Remembering new words with example sentences | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich merke mir beim Lernen neue Wörter.

   I remember new words during study time.

   merke mir

   remember / memorize

   beim Lernen

   while studying

   neue

   new

   Wörter

   words

   More detail

   merke mir comes from sich etwas merken, “to remember or memorize something.” In this sentence, merke is the present-tense first-person singular form of merken, matching Ich. mir is the first-person singular dative reflexive pronoun: the remembered item is neue Wörter, while mir marks the person keeping them in mind. A reusable pattern is Ich merke mir + thing: Ich merke mir den Namen. — “I remember the name.” beim Lernen means “while studying” here. beim is the contracted form of bei dem; Lernen is the capitalized nominalized form of the verb lernen, “to study or learn.” This construction presents the activity as the time or situation during which something happens. For example, Beim Lesen lerne ich neue Wörter. — “While reading, I learn new words.” neue describes the words as not previously known in the relevant context. It is the attributive form of neu, “new,” and agrees with Wörter in the plural accusative phrase neue Wörter. Because there is no article before this plural noun phrase, the adjective has the ending -e: neue Wörter. The form neu is the base form; neuer means “newer” and am neuesten means “newest” in the corresponding comparison pattern. Wörter is the plural of Wort, “word.” It is the direct object of merke mir, so it names what is remembered. German commonly uses Wörter for separate words, while Worte is often used for connected words or a statement; the choice depends on meaning and usage, not simply on singular versus plural. For example, Ich kenne diese Wörter. — “I know these words.” Together, Ich merke mir identifies the speaker as the person memorizing something, neue Wörter supplies the words being remembered, and beim Lernen places the action during studying. The complete meaning is: “I remember new words during study time.”

2. Aber ich vergesse sie, wenn ich sprechen will.

   But I forget them when I try to speak.

   Aber

   but

   ich vergesse

   I forget

   sie

   them

   wenn

   when

   sprechen

   speak

   will

   want to

   More detail

   Aber links this utterance to the preceding idea with a contrast: “but.” It is a coordinating conjunction. ich vergesse means “I forget.” vergesse is the first-person singular present form of vergessen (“to forget”): ich vergesse. The subject ich appears immediately before the verb here, and the verb ending matches first-person singular. Example: Ich vergesse den Namen. — “I forget the name.” sie is an accusative plural pronoun meaning “them” here. The fixed translation and the surrounding context support the learned words as its referent. It functions as the object of vergesse. German singular sie can instead mean “her” or “it,” depending on the noun, so number and context matter. wenn introduces the time clause “when” here. It can also introduce a condition meaning “if,” but the fixed translation gives the temporal reading. In a clause beginning with wenn, the finite verb normally comes at the end. sprechen is the infinitive “to speak.” It is the lexical verb in the sprechen will construction. Example: Ich will Deutsch sprechen. — “I want to speak German.” will is the first-person singular present form of wollen (“to want” or “to intend”), not the English future auxiliary “will.” With an infinitive, ich will sprechen literally means “I want to speak.” The fixed translation uses “try to speak” as a natural rendering of the intended situation; the German form itself expresses wanting or intending. In the subordinate clause, will comes at the end: wenn ich sprechen will. Together, Aber ich vergesse sie means “But I forget them.” The time clause wenn ich sprechen will specifies when this happens. Following the fixed translation, the whole utterance is: “But I forget them when I try to speak.”

3. Die Wörter haben vielleicht keinen Bezug zu Situationen, in denen du sie wirklich benutzen würdest.

   The words may not be connected to situations where you would actually use them.

