Using the shared laundry room schedule | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Der gemeinsame Waschraum ist heute voll.

   The shared laundry room is busy today.

   gemeinsame

   shared

   Waschraum

   laundry room

   heute

   today

   voll

   busy

   More detail

   gemeinsame means “shared” here. Its base form is gemeinsam (“shared, common”). The ending -e is the inflection used with this adjective in this noun phrase; the form is not the noun’s base form. Compare the reusable pattern der gemeinsame Raum (“the shared room”) with ein gemeinsamer Raum (“a shared room”), where the adjective ending changes with the surrounding grammar. Waschraum is a noun meaning “laundry room” here. It is a masculine noun: der Waschraum. The compound combines Wasch- (“washing”) with Raum (“room”), but learn the complete noun as Waschraum. Its plural is Waschräume (“laundry rooms”). Example: Der Waschraum ist klein. — “The laundry room is small.” heute means “today” and places the situation on the current day. It does not change form. Example: Heute ist der Raum frei. — “Today the room is available.” voll literally means “full.” With a room or other space, it can describe a space containing many people or things; in this translation, “busy” conveys that the shared laundry room is occupied. Its comparative is voller (“fuller”), and its opposite is leer (“empty”). Example: Der Raum ist voll. — “The room is full.” Together, Der gemeinsame Waschraum means “the shared laundry room.” ist links that subject to the description voll, while heute specifies when the situation holds. The complete utterance means: “The shared laundry room is busy today.”

2. Trag deinen Namen in den Zeitplan ein, bevor du eine Waschmaschine startest.

   Put your name on the schedule before starting a load.

   Trag … ein

   enter / put in

   Namen

   name

   Zeitplan

   schedule

   Waschmaschine

   washing machine

   startest

   start

   More detail

   Trag … ein is the imperative of the separable verb eintragen (“to enter” or “to put in”). The infinitive is eintragen; with du, the present form is du trägst … ein, while the imperative places the prefix at the end: Trag deinen Namen ein! The separated parts therefore work together even though they are apart in the sentence. Namen means “name” here. Its base form is der Name; in this phrase, Namen is the accusative singular form after the verb eintragen. The possessive form deinen also shows masculine accusative singular agreement with Name: dein Name but Trag deinen Namen ein. Zeitplan means “schedule.” Its base form is der Zeitplan. After in with a destination or placement, German uses the accusative: in den Zeitplan. This contrasts with a location, where the dative is used: Der Name steht im Zeitplan (“The name is in the schedule”). Waschmaschine means “washing machine.” It is a feminine noun: die Waschmaschine; after the indefinite article in the accusative, it appears as eine Waschmaschine. The article does not by itself assert a numerical count; the sentence refers to starting a washing machine as the relevant activity. In the fixed translation, this activity is expressed naturally as “starting a load.” startest comes from starten, “to start.” It is the present-tense du form: du startest. In the subordinate clause introduced by bevor (“before”), the finite verb goes to the end: bevor du eine Waschmaschine startest. The subject du is the same addressee as in the imperative. Together, Trag deinen Namen in den Zeitplan ein means “Put your name on the schedule.” bevor du eine Waschmaschine startest means “before starting a load,” literally “before you start a washing machine.” The complete utterance is therefore a command to enter the addressee’s name in the schedule before that person starts a washing machine.

3. Heute Nachmittag ist später noch eine Waschmaschine frei.

   There's a washer open later this afternoon.

