Correcting appointment paperwork | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Mir ist aufgefallen, dass mein Familienname auf diesem Formular falsch geschrieben ist.

   I noticed my family name is spelled incorrectly on this form.

   Mir … ist aufgefallen

   I noticed

   dass

   that

   mein

   my

   Familienname

   family name

   auf

   on

   diesem

   this

   Formular

   form

   falsch

   incorrectly

   geschrieben ist

   is written / spelled

   More detail

   Mir ist aufgefallen is a reusable German pattern meaning “I noticed” or “It came to my attention.” Mir is the first-person singular dative pronoun, “to me”; it marks the person who notices, rather than functioning as the grammatical subject. Auffallen is the base verb. In the present tense it commonly appears as mir fällt etwas auf; the perfect form here is mir ist etwas aufgefallen, with ist as the auxiliary and aufgefallen as the participle. Example: Mir ist ein Fehler aufgefallen. — “I noticed an error.” Dass introduces a subordinate clause meaning “that.” In this kind of clause, the finite verb typically moves to the end: …, dass … ist. The clause after dass states what was noticed. Mein means “my” here. It is a possessive determiner, and its form agrees with Familienname, not with the person who owns the name. Familienname is masculine singular, so the nominative form is mein Familienname. The masculine article pattern is der Familienname, mein Familienname; in another case, the form can change, for example mit meinem Familiennamen — “with my family name.” Familienname means “family name” or “surname.” It is a masculine noun: der Familienname. The plural is die Familiennamen. Auf diesem Formular means “on this form.” Here auf expresses a fixed location, so it takes the dative. Diesem is the dative singular masculine/neuter form of “this”; it agrees with the neuter noun Formular, not with Familienname: das Formular, auf diesem Formular. With movement onto a surface, auf can instead take the accusative, as in Ich lege es auf dieses Formular. — “I put it on this form.” Falsch means “incorrectly” in this sentence. It describes the result of the spelling, not the form itself as an object. A useful contrast is richtig — “correctly”: Der Name ist richtig geschrieben. — “The name is spelled correctly.” Geschrieben ist means “is written/spelled,” with geschrieben as the past participle of schreiben (“to write”) and ist as the form of sein needed for the passive/result description. In falsch geschrieben ist, falsch says that the spelling is incorrect. The verb schreiben has the participle geschrieben; this is not a form of Familienname. Together, mein Familienname is the thing being described, auf diesem Formular identifies where it appears, and falsch geschrieben ist says that its spelling there is incorrect. The dass clause is the content of the noticing construction: Mir ist aufgefallen, dass mein Familienname auf diesem Formular falsch geschrieben ist. — “I noticed that my family name is spelled incorrectly on this form.”

2. Ich kann die Unterlagen vor Ihrem Termin korrigieren.

   I can correct the paperwork before your appointment.

   Ich kann

   I can

   die Unterlagen

   the paperwork

   vor

   before

   Ihrem

   your

   Termin

   appointment

   korrigieren

   correct

   More detail

   Ich kann expresses the speaker’s present ability or possibility: “I can.” kann is the first-person singular present form of können; the infinitive belonging to it normally comes later in the clause. For example: Ich kann helfen. — “I can help.” With a different subject, the form changes: Sie kann helfen. — “She can help.” die Unterlagen means the paperwork or documents involved here. Unterlagen is the plural of Unterlage, and the plural article is die in both the nominative and accusative. Here it is the accusative object of korrigieren: the speaker can correct the paperwork. Example: Ich prüfe die Unterlagen. — “I check the documents.” vor means “before” when it places one event earlier than another. For a time reference, it takes the dative: vor dem Termin — “before the appointment.” This is different from a spatial use such as vor dem Gebäude — “in front of the building.” Ihrem means “your” here and agrees with the masculine singular dative noun Termin. The possessive form is based on Ihr-; its ending changes with the grammatical case, gender, and number of the noun. In this sentence, vor requires the dative for the temporal phrase, so the form is Ihrem, not Ihren or Ihrer. Termin means an appointment or scheduled meeting. It is masculine: der Termin; after dative vor, it appears as dem Termin or, with the possessive, Ihrem Termin. Example: Der Termin beginnt um zehn Uhr. — “The appointment starts at ten o’clock.” korrigieren means “to correct” and is the infinitive used with kann. It is a regular verb; its other useful present forms include ich korrigiere — “I correct” and sie korrigiert — “she corrects.” Example: Ich korrigiere den Fehler. — “I correct the mistake.” Together, Ich kann + die Unterlagen + vor Ihrem Termin + korrigieren forms a main clause with a modal verb, its object, a time phrase, and the final infinitive. The complete meaning is: “I can correct the paperwork before your appointment.”