   Wörter

   words

   haben

   have

   vielleicht

   perhaps

   keinen Bezug

   no connection

   Situationen

   situations

   in denen

   in which

   du

   you

   sie

   them

   wirklich

   actually

   benutzen würdest

   would use

   More detail

   Wörter is the plural of Wort (“word”). The plural ending is part of the noun: das Wort → die Wörter. Here it is the subject of the sentence, marked by the plural article die. haben is the third-person plural present form of haben (“to have”): ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir/sie/Sie haben. With Die Wörter, it means that the words have or lack a particular connection. vielleicht means “perhaps” or “may.” It expresses uncertainty about the statement that follows; it does not itself mark a past or conditional form. keinen Bezug is a common noun phrase meaning “no connection” or “no relation.” Bezug is masculine: der Bezug. In the accusative after haben, the negative article is keinen: kein Bezug (nominative) → keinen Bezug (accusative). The adjective-like form keinen belongs to the article, not to Bezug. Example: Das hat keinen Bezug zu meinem Problem. — “That has no connection to my problem.” Situationen is the plural of Situation. The preposition zu requires the dative, so the phrase is zu Situationen, “to situations.” In this sentence, it identifies the situations that may or may not be connected with the words. in denen begins a relative clause referring to plural Situationen. denen is the dative plural relative pronoun, required here by in in the meaning “in which.” German relative clauses place the finite verb at the end. The form denen marks grammatical number and case; the sentence does not establish any particular individual situations beyond the general plural category. du is the informal singular “you.” It is the subject of the relative clause and determines the second-person singular form würdest. sie means “them” here and is the accusative plural personal pronoun referring to the words. The form is lowercase because it is a pronoun, not the formal Sie (“you”). Its position before wirklich and benutzen does not change its object role. wirklich means “actually” or “really.” Here it emphasizes that the imagined use would be genuine or practical, rather than merely theoretical. benutzen würdest means “would use.” benutzen is the infinitive “to use.” würdest is the second-person singular subjunctive II form of werden, used with the infinitive to form a conditional or hypothetical expression: du würdest benutzen. In a subordinate relative clause, the finite form würdest comes at the end, while the infinitive appears immediately before it: in denen du sie wirklich benutzen würdest — “where you would actually use them.” The -st ending on würdest marks second-person singular; it is not an inflection of benutzen. The sentence assembles as follows: Die Wörter haben vielleicht keinen Bezug says that the words may have no connection, and zu Situationen specifies what they may not be connected to. The relative clause in denen du sie wirklich benutzen würdest describes those situations: they are situations in which you would actually use the words. Thus the whole utterance means, “The words may not be connected to situations where you would actually use them.”

4. Normalerweise schreibe ich die Übersetzung auf und sehe mir später dieselbe Liste noch einmal an.

   I usually write the translation and review the same list later.

   Normalerweise

   usually

   schreibe … auf

   write down

   Übersetzung

   translation

   sehe … an

   review

   später

   later

   dieselbe

   the same

   Liste

   list

   noch einmal

   again

   More detail

   Normalerweise means “usually” here and is a sentence adverb: it presents the action as a regular habit. It can also appear in other positions, but in this sentence it comes first and frames the whole statement. schreibe ... auf comes from the separable verb aufschreiben, “to write down.” The form schreibe is the first-person singular present form, matching the subject ich; the prefix auf appears at the end of the clause. This is a useful pattern: Ich schreibe die Adresse auf. — “I write down the address.” Übersetzung means “translation” here. Its base noun is die Übersetzung; the ending and article belong to the noun itself, not to the verb. In this sentence it is the direct object of “write down.” sehe ... an comes from the separable verb sich ansehen, “to look at” or, in this context, “to review.” The reflexive form mir shows that the speaker reviews something for themself, while sehe is again first-person singular present. The prefix an is placed at the end of the clause. For example: Ich sehe mir den Text an. — “I review the text.” später means “later.” It places the reviewing action after the writing action without specifying an exact time. dieselbe means “the same” and agrees with Liste. The form is feminine singular accusative here because Liste is the object of ansehen: dieselbe Liste. Compare the masculine form denselben in denselben Text and the neuter form dasselbe in dasselbe Wort. Liste means “list.” The noun is feminine: die Liste; after the relevant verb here, it appears as the accusative object in dieselbe Liste. noch einmal means “again” or “once more.” Together, these words indicate repetition of the reviewing action; they do not by themselves specify how much time passes. The sentence combines the habitual adverb Normalerweise with schreibe ich ... auf: “I usually write down the translation.” The coordinating und then links this with sehe ich mir später dieselbe Liste noch einmal an: “and later I review the same list again.” The full meaning is: “I usually write the translation and review the same list later.”

5. Versuch, zu jedem nützlichen Wort einen einfachen Beispielsatz zu schreiben.

   Try adding one simple example sentence for each useful word.