   Heute Nachmittag

   this afternoon

   ist

   is

   später

   later

   noch

   still; yet

   Waschmaschine

   washing machine

   frei

   available

   More detail

   Heute Nachmittag means “this afternoon.” heute is the adverb “today,” while Nachmittag is the masculine noun “afternoon.” German capitalizes nouns. The phrase is a time expression; it does not mean that the afternoon itself is “today” as a separate assertion. ist is the present-tense third-person singular form of sein (“to be”). Here it links the washer to its status: one washer is available. A useful form chain is sein → ist for “is”; the form changes with the subject, for example Die Maschine ist frei (“The machine is available”). später means “later,” referring to a later time within the afternoon in this utterance. It is an adverb, so it does not take an ending. Compare heute (“today”) and später (“later”) as time adverbs. noch contributes the idea that the availability continues or remains at that later time. In this sentence, später noch presents a washer as still available later. Its exact contribution depends on the surrounding situation; it is not the same as the time adverb später itself. Waschmaschine means “washing machine” or, in this laundry context, “washer.” It is a feminine compound noun: die Waschmaschine; its plural is die Waschmaschinen. The noun is the subject of ist, even though it comes after the verb because the sentence begins with a time expression. frei means “available” here. It is an adjective used after sein, so it describes the washer’s current status and has no ending in this position. The same adjective can mean “free” in other contexts, but “available” is the relevant meaning here. The sentence begins with the time expression Heute Nachmittag. German main clauses commonly put the finite verb in the second position, so ist follows that time expression and the subject eine Waschmaschine comes afterward. später noch places the availability later in that afternoon: “There is still a washer available later this afternoon.” The indefinite article eine marks the noun phrase as indefinite; it does not by itself assert a numerical count.

4. Stell einen Timer.

   Set a timer.

   Stell

   set; place (command)

   Timer

   timer

   More detail

   Stell is the informal singular imperative of stellen (“to set” or “to place”). It addresses one person with du; the imperative gives a direct instruction. Here, stellen is used for setting a device, not necessarily physically placing it. Example: Stell den Wecker. — “Set the alarm clock.” Timer is a masculine noun: der Timer. In this sentence it appears as einen Timer, the accusative object of stell: the thing being set. The form einen marks the masculine accusative noun phrase; it does not by itself state a numeric count. Example: Ich stelle einen Timer. — “I’m setting a timer.” Together, Stell einen Timer. means “Set a timer.” The pattern is [informal singular imperative] + [accusative object], useful for direct instructions such as Stell einen Wecker. — “Set an alarm clock.”

5. Damit die nächste Person nicht warten muss.

   So the next person is not stuck waiting.

   Damit

   so that

   nächste

   next

   Person

   person

   nicht

   not

   warten

   wait

   muss

   must; has to

   More detail

   Damit introduces a purpose clause: “so that …”. In German, the conjugated verb in this kind of subordinate clause goes to the end. A reusable pattern is Damit [subject] [nicht] [infinitive] [modal verb]. nächste means “next” here. It is the inflected form of nächst- and modifies Person. In nächste Person, the adjective has the ending -e; the noun phrase refers to the person who comes next in the relevant sequence. Example: Der nächste Bus kommt bald. — “The next bus is coming soon.” Person means “person”. It is a feminine noun in German, so it is referred to with die when a definite article is used: die nächste Person — “the next person.” The supplied utterance itself has no article before nächste Person; its wording is preserved here. nicht negates the following situation: here, the person is not required to wait. With a modal verb, nicht warten muss means “does not have to wait”; it does not mean “must not wait.” Compare Sie muss warten. — “She has to wait” — with Sie muss nicht warten. — “She does not have to wait.” warten is the infinitive “to wait.” The infinitive remains unchanged while muss carries the present-tense conjugation. Example: Ich muss warten. — “I have to wait.” muss is the third-person singular present form of the modal verb müssen, “must” or “have to.” With a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end of the clause: Er muss gehen. — “He has to go.” Together, Damit sets the purpose, die nächste Person identifies the person who comes next, and nicht warten muss says that this person will not have to wait. The whole utterance therefore means “so that the next person does not have to wait,” matching the fixed translation “So the next person is not stuck waiting.”

6. Soll ich meine Wäsche herausnehmen, sobald der Waschgang endet?

   Should I move my clothes as soon as the cycle ends?