3. In den Unterlagen steht auch noch meine alte bevorzugte Kontaktmethode.

   The record also shows my old preferred contact method.

   Unterlagen

   records; paperwork

   steht

   is recorded; shows

   auch noch

   also; in addition

   meine

   my

   alte

   old

   bevorzugte

   preferred

   Kontaktmethode

   contact method

   More detail

   Unterlagen means documents, paperwork, or records. It is the plural form of Unterlage; the supplied translation makes the paperwork/record context clear. In in den Unterlagen, den marks the plural dative after in when the phrase describes location: something is recorded in the documents. steht is the third-person singular present form of stehen (“to stand”). Here it is used figuratively for information that is written or recorded: “is recorded” or “appears.” The singular verb agrees with the singular subject Kontaktmethode, not with plural Unterlagen. A reusable pattern is In ... steht ... = “... is written/recorded in ...”. auch noch adds this as another item or piece of information. auch means “also,” while noch contributes the sense of an additional item here. The two words work together in this sentence; they do not mean that the contact method is necessarily still preferred now. meine is the possessive form of mein meaning “my.” It is the feminine singular nominative form required by Kontaktmethode: meine Kontaktmethode. Possessives change according to the noun phrase’s grammatical features and case, so other contexts can have forms such as mein or meiner. alte is the adjective alt (“old”) with an adjective ending. In this noun phrase, alte describes Kontaktmethode as old or previous. The ending is -e because the adjective is in a feminine singular nominative phrase after the possessive determiner meine. bevorzugte is the adjective bevorzugt (“preferred”) with the same feminine singular nominative ending: bevorzugte Kontaktmethode. The two adjectives appear before the noun in the order alte bevorzugte ...; German attributive adjectives take endings that reflect the noun phrase’s grammatical context. Kontaktmethode is a feminine compound noun meaning “contact method”: Kontakt + Methode. Its plural is Kontaktmethoden. In this sentence it is the singular subject of steht, while meine, alte, and bevorzugte agree with it. Together, In den Unterlagen identifies where the information is recorded, steht says that it appears there, and auch noch meine alte bevorzugte Kontaktmethode identifies the additional recorded item. The whole utterance therefore means: “The record also shows my old preferred contact method.”

4. Ich kann beide Angaben jetzt ändern, wenn Sie mir Ihren Ausweis zeigen.

   I can update both details now if you show your identification.

   Ich kann

   I can

   beide

   both

   Angaben

   details

   jetzt

   now

   ändern

   change; update

   wenn

   if

   Sie

   you (formal)

   mir

   to me

   Ausweis

   identification document

   zeigen

   show

   More detail

   Ich kann means “I can” here. kann is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb können (“can; be able to”). With a modal verb, the other verb stays in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause: Ich kann kommen. — “I can come.” beide means “both” and refers to exactly two items. It takes the form required by the noun phrase here: beide Angaben is plural and accusative because it is what can be changed. Beide Angaben sind wichtig. — “Both details are important.” Angaben means “details” or “information” in this context. It is the plural of Angabe; the singular is eine Angabe. The word can refer to pieces of information supplied or recorded, rather than to physical objects. jetzt means “now” and places the possible change in the present situation. It does not itself express how long the change will take. ändern is the infinitive “to change”; with information, ändern can naturally mean “to update” or “to alter.” Its form here is controlled by kann: kann ... ändern. Ich möchte die Adresse ändern. — “I would like to change the address.” wenn introduces a condition, “if.” In a German wenn clause, the finite verb normally moves to the end. The condition here is wenn Sie mir Ihren Ausweis zeigen, while the main clause states what is possible under that condition. Sie is the formal “you.” Its written capitalization distinguishes it from the informal pronoun sie; in this sentence it addresses one or more people formally. The form does not by itself identify whether the addressee is singular or plural. mir means “to me” or “for me” and is the first-person singular dative form of ich. It marks the person who is shown the identification: Sie zeigen mir ... — “You show me ...” Ausweis means “identification document” or “ID.” It is a masculine noun: der Ausweis. In Ihren Ausweis, Ihren is the formal possessive “your” in the masculine accusative form, because the identification is what is shown. Bitte zeigen Sie Ihren Ausweis. — “Please show your ID.” zeigen means “to show.” Here it is the finite present-tense verb in the wenn clause, placed at the end as required by that clause type. With formal Sie, its form is zeigen; this happens to coincide with the infinitive form. Its object is Ihren Ausweis, and mir identifies the recipient of the showing. Together, Ich kann beide Angaben jetzt ändern says that the speaker is able to update both details now. wenn Sie mir Ihren Ausweis zeigen adds the condition that the formally addressed person show the speaker their identification. The complete meaning is: “I can update both details now if you show me your identification.”