   Versuch

   try

   zu jedem

   for each

   nützlichen

   useful

   Wort

   word

   einfachen

   simple

   Beispielsatz

   example sentence

   zu schreiben

   to write

   More detail

   Versuch is the 2nd-person singular imperative of versuchen (“to try”). The sentence addresses one person informally: Versuch, ... = “Try ...”. With a formal or plural addressee, German uses Versuchen Sie, .... zu jedem means “for each/every”. jedem is the dative singular form of jeder/jede/jedes; here the dative is required by the intended “for” relationship. The form also agrees with the neuter noun Wort: jedes Wort (nominative/accusative), but zu jedem Wort (dative). nützlichen means “useful” here. It is the adjective nützlich, and its -en ending appears because it follows jedem in this dative singular phrase: zu jedem nützlichen Wort. The adjective describes Wort, not jedem. Wort means “word”. Its plural is commonly Wörter when referring to individual words, as in viele neue Wörter (“many new words”). In the fixed sentence, the singular means each individual word separately. einfachen means “simple”. This is the adjective einfach before the masculine accusative noun Beispielsatz in einen einfachen Beispielsatz. Compare the forms: ein einfacher Beispielsatz (nominative) and mit einem einfachen Beispielsatz (dative). Beispielsatz means “example sentence”. It is a compound noun: Beispiel (“example”) + Satz (“sentence”). The compound as a whole is masculine: der Beispielsatz; its plural is Beispielsätze. zu schreiben means “to write”. schreiben is the base form, and zu marks the infinitive in this construction. After an imperative such as Versuch, German commonly places the infinitive phrase after a comma: Versuch, einen Satz zu schreiben. — “Try to write a sentence.” Together, zu jedem nützlichen Wort specifies that the action is repeated for each useful word, einen einfachen Beispielsatz is the object to be written, and zu schreiben names the action being tried. The complete utterance means: “Try writing one simple example sentence for each useful word.”

6. Ich kann Sätze über die Arbeit, das Einkaufen oder Nachrichten an Freunde schreiben.

   I can write sentences about work, shopping, or messages to friends.

   Ich kann

   I can

   Sätze

   sentences

   über

   about

   die Arbeit

   work

   das Einkaufen

   shopping

   oder

   or

   Nachrichten

   messages

   an

   to

   Freunde

   friends

   schreiben

   write

   More detail

   Ich kann combines Ich (“I”) with kann, the first-person singular present form of können (“can; be able to”). Here it expresses ability. A modal verb such as können is followed by another verb in the infinitive, which appears at the end here. Example: Ich kann Deutsch lesen. — “I can read German.” Sätze means “sentences.” It is the plural of der Satz; the vowel change a → ä is part of this plural form. The singular is ein Satz, and the plural is zwei Sätze. über means “about” here and introduces the topic of the sentences. In this use, über takes the accusative: über die Arbeit. In other uses involving position, über can be used with a different case. die Arbeit means “work” here. Arbeit is a feminine noun, and die is used for both nominative singular and accusative singular. In this sentence, the phrase names work as one of the topics. das Einkaufen means “shopping.” Einkaufen is a nominalized infinitive, so it is capitalized and treated as a neuter noun: das Einkaufen. Compare the ordinary verb in Ich kaufe ein. — “I am shopping.” oder connects alternatives and means “or.” It links the topics die Arbeit, das Einkaufen, and Nachrichten an Freunde here. Nachrichten means “messages.” It is the plural of die Nachricht; the singular is eine Nachricht, and the plural is Nachrichten. The ending -en marks the plural in this noun, so the form itself is plural, while the sentence determines its role in the larger phrase. an Freunde means “to friends” in Nachrichten an Freunde. Here an marks the intended recipients of the messages, and Freunde is the plural accusative form of der Freund. In this phrase, plural accusative Freunde has the same form as plural nominative Freunde. The feminine counterpart is die Freundin; its plural is Freundinnen. schreiben means “write.” It is the infinitive of schreiben, and after kann it remains in the infinitive rather than taking a personal ending. Example: Wir können kurze Nachrichten schreiben. — “We can write short messages.” Putting the parts together, Ich kann expresses ability, Sätze ... schreiben gives the action, and the coordinated topic phrases specify what the sentences can be about: work, shopping, or messages to friends. The complete meaning is: “I can write sentences about work, shopping, or messages to friends.”