   Soll ich

   Should I...? — asking whether to do something

   Wäsche

   laundry; clothes

   herausnehmen

   take out; remove

   sobald

   as soon as

   Waschgang

   wash cycle

   endet

   ends

   More detail

   Soll ich combines the present form soll of sollen with the subject pronoun ich. In this question pattern, Soll ich + infinitive? asks whether the speaker should do something: Soll ich warten? = “Should I wait?” The infinitive appears later in the clause because sollen is a modal verb. Wäsche means laundry or clothes viewed as a quantity or collection. In this sentence, meine Wäsche means “my clothes”; meine marks possession, while Wäsche is the noun. The form Wäsche is also used for laundry generally, as in Die Wäsche ist nass. = “The laundry is wet.” herausnehmen is the infinitive of the separable verb herausnehmen, “to take out” or “to remove from inside.” Its parts are heraus- (“out”) and nehmen (“take”), but the verb is used as one lexical unit. After the modal soll, it stays in the infinitive at the end: Soll ich das herausnehmen? = “Should I take that out?” sobald means “as soon as” and introduces a time clause. It links an action to the point when another event occurs. In the clause beginning with sobald, the finite verb comes at the end: sobald der Unterricht endet = “as soon as the lesson ends.” Waschgang is a masculine noun meaning “wash cycle.” The phrase der Waschgang uses the form der here because the noun is the subject of endet in this clause. A useful related compound is Waschmaschine = “washing machine,” but it is a different noun. endet is the third-person singular present form of enden, “to end.” The subject is der Waschgang, so the singular form is used: Der Waschgang endet. = “The wash cycle ends.” German commonly uses the present tense in a time clause with sobald even when the event is understood as future. Together, Soll ich meine Wäsche herausnehmen asks whether the speaker should take out their clothes, and sobald der Waschgang endet sets the time condition “as soon as the wash cycle ends.” The complete meaning is: “Should I move my clothes as soon as the cycle ends?”

7. Bitte mach das. Nasse Wäsche, die in der Maschine bleibt, hält alle auf.

   Please do; wet clothes left in a machine hold everyone up.

   Bitte

   please

   mach

   do; make

   das

   that; it

   Nasse

   wet

   Wäsche

   laundry; clothes

   Maschine

   machine

   bleibt

   stays; remains

   alle

   everyone; all

   hält … auf

   holds up; delays

   More detail

   Bitte mach das. Here mach is the informal singular imperative of machen (“to do” or “to make”). The subject “you” is understood in this imperative and is not written. Bitte softens the request to “please”; it can also appear elsewhere in a German request. das is a neuter demonstrative form used here as the object, meaning “that/it.” The fixed translation identifies what “it” refers to as the requested action, without naming a separate object. Nasse modifies Wäsche. Its base form is nass (“wet”); nasse is the attributive form used with feminine singular Wäsche in this noun phrase. The phrase describes laundry that is wet, not a completed action. A simple contrast is trockene Wäsche (“dry laundry”), where trockene expresses the opposite description. Wäsche is a feminine noun meaning “laundry” or, in this context, “clothes.” It is often used as a mass noun for clothes considered as a load or collection. The related compound Wäschekorb means “laundry basket,” as in the bounded context, but Wäsche itself is the noun present here. die in der Maschine bleibt is a relative clause describing nasse Wäsche. die is the feminine singular relative pronoun referring to that laundry and functioning as the clause’s subject. in der Maschine means “in the machine”: in takes the dative here because the phrase describes a stationary location, and der is the dative form of the feminine article. Maschine means “machine.” bleibt is the third-person singular present form of bleiben (“to stay; remain”). Its subject is the relative pronoun die, so the clause says that the laundry remains in the machine. The present tense presents this as a general or current situation rather than specifying a separate past event. alle means “everyone” in this sentence, the people affected by the delay. It is the accusative form used as the object of aufhalten; for this plural form, nominative and accusative are identical. The form can also mean “all” with a plural noun, but no noun follows it here. hält ... auf is the separated form of the verb aufhalten, “to hold up” or “to delay.” Its base form is aufhalten; in the third-person singular present, the prefix moves to the end: hält ... auf. The verb’s stem vowel changes from a to ä in hält, and alle is the object being delayed. For example, Der Verkehr hält mich auf. means “The traffic is holding me up.” Together, Nasse Wäsche, die in der Maschine bleibt means “wet clothes left in the machine.” This noun phrase is the subject of hält alle auf, “holds everyone up.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Please do; wet clothes left in a machine hold everyone up.”

