rather than appearing directly before a noun. Example: Sie hält den Tisch ordentlich. — “She keeps the table tidy.” zurück is the separable part of zurücklassen. In a main clause, the finite part appears near the subject and zurück moves to the end: Ich lasse den Raum ordentlich zurück. In an infinitive form, the parts stay together: Ich möchte den Raum ordentlich zurücklassen. — “I want to leave the room tidy.” bevor introduces a time clause meaning “before.” It places the action in the main clause before the action in the subordinate clause. A clause introduced by bevor is subordinate, so its finite verb goes to the end. gehe is the first-person singular present form of gehen, “to go.” The subject is still ich, understood again in the subordinate clause: bevor ich gehe means “before I go.” Example: Ich schließe das Fenster, bevor ich gehe. — “I close the window before I go.” Together, Ich lasse den Raum ordentlich zurück says that the speaker leaves the room tidy. bevor ich gehe places this action before the speaker's departure. The complete meaning is: “I'll leave it tidy before I go,” with “it” referring to the room in the English translation.

8. Das hilft der nächsten Person, gut anzufangen.

   That helps the next person get started smoothly.

   Das

   That

   hilft

   helps

   nächsten

   next

   Person

   person

   gut

   well; smoothly

   anzufangen

   to get started

   More detail

   Das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. Its form is nominative singular neuter, and it functions as the subject. In this context, the fixed translation supports a reference to something already understood, such as the preceding situation or action; it does not identify a particular noun as the referent. hilft comes from helfen (“to help”). It is the present-tense third-person singular form: ich helfe, du hilfst, er/sie/es hilft. German helfen takes the dative for the person who receives help. Thus der nächsten Person is in the dative, while Das is the subject. nächsten is the adjective nächst- (“next”) in der nächsten Person. The ending -en reflects the feminine singular dative phrase with the definite article der. Compare die nächste Person in the nominative or accusative with der nächsten Person in the dative. Example: Ich helfe der nächsten Person. — “I help the next person.” Person means “person.” It is a feminine noun in German, and this occurrence is singular and dative: der Person. Its plural is Personen, as in mit zwei Personen — “with two people.” gut is an adverb here, describing how the person starts: “well” or, in this context, “smoothly.” It does not take an adjective ending because it modifies the verb rather than a noun. Example: Sie arbeitet gut. — “She works well.” anzufangen means “to get started” or “to begin.” Its base verb is the separable verb anfangen: Ich fange an — “I start.” With zu, the separable prefix surrounds zu, producing anzufangen, not a form based on a different verb. The zu-infinitive appears in the infinitival clause after helfen: helfen, gut anzufangen — “help to get started smoothly.” Example: Es ist Zeit, anzufangen. — “It is time to start.” Together, Das hilft means “That helps,” and der nächsten Person identifies the person receiving the help. The infinitival clause gut anzufangen states the intended activity and manner: getting started smoothly. The complete utterance therefore means, “That helps the next person get started smoothly.”