7. Diese Situationen werden es dir leichter machen, dich im Gespräch an die Bedeutung zu erinnern.

   Those situations will make the meaning easier to recall during conversation.

   Diese

   those

   Situationen

   situations

   werden

   will

   es

   it

   dir

   to you

   leichter

   easier

   machen

   make

   dich

   you

   Gespräch

   conversation

   Bedeutung

   meaning

   erinnern

   remember

   More detail

   Diese is the plural form of the demonstrative dies- here: “these/those,” referring to situations already understood in the context. Its form agrees with the plural noun Situationen; it is not the noun’s form. Situationen is the plural of Situation (“situation”). The ending -en marks the plural here. Example: Viele Situationen sind neu. — “Many situations are new.” werden is the third-person plural present form of werden (“become; will”). With an infinitive later in the clause, it forms the future: Sie werden kommen. — “They will come.” The plural subject here is Diese Situationen. es dir leichter machen is a useful pattern meaning “make it easier for you.” es is an anticipatory object in this construction, while dir is the dative form of du (“you”), marking the person who experiences the result. leichter is the comparative of leicht (“easy”): leicht – leichter – am leichtesten (“easy – easier – easiest”). The comparison means that something becomes easier than before or easier than another situation. machen is the infinitive of machen (“make; do”). After future werden, the infinitive appears at the end of the clause: Das wird den Anfang leichter machen. — “That will make the beginning easier.” dich is the accusative form of du (“you”). Together with erinnern, it is reflexive: the person who remembers is also the person referred to by dich. im Gespräch means “during conversation” or “in conversation.” im is the contraction of in dem; Gespräch is a neuter noun meaning “conversation.” The phrase describes the situation in which the remembering takes place. an die Bedeutung erinnern uses the pattern sich an etwas erinnern (“to remember something”). The preposition an takes the accusative in this pattern, so die Bedeutung is accusative here. Bedeutung means “meaning” or “significance”; in this sentence it is the meaning being recalled. Example: Ich erinnere mich an den Namen. — “I remember the name.” erinnern is the infinitive of erinnern (“remind; remember”); with a reflexive pronoun, sich erinnern means “remember.” In the sentence, dich ... erinnern is separated because German places the infinitive erinnern at the end of this clause. Together, Diese Situationen is the plural subject, and werden ... machen expresses a future result: those situations will make remembering easier for you. dich im Gespräch an die Bedeutung zu erinnern specifies the activity made easier—remembering the meaning during conversation. The complete meaning is: “Those situations will make it easier for you to recall the meaning during conversation.”

8. Ich sollte wahrscheinlich weniger Wörter lernen und sie öfter benutzen.

   I should probably study fewer words and use them more often.

   Ich sollte

   I should

   wahrscheinlich

   probably

   weniger

   fewer

   Wörter

   words

   lernen

   study; learn

   sie

   them

   öfter

   more often

   benutzen

   use

   More detail

   Ich sollte combines Ich (“I”) with sollte, the first-person singular form of sollen in the subjunctive II/conditional form. Here it expresses a recommendation or obligation viewed less directly: “I should.” The same form can also mean “I was supposed to” in another context, so the surrounding meaning matters. Example: Du solltest mehr schlafen. — “You should sleep more.” wahrscheinlich means “probably” and marks the statement as likely rather than certain. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person, number, or gender. Example: Sie kommt wahrscheinlich später. — “She will probably come later.” weniger means “fewer” here because it modifies the plural countable noun Wörter. It is the comparative form associated with wenig (“little; few”): wenig → weniger. With an uncountable amount, English commonly translates the same German word as “less.” Example: Ich brauche weniger Zeit. — “I need less time.” Wörter is the plural of Wort (“word”). German has two plural patterns for this noun depending on meaning: Wörter commonly refers to separate words, while Worte is often used for connected words or statements. In this sentence, Wörter refers to individual vocabulary items. Example: Diese Wörter sind neu. — “These words are new.” lernen is the base form meaning “to learn” or “to study.” After the modal verb sollte, it remains an infinitive and appears at the end of this clause. The pattern is sollte + infinitive: Ich sollte mehr lesen. — “I should read more.” sie means “them” here and refers back to the words being learned, as confirmed by the fixed translation. It is the accusative plural personal pronoun; its form is also used for “they” or formal “you” in other grammatical positions, so its role must be identified from the sentence. Example: Ich sehe die Bücher und kaufe sie. — “I see the books and buy them.” öfter means “more often.” It is the comparative form of oft (“often”): oft → öfter. It compares frequency, not the number of objects. Example: Wir sollten öfter üben. — “We should practise more often.” benutzen means “to use.” Like lernen, it is an infinitive governed by sollte; in this coordinated structure, sollte applies to both lernen and benutzen: Ich sollte es öfter benutzen. — “I should use it more often.” Together, Ich sollte wahrscheinlich gives “I should probably.” weniger Wörter lernen means “study fewer words,” and und sie öfter benutzen coordinates a second action: “and use them more often.” The pronoun sie points back to Wörter, while öfter specifies more frequent use. The complete meaning is: “I should probably study fewer words and use them more often.”