5. Hier ist er. Ich möchte, dass die Angaben für zukünftige Besuche stimmen.

   Here it is. I want the information to be accurate for future visits.

   Hier ist

   here is

   er

   it / he

   Ich möchte

   I want / would like

   Angaben

   details / information

   zukünftige

   future

   Besuche

   visits

   stimmen

   be accurate / be correct

   More detail

   Hier ist introduces something as present or available: “Here is …”. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”); with Hier first, the finite verb follows immediately. er is a masculine singular pronoun in the nominative case. In this utterance, the fixed translation supports the meaning “it,” but it does not identify the concrete thing being referred to. German pronoun form reflects grammatical gender, number, and case, so er can refer to a masculine singular noun even when English uses “it.” Ich möchte expresses the speaker’s wish: “I would like” or, in this context, “I want.” möchte is the first-person singular form used for this polite desire. Compare ich möchte (“I would like”) with du möchtest (“you would like”). Angaben means pieces of information or details here. It is the plural of die Angabe; the singular is eine Angabe. In the sentence, die Angaben is a definite plural noun phrase. The preceding context supports the reading “the details” being updated. zukünftige means “future” and modifies the plural noun Besuche. Its base form is the adjective zukünftig; here it has the ending -e because it comes before a plural noun in the accusative phrase für zukünftige Besuche, without a determiner. Besuche means “visits.” It is the plural of der Besuch; the singular is ein Besuch, and the plural is Besuche. stimmen means “to be correct” or “to be accurate” here. It is both the infinitive and the present-tense third-person plural form of stimmen; in this sentence, it is the finite form agreeing with the plural subject die Angaben. Here it describes information being correct, not an act of voting. The pattern Ich möchte, dass ... introduces what the speaker wants. In a German dass clause, the finite verb normally moves to the end: dass die Angaben ... stimmen. The phrase für zukünftige Besuche means “for future visits”; für takes the accusative, and zukünftige Besuche is the relevant plural noun phrase. Together, Ich möchte, dass die Angaben für zukünftige Besuche stimmen means “I want the information to be accurate for future visits.”

6. So können wir Ihnen Erinnerungen und Ergebnisse über den richtigen Kontaktweg schicken.

   That will help us send reminders and results by the correct contact method.

   So

   that way

   können wir

   we can

   Ihnen

   to you (formal)

   Erinnerungen

   reminders

   und

   and

   Ergebnisse

   results

   über

   via; by

   den

   the

   richtigen

   correct; right

   Kontaktweg

   contact method

   schicken

   send

   More detail

   So means “that way” or “thus” here. It links the sentence to the preceding situation and presents the following action as the resulting method or consequence. können wir combines können (“can”) with wir (“we”). können is the modal verb; in the present tense it is kann with ich, kannst with du, kann with er/sie/es, können with wir/Sie/sie, and könnt with ihr. In a main clause, the conjugated modal is in the second position, while the other verb goes to the end. Ihnen is the formal “you” in the dative case, used here for the recipient of the sending. The capital letter marks the polite form. The corresponding informal singular form is dir; the formal form does not identify the recipient’s gender or number. Erinnerungen means “reminders” here. Its singular base form is die Erinnerung; Erinnerungen is its plural form. For example: Ich brauche eine Erinnerung. — “I need a reminder.” und joins two coordinated objects: Erinnerungen und Ergebnisse (“reminders and results”). Ergebnisse means “results.” Its singular base form is das Ergebnis; Ergebnisse is the plural. For example: Die Ergebnisse sind da. — “The results are available.” über den richtigen Kontaktweg expresses the route or channel used for sending: “by/via the correct contact method.” Here über takes the accusative because it describes a route or means. den is the accusative masculine singular form of the definite article der. richtigen is the inflected form of the adjective richtig (“correct; right”). It describes Kontaktweg, and the ending -en is required here by the masculine accusative noun phrase with the definite article: den richtigen Kontaktweg. The base form is richtig; a useful opposite is falsch (“wrong”). Kontaktweg is a masculine compound noun meaning “contact method” or literally “contact route.” Its parts are Kontakt (“contact”) and Weg (“way/route”), but the complete compound names the channel through which contact is made. The article is der Kontaktweg; in this sentence it appears as accusative den Kontaktweg. schicken means “to send.” It is the infinitive governed by können, so it remains at the end of the main clause. For example: Wir können die Unterlagen schicken. — “We can send the documents.” Together, So können wir Ihnen gives “That way, we can send to you,” Erinnerungen und Ergebnisse gives the two things being sent, and über den richtigen Kontaktweg specifies the channel. The complete meaning is: “That will help us send reminders and results by the correct contact method.”

