Changing a Group Trip Plan When Someone Is Sick | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Eine Freundin sagt, dass sie Fieber hat und morgen wahrscheinlich nicht reisen kann.

   A friend says she has a fever and probably cannot travel tomorrow.

   Freundin

   female friend

   sagt

   says

   dass

   that

   sie

   she

   Fieber

   fever

   hat

   has

   morgen

   tomorrow

   wahrscheinlich

   probably

   nicht

   not

   reisen

   travel

   kann

   can

   More detail

   Freundin means “female friend” here. It is the feminine noun die Freundin; the masculine counterpart is der Freund, and the plural is die Freundinnen. The feminine form identifies the friend as female, not merely the fact that there is one friend. sagt is the present-tense third-person singular form of sagen (“to say”): sie sagt = “she says.” German present tense can describe what someone is saying now, as in Er sagt die Wahrheit. — “He tells the truth.” dass introduces a subordinate clause meaning “that.” In a German dass clause, the finite verb normally moves to the end. Here, the clause beginning with dass contains the information being said. sie is the feminine singular pronoun “she” in this sentence. The fixed translation identifies its referent as the female friend. As the subject of this clause, it is in the nominative form; the corresponding masculine form is er (“he”). Fieber means “fever.” It is normally used as the neuter noun das Fieber. In the expression Fieber haben, German uses haben (“to have”) for the state that English expresses as “have a fever.” hat is the third-person singular present form of haben: haben → er/sie hat. The form belongs to the verb, not to the noun Fieber. For example, Sie hat Zeit. means “She has time.” morgen is the time adverb “tomorrow.” It names the following day from the relevant speaking or reference time and does not change form. wahrscheinlich means “probably” or “likely.” It marks the statement as probable rather than certain. For example, Er kommt wahrscheinlich später. means “He will probably come later.” nicht is the negation word “not.” Here it negates the possibility of travelling, together with reisen kann; it does not mean “no” by itself and does not negate the word morgen. reisen is the infinitive “to travel.” It is the base form used with a modal verb such as können. For example, Wir wollen reisen. means “We want to travel.” kann is the third-person singular present form of the modal verb können (“can, be able to”): können → er/sie kann. With an infinitive, it expresses ability or possibility. In this subordinate clause, kann comes at the end, while its infinitive reisen appears before it: sie nicht reisen kann = “she cannot travel.” Putting the parts together: Eine Freundin sagt means “A female friend says.” The dass clause reports her condition: sie Fieber hat = “she has a fever.” morgen wahrscheinlich nicht reisen kann adds that, probably, she cannot travel tomorrow. The complete meaning is: “A friend says she has a fever and probably cannot travel tomorrow.”

2. Dann sollten wir Rücksicht nehmen und besprechen, ob wir die Reise verschieben sollten.

   Then we should be considerate and discuss whether to reschedule.

   Dann

   then

   sollten wir

   we should

   Rücksicht nehmen

   be considerate

   besprechen

   discuss

   ob

   whether

   Reise

   trip

   verschieben

   reschedule

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here, linking this proposal to what has just been said. It can also refer to a later time, but here it marks the next step. sollten wir expresses “we should.” The finite form sollten is the Konjunktiv II form of sollen for wir, used here to make a recommendation. The same form can also be the simple past form of sollen, so context matters. Compare: Wir sollten warten. — “We should wait.” Rücksicht nehmen is a fixed expression meaning to take other people’s needs or circumstances into account, hence “be considerate.” Its components are the noun Rücksicht (“consideration”) and the verb nehmen (“take”), but the combination is normally learned as one reusable expression. Example: Wir nehmen Rücksicht auf sie. — “We are considerate toward her.” besprechen means “to discuss.” It is an inseparable verb beginning with be-; useful forms include besprechen, bespricht, besprach, and hat besprochen. Example: Wir besprechen den Plan. — “We are discussing the plan.” ob introduces an indirect yes-or-no question, meaning “whether.” It differs from wenn (“if/when”), which introduces a condition or time clause. After ob, German places the conjugated verb at the end of the subordinate clause. Reise is the noun “trip” or “journey.” In this sentence, die Reise is feminine singular with the definite article. Its plural is die Reisen. Example: Die Reise beginnt morgen. — “The trip begins tomorrow.” verschieben means “to postpone” or “to reschedule.” Here it means changing the trip to a later time, not simply moving a physical object. Useful forms include verschieben, verschiebt, verschob, and hat verschoben. Example: Wir verschieben den Termin. — “We are postponing the appointment.” Together, Dann sollten wir Rücksicht nehmen und besprechen means “Then we should be considerate and discuss.” The conjunction und connects two actions sharing wir. The second action is followed by ob wir die Reise verschieben sollten: ob opens the indirect question, wir is its subject, die Reise is what may be rescheduled, and verschieben sollten is at the end as required in this subordinate clause. The full utterance therefore means: “Then we should be considerate and discuss whether to reschedule the trip.”