8. Ich bringe meinen Wäschekorb nach unten, bevor der Waschgang fertig ist.

   I'll bring my basket down before it finishes.

   bringe

   bring

   meinen

   my

   Wäschekorb

   laundry basket

   nach unten

   downward; downstairs

   bevor

   before

   Waschgang

   wash cycle

   fertig

   finished

   ist

   is

   More detail

   bringe is the first-person singular present form of bringen (“to bring”). The subject Ich is understood as the person doing the bringing. Useful forms are bringen (present infinitive), bringt (third-person singular present), and brachte (simple past). Example: Ich bringe den Korb nach unten. — “I bring the basket downstairs.” meinen is the possessive determiner meaning “my” here. It has the masculine accusative form because Korb is masculine (der Korb) and is the direct object of bringe: meinen Korb. Compare mein Korb for a masculine nominative subject and meine Tasche for a feminine noun. The possessive form agrees with the noun phrase's grammatical case and gender/number, not with the person who owns the item. Wäschekorb means “laundry basket.” It is a compound noun built from Wäsche (“laundry”) and Korb (“basket”); its grammatical gender is masculine: der Wäschekorb. In this sentence, meinen Wäschekorb is the object being brought. Example: Der Wäschekorb ist voll. — “The laundry basket is full.” nach unten is a directional phrase meaning “down” or “downstairs.” nach marks the direction, and unten means “below/downstairs.” It describes where the basket is being taken, rather than merely where it is located. Example: Wir gehen nach unten. — “We are going downstairs.” bevor introduces a subordinate time clause meaning “before.” The event in that clause is the time limit for the main-clause event. In German, a finite verb normally goes to the end of a bevor clause, as in bevor der Waschgang fertig ist. Waschgang means “wash cycle.” It is masculine: der Waschgang. In the subordinate clause, der Waschgang is the subject, so it appears in the nominative. Example: Der Waschgang dauert lange. — “The wash cycle takes a long time.” fertig means “finished” or “done.” Here it is a predicate adjective after ist, describing the state of der Waschgang; it is not inflected in this position. Its base form is fertig. Example: Die Arbeit ist fertig. — “The work is finished.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). It agrees with the singular subject der Waschgang. In the subordinate clause, it comes last: der Waschgang fertig ist. The form ist is used with a singular third-person subject; sind is used with a plural subject or with Sie in the relevant formal use. Together, Ich bringe meinen Wäschekorb nach unten says “I’ll bring my laundry basket down,” with the present tense understood from context as a planned or imminent action. bevor der Waschgang fertig ist adds the deadline “before the wash cycle is finished.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I’ll bring my basket down before it finishes,” with es in the English translation referring to the wash cycle.

9. Dann sollte alles gut laufen.

   That should keep things running smoothly.

   Dann

   then

   sollte

   should

   alles

   everything

   gut

   well

   laufen

   run; go

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here. It can connect the statement to a time or situation and introduce the expected result. sollte is the third-person singular form of sollen in the Konjunktiv II, used here for an expectation: “should.” The subject is alles, which is singular, so the finite verb is singular; its neuter gender does not determine the verb ending. The same form can also be the simple past of sollen; the intended meaning here is the expectation shown by the fixed translation. Example: Das sollte funktionieren. — “That should work.” alles means “everything” and is a pronoun, not the plural of a particular noun. Here it is the singular subject of sollte. The fixed translation renders it naturally as “things” within “keep things running smoothly.” gut means “well” here because it describes how the action proceeds. The adjective gut can also describe a noun, but its ending changes when required by the noun phrase: ein guter Plan — “a good plan.” laufen is the infinitive of laufen. Besides “to run,” it can mean “to go” or “to proceed” when referring to a process or situation. After the modal verb form sollte, it remains an infinitive at the end of the clause. Example: Der Motor läuft gut. — “The engine is running well.” Together, Dann sollte alles gut laufen means “Then everything should go well.” In the fixed translation, this is expressed more idiomatically as “That should keep things running smoothly.”