7. Muss ich das korrigierte Formular noch einmal unterschreiben?

   Do I need to sign the corrected form again?

   Muss ich

   do I need to

   korrigierte

   corrected

   Formular

   form

   noch einmal

   again

   unterschreiben

   sign

   More detail

   Muss ich combines the present-tense form muss of müssen with the subject pronoun ich. Muss is the first-person singular form here; müssen expresses necessity or need. In a German yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Muss ich ...? means “Do I need to ...?” The lexical verb stays in the infinitive later in the sentence because müssen is a modal verb. Example: Muss ich warten? — “Do I need to wait?” korrigierte means “corrected” here and describes Formular. It is a participial adjective related to the verb korrigieren. In das korrigierte Formular, the adjective follows the definite article das and takes the weak ending -e; das Formular is neuter singular in the accusative object phrase. Example: das korrigierte Dokument — “the corrected document.” Formular is the noun “form.” Here it is singular and is the object of unterschreiben; das marks its neuter singular form, although the nominative and accusative article are identical in this case. Its plural is Formulare. Example: Ich lese das Formular. — “I am reading the form.” noch einmal is a compact adverbial expression meaning “again” or “once more.” It indicates repetition of the signing, without by itself saying why the signing must be repeated. Example: Bitte versuchen Sie es noch einmal. — “Please try it again.” unterschreiben is the infinitive “to sign.” With a modal verb, it remains in the infinitive and appears at the end of this question. Example: Ich muss den Vertrag unterschreiben. — “I have to sign the contract.” Together, Muss ich asks about necessity, das korrigierte Formular is the form being signed, noch einmal adds repetition, and unterschreiben names the action. The complete meaning is: “Do I need to sign the corrected form again?” This is a direct, ordinary way to ask whether another signature is required.

8. Bitte unterschreiben Sie unten, nachdem ich die Änderungen vorgenommen habe.

   Please sign at the bottom after I make the changes.

   Bitte

   please

   unterschreiben Sie

   sign

   unten

   below; at the bottom

   nachdem

   after

   ich

   I

   die Änderungen

   the changes

   vorgenommen habe

   have made

   More detail

   Bitte is the polite word used to make a request: “please.” It can also occur in other polite requests, but here it softens the instruction that follows. unterschreiben Sie means “sign.” unterschreiben is the infinitive “to sign.” With formal Sie, German uses the infinitive together with Sie for the formal imperative: Unterschreiben Sie ... The capitalized Sie is the formal second-person pronoun; it is different from lowercase sie, which can have other functions. unten is an adverb meaning “below” or “at the bottom.” It specifies where the signing should take place. For example: Bitte schreiben Sie unten. — “Please write at the bottom.” nachdem means “after” and introduces a subordinate clause. In German, the finite verb normally goes to the end of a nachdem clause. ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It is the subject of the subordinate clause and identifies the person who makes the changes. die Änderungen means “the changes.” Änderungen is the plural of die Änderung (“change”); die here is the definite article for this plural noun. The form die is also used for feminine singular nouns in some cases, so its exact function must be determined from the noun and sentence structure. Here Änderungen is plural. vorgenommen habe comes from vornehmen, “to carry out” or “make” a change. vorgenommen is its past participle, and habe is the first-person singular present form of haben, “to have.” Together they form the perfect: “have made.” Because this is a subordinate clause introduced by nachdem, the participle comes before the finite auxiliary: ... vorgenommen habe. The subject ich determines habe. Together, nachdem ich die Änderungen vorgenommen habe means “after I make the changes” in the fixed translation, more literally “after I have made the changes.” The complete utterance is a polite formal instruction: “Please sign at the bottom after I make the changes.” The request addresses the formal Sie, while ich is the person who will make the changes.

9. Ich bin erleichtert, dass wir das vor dem Termin bemerkt haben.

   I am relieved we caught this before the appointment.