9. Die wiederholte Verwendung wird dazu beitragen, dass die Wörter Teil deines aktiven Wortschatzes werden.

   Repeated use will help the words become part of your active vocabulary.

   wiederholte

   repeated

   Verwendung

   use

   wird dazu beitragen

   will help bring about

   Wörter

   words

   Teil

   part

   deines

   your

   aktiven

   active

   Wortschatzes

   vocabulary

   More detail

   wiederholte describes Verwendung here: “repeated use.” It is the inflected adjective form of wiederholt (“repeated”), which is related to the verb wiederholen (“to repeat”). The noun Verwendung is feminine singular, and the definite article die marks the phrase as nominative here; with that article, the adjective takes the weak ending -e: die wiederholte Verwendung. Example: Regelmäßige Wiederholung hilft. — “Regular repetition helps.” Verwendung is a feminine noun meaning “use” or “usage,” from verwenden (“to use”). In this sentence it means the act of using the words repeatedly, not merely the existence of the words. Example: Die Verwendung neuer Wörter braucht Übung. — “Using new words takes practice.” wird dazu beitragen expresses a future contribution or helpful effect: “will help bring about.” wird is the third-person singular present form of werden, used here as a future auxiliary; the lexical verb is beitragen, whose base form means “to contribute.” dazu points to the result stated in the following dass-clause. In a main clause, the pattern is ... wird dazu beitragen, dass ...; the infinitive beitragen appears at the end of this verb group. Wörter is the plural of the neuter noun Wort (“word”). Here it is the subject inside the dass-clause: the words are the things that become part of the vocabulary. The plural form is Wörter; the related plural Worte is used in some contexts for words viewed as utterances or wording, so it is not simply interchangeable in every use. Example: Diese Wörter sind neu. — “These words are new.” Teil means “part” or “component.” The pattern Teil von ... commonly means “part of ...,” while here German uses the genitive construction Teil deines aktiven Wortschatzes, literally “part of your active vocabulary.” Example: Das Buch ist Teil des Kurses. — “The book is part of the course.” deines is the possessive form of dein (“your”). It is genitive singular masculine here, agreeing with the masculine noun Wortschatz, not with Teil or Wörter. The genitive marks what the part belongs to: “of your vocabulary.” For comparison, dein Wortschatz is nominative or accusative masculine singular, while deines Wortschatzes is genitive singular. aktiven means “active” here and modifies Wortschatzes. Its base adjective is aktiv. The -en ending is required because this adjective is in a genitive masculine singular noun phrase after the possessive determiner deines: deines aktiven Wortschatzes. Example: Sie benutzt ihren aktiven Wortschatz. — “She uses her active vocabulary.” Wortschatzes is the genitive singular of the masculine noun Wortschatz, meaning “vocabulary.” The noun’s base form is Wortschatz; the ending -es marks the genitive singular here. Wortschatz refers to the vocabulary a person knows or uses, and aktiver Wortschatz specifically highlights the words the person can actively use, rather than all words they may merely recognize. Taken together, Die wiederholte Verwendung is the subject: “repeated use.” wird dazu beitragen says that this use will have a helpful effect, and dass die Wörter Teil deines aktiven Wortschatzes werden states the result: “that the words become part of your active vocabulary.” The complete meaning is therefore: “Repeated use will help the words become part of your active vocabulary.”

10. Ich werde eine kleine Auswahl treffen und nach dem Unterricht persönliche Beispiele schreiben.

    I will choose a small set and write personal examples after class.