3. Es könnte schwierig sein, die Reise zu verschieben, wenn wir noch viel länger warten.

   It may be hard to reschedule the trip if we wait much longer.

   Es könnte

   it might / it could

   schwierig

   difficult

   sein

   to be

   Reise

   trip / journey

   zu verschieben

   to reschedule / postpone

   wenn

   if / when

   länger

   longer

   warten

   to wait

   More detail

   Es könnte introduces a possibility: “it might/could.” könnte is the Konjunktiv II form of können used here for a tentative possibility, and Es is the impersonal subject of the clause. In this sentence, the possible situation is that rescheduling the trip may be difficult. schwierig means “difficult” and describes the situation. As an adjective after sein, it remains in its basic form here. For example: Die Aufgabe ist schwierig. — “The task is difficult.” sein is the infinitive of “to be.” With the modal form könnte, the infinitive comes at the end of the relevant clause: Es könnte schwierig sein — “It might be difficult.” Reise means “trip” or “journey.” Its base noun form is die Reise; the article shows that it is feminine in German. The noun itself is capitalized because German capitalizes nouns. For example: Die Reise beginnt morgen. — “The trip begins tomorrow.” zu verschieben means “to reschedule” or “to postpone” in this context. The base verb is verschieben; the zu-infinitive presents the action as something that may be difficult. The verb can also be used without zu, as in Wir verschieben die Reise. — “We are postponing the trip.” wenn introduces a conditional clause meaning “if” here. German places the finite verb at the end of a wenn clause, as in wenn wir warten — “if we wait.” Its meaning can also be “when” in suitable contexts, but the fixed translation supports the conditional reading here. länger is the comparative form of lang, “long.” It means “longer,” comparing the duration of waiting with an understood earlier or expected duration. In the full sentence, noch contributes the sense of continuing or further waiting, while viel means “much,” making the phrase “much longer.” For example: Wir bleiben länger. — “We are staying longer.” warten means “to wait.” It is the infinitive form, and here it appears at the end of the wenn clause after the subject wir. The clause wenn wir noch viel länger warten means “if we wait much longer.” Together, Es könnte schwierig sein says that something may be difficult. The zu-infinitive identifies that thing as die Reise zu verschieben, “rescheduling the trip.” The conditional clause wenn wir noch viel länger warten gives the condition: this may become difficult if we wait much longer. Thus the whole utterance means: “It may be hard to reschedule the trip if we wait much longer.”

4. Können wir die Buchung verschieben, statt sie ganz zu stornieren?

   Can we move the booking instead of canceling it completely?

   Können wir

   Can we

   die Buchung

   the booking

   verschieben

   move; reschedule

   statt

   instead of

   ganz

   completely

   stornieren

   cancel

   More detail

   Können wir contains können, the present-tense form of können for wir. It expresses ability or permission here: “Can we …?” A modal verb is followed by another verb in the infinitive, so verschieben stays at the end of its clause. Compare Kann ich ...? (“Can I ...?”) and Können Sie ...? (“Can you ...?” or “Can you ...?” formally). die Buchung means “the booking” in this sentence. Buchung is a feminine noun; its indefinite article is eine, and its plural is Buchungen. The article die here marks a specific booking already understood in the situation. Example: Ich bestätige die Buchung. — “I confirm the booking.” verschieben means “to move” in the sense of changing something to a later time or date, so it means “to reschedule” here. Its base form is the infinitive verschieben; after the modal können, that infinitive remains unchanged. Example: Wir müssen den Termin verschieben. — “We have to reschedule the appointment.” statt introduces an alternative: “instead of.” In this sentence it introduces the infinitive clause statt sie ganz zu stornieren (“instead of canceling it completely”). The pronoun sie refers to the booking in the intended translation and is the object of stornieren; zu marks the infinitive clause. ganz means “completely” here. It modifies the cancellation, indicating that the booking would be canceled in full, rather than only partly. Example: Sie hat die Reservierung ganz abgesagt. — “She canceled the reservation completely.” stornieren means “to cancel,” especially a booking, reservation, or service. Here it appears as an infinitive with zu: zu stornieren. Example: Ich möchte die Buchung stornieren. — “I would like to cancel the booking.” Together, Können wir die Buchung verschieben asks whether the speakers can reschedule the booking. statt sie ganz zu stornieren sets that option against completely canceling the same booking. The complete meaning is: “Can we move the booking instead of canceling it completely?” This is a direct, neutral way to propose rescheduling as an alternative.

5. Lass mich anrufen und fragen, welche Möglichkeiten es gibt.

   Let me call and ask what options are available.