   Ich bin

   I am

   erleichtert

   relieved

   dass

   that

   wir

   we

   das

   this

   vor

   before

   Termin

   appointment

   bemerkt

   noticed; caught

   haben

   have

   More detail

   Ich bin means “I am.” bin is the first-person singular present form of sein: ich bin, while wir sind means “we are.” Here it forms the speaker’s present state with the adjective that follows. erleichtert describes the speaker’s feeling here: relieved. It is an adjective related to the verb erleichtern (“to make easier” or “to relieve”), but in this sentence it describes an emotional state. A useful contrast is besorgt (“worried”): Ich bin besorgt means “I am worried.” dass introduces the content of the speaker’s feeling: “that ...”. In a German dass clause, the conjugated verb normally goes to the end. The pattern Ich bin erleichtert, dass ... is reusable for stating relief about a fact. wir means “we.” It is the first-person plural pronoun, distinct from ich (“I”). In this sentence, wir is the subject of the subordinate clause, so the speaker includes at least themself and another participant, without the sentence specifying who else. das means “this” here and functions as the object of bemerkt. It is a demonstrative pronoun, not the definite article in this use. Its exact referent is supplied by the situation rather than identified by the sentence itself. vor means “before” in the temporal expression vor dem Termin. With this time meaning, it places the event earlier than the appointment. The preposition vor takes the dative in this expression, seen in dem before Termin. Termin means “appointment” here. Its useful form in this phrase is dem Termin: Termin is masculine, and the masculine dative definite article is dem. The noun itself is unchanged; the article marks the case. bemerkt means “noticed” or, with the intended object here, “caught.” It is the past participle of bemerken (“to notice”): bemerken → bemerkt. The translation “caught this” expresses noticing the matter referred to by das; it does not make bemerkt a different verb. haben means “have” here as the auxiliary in the perfect construction bemerkt haben. With wir, the present-tense auxiliary is wir haben. In the dass clause, haben comes last, after the participle: ..., dass wir das ... bemerkt haben. Together, dass wir das vor dem Termin bemerkt haben means “that we caught/noticed this before the appointment.” The subordinate clause is the content of the relief: Ich bin erleichtert + dass .... Thus the whole utterance means “I am relieved we caught this before the appointment.”

10. Sobald Sie unterschreiben, ist der aktualisierte Datensatz für zukünftige Besuche bereit.

    Once you sign, the updated record will be ready for future visits.

    Sobald

    once; as soon as

    Sie

    you (formal)

    unterschreiben

    sign

    ist

    is

    aktualisierte

    updated

    Datensatz

    record

    zukünftige

    future

    Besuche

    visits

    bereit

    ready

    More detail

    Sobald introduces a time clause meaning “as soon as” or “once.” It connects an event to what happens immediately afterward. In a subordinate clause introduced by sobald, the finite verb goes to the end: Sobald Sie unterschreiben = “Once you sign.” Example: Sobald er kommt, beginnen wir. — “As soon as he comes, we will begin.” Sie is the formal “you.” Its capital letter distinguishes it from sie, which can mean “she” or “they.” Here Sie is the subject of unterschreiben, and the fixed translation identifies this person as the one who signs. unterschreiben means “to sign,” especially a document or record. This is the infinitive form, and it also has the same spelling as the present-tense form with formal Sie: Sie unterschreiben — “you sign.” In the time clause, German uses the present form even though the English translation refers to a future action. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. It agrees with the singular subject der aktualisierte Datensatz, not with Sie. In the main clause, ist ... bereit states the record’s condition. aktualisierte describes the record as having been updated. It comes from aktualisieren (“to update”); the form here is the adjective/participle aktualisiert with the ending -e. In der aktualisierte Datensatz, the masculine singular nominative noun phrase with definite article der gives the adjective this ending. Example: der aktualisierte Plan — “the updated plan.” Datensatz means “record” in the sense of a structured set of data. It is a masculine singular noun: der Datensatz; its plural is die Datensätze. The sentence refers to one updated record. für marks what something is intended or suitable for and requires the accusative case. Here für zukünftige Besuche means “for future visits.” zukünftige means “future.” It modifies the plural noun Besuche. In the phrase für zukünftige Besuche, the preposition für requires accusative, but the plural form of the noun phrase is identical in nominative and accusative; the adjective ending is -e because there is no article before the plural noun. Example: für zukünftige Termine — “for future appointments.” Besuche is the plural of der Besuch (“visit”): der Besuch → die Besuche. It refers here to future visits, without specifying who will make them or how many there will be. bereit means “ready” or “prepared.” It is a predicate adjective after sein, so it does not take an adjective ending: Der Datensatz ist bereit. — “The record is ready.” With für, it expresses readiness or suitability for something: Die Unterlagen sind für die Reise bereit. — “The documents are ready for the trip.” Together, Sobald Sie unterschreiben sets the time condition, “Once you sign.” The main clause ist der aktualisierte Datensatz für zukünftige Besuche bereit says that the updated record will then be ready for future visits. German uses the present forms unterschreiben and ist here for a future situation; sobald and the context give the future timing. The complete meaning is: “Once you sign, the updated record will be ready for future visits.”