    Ich werde

    I will

    kleine

    small

    Auswahl

    selection

    treffen

    choose

    nach dem Unterricht

    after class

    persönliche

    personal

    Beispiele

    examples

    schreiben

    write

    More detail

    Ich werde expresses “I will”: werde is the first-person singular present form of werden, used here as a future auxiliary. The main verb then appears as an infinitive at the end of its clause. Pattern: Ich werde + infinitive. Example: Ich werde morgen lernen. — “I will study tomorrow.” kleine describes Auswahl as small. Its base form is the adjective klein; the ending -e agrees with feminine singular accusative Auswahl after the indefinite article eine. eine marks an unspecified selection; it does not by itself state a numeric count. Auswahl means “selection” or “set of chosen items.” It is a feminine noun: die Auswahl. In this sentence it is the object of treffen, so the phrase is eine kleine Auswahl. treffen means “to choose” in the fixed construction eine Auswahl treffen, literally “make a selection.” This is a common way to express choosing a set. Its infinitive form is required after future werde. Example: Wir treffen eine Auswahl. — “We make a selection.” nach dem Unterricht means “after class.” Here nach introduces the time expression and takes the dative; der Unterricht therefore appears as dem Unterricht. The phrase gives the time for the later action, writing the examples. persönliche means “personal” here. Its base form is persönlich. The ending -e marks agreement with the accusative plural noun Beispiele in this articleless noun phrase. It describes the examples as personal rather than general or impersonal. Beispiele means “examples.” It is the plural of the neuter noun das Beispiel; the plural form is also the accusative object of schreiben. Example: Ich sammle Beispiele. — “I collect examples.” schreiben means “to write.” It is an infinitive and stands at the end of the coordinated second clause. Example: Sie schreibt einen kurzen Text. — “She writes a short text.” The sentence has two coordinated future actions: Ich werde eine kleine Auswahl treffen means “I will choose a small set,” and und nach dem Unterricht persönliche Beispiele schreiben adds “and write personal examples after class.” The future auxiliary werde applies to both infinitives, treffen and schreiben, so the complete meaning is: “I will choose a small set and write personal examples after class.”

11. Diese Routine sollte dein Wortschatztraining praktischer machen.

    That routine should make your vocabulary practice more practical.

    Diese

    this

    Routine

    routine

    sollte

    should

    dein

    your

    Wortschatztraining

    vocabulary practice

    praktischer

    more practical

    machen

    make

    More detail

    Diese means “this” here and refers to Routine. It is the feminine singular nominative form of the demonstrative determiner: dieser (masculine), diese (feminine), dieses (neuter). Example: Diese Methode ist hilfreich. — “This method is helpful.” Routine means “routine.” It is a feminine noun, so the form of the demonstrative before it is diese in the nominative here. German nouns are capitalized. sollte is the form of sollen used with a singular third-person subject in the past-tense form. In this sentence, the fixed translation gives it the intended meaning “should.” A modal verb such as sollen places the other verb in the infinitive at the end of the clause. Example: Die Übung sollte helfen. — “The exercise should help.” dein means “your” and is a possessive determiner. It modifies Wortschatztraining, which is neuter; in this accusative object phrase, the neuter form is still dein. Possessive determiners change form according to the noun phrase’s grammatical features and case. Example: Ich kenne dein Ziel. — “I know your goal.” Wortschatztraining means “vocabulary practice.” It is a compound noun: Wortschatz means “vocabulary,” and Training means “practice” or “training.” The compound as a whole is neuter, which is why the phrase uses dein here. praktischer means “more practical.” It is the comparative form of the adjective praktisch: praktisch — “practical,” praktischer — “more practical,” am praktischsten — “the most practical.” After machen, this adjective describes the resulting quality of the object: the vocabulary practice becomes more practical. Example: Das macht den Kurs praktischer. — “That makes the course more practical.” machen means “make” here. It is the infinitive selected by sollte; the subject is Diese Routine, and the object is dein Wortschatztraining. The pattern etwas praktischer machen means “make something more practical.” Together, Diese Routine is the subject, sollte expresses “should,” and dein Wortschatztraining is what is affected. praktischer machen expresses the change in quality. Because the modal construction places machen at the end, the complete utterance means: “That routine should make your vocabulary practice more practical.”