   Lass mich

   let me

   anrufen

   call

   fragen

   ask

   welche

   which

   Möglichkeiten

   options

   es gibt

   there are; are available

   More detail

   Lass mich is the imperative construction Lass mich + infinitive, meaning “let me …”. Lass is the second-person singular imperative of lassen; mich is the first-person singular accusative pronoun, referring to the person who will make the call and ask the question. Compare Lass sie gehen (“Let her go”), where the pronoun changes with the person. anrufen means “to call” someone by telephone. It is a separable verb in finite forms: Ich rufe dich an (“I call you”), but the infinitive remains anrufen. Here it is one of the infinitives governed by Lass mich. fragen means “to ask”. Its infinitive is used after und alongside anrufen: Lass mich anrufen und fragen means “Let me call and ask.” The person understood as the subject of both actions is the speaker, while mich is the person being allowed to carry them out. welche means “which” here and introduces the content of the question. It agrees in number and gender with Möglichkeiten: the plural feminine noun requires the plural form welche. The form itself does not show whether the case is nominative or accusative; in welche Möglichkeiten es gibt, Möglichkeiten is accusative because the fixed expression es gibt takes an accusative complement. Möglichkeiten means “options” or “possibilities” here. Its singular base form is die Möglichkeit; Möglichkeiten is its plural. The umlaut and ending belong to the noun’s plural form. For example, Wir haben mehrere Möglichkeiten means “We have several options.” es gibt is the fixed existential construction used to say that something exists or is available: Es gibt mehrere Optionen means “There are several options.” In the embedded question, the finite verb moves to the end, giving welche Möglichkeiten es gibt (“what options there are” / “what options are available”). The es is part of this construction rather than a specifically identified object. Together, Lass mich gives permission for the speaker to act, and anrufen und fragen names the two coordinated actions. The embedded question welche Möglichkeiten es gibt specifies what the speaker will ask about. The whole utterance therefore means: “Let me call and ask what options are available.”

6. Frag auch, ob es ihr recht wäre, wenn wir ohne sie fahren.

   Also ask whether she would be comfortable with us going without her.

   Frag

   ask

   auch

   also

   ob

   whether

   es ihr recht wäre

   it would be okay with her

   wenn

   if

   wir

   we

   ohne

   without

   sie

   her

   fahren

   go; travel

   More detail

   Frag is the singular informal imperative of fragen (“to ask”). It tells one person to ask: Frag ihn morgen. — “Ask him tomorrow.” The base form is fragen; Frag! is the shortened imperative form. auch means “also” here and adds this request to another request. Its basic contribution is “also/too.” ob introduces an indirect yes-or-no question. The pattern fragen, ob ... means “ask whether ...”: Sie fragt, ob er kommt. — “She asks whether he is coming.” In this subordinate clause, the finite verb comes at the end. es ihr recht wäre is the reusable expression es wäre jemandem recht — “it would be okay or acceptable to someone.” wäre is the third-person singular Konjunktiv II form of sein (“to be”), expressing the hypothetical “would be.” ihr is the dative form meaning “to her” here. Example: Das wäre mir recht. — “That would be okay with me.” wenn introduces the condition being considered: “if.” The pattern ob ... , wenn ... asks whether something would be acceptable under a specified condition. Here, the condition is going without her. wir is the first-person plural pronoun “we.” It is the subject of fahren, referring to the speaker together with at least one other person. Example: Wir fahren morgen. — “We are going tomorrow.” ohne means “without” and governs the accusative case. It introduces someone or something absent from the action: ohne ihn means “without him,” while ohne sie means “without her” here. sie is the feminine singular accusative pronoun “her” here, supported by the fixed translation and its position after ohne. The same form can serve other grammatical roles in other contexts, so its role must be determined from the construction and context. fahren is the present-tense first-person plural form of fahren here, not an infinitive: wir fahren means “we go” or “we travel.” The same verb can also mean “to drive” or refer to traveling by vehicle, but this sentence uses the broader sense of going on the trip. In the wenn clause, the finite verb is placed at the end: wenn wir ohne sie fahren — “if we go without her.” Together, Frag auch means “also ask.” The question introduced by ob asks whether es ihr recht wäre, “it would be okay with her,” and wenn wir ohne sie fahren specifies the situation: “if we go without her.” The complete meaning is: “Also ask whether she would be comfortable with us going without her.”

7. Ich würde lieber verschieben, weil die Reise als Gruppenreise geplant war.

   I would rather postpone, because it was planned as a group trip.

   Ich würde

   I would

   lieber

   rather

   verschieben

   postpone

   weil

   because

   Reise

   trip

   Gruppenreise

   group trip

   geplant war

   was planned

   More detail

   Ich würde expresses the speaker’s conditional or tentative choice: “I would.” würde is the first-person singular form of werden used with an infinitive to form the Konjunktiv II construction. The infinitive appears later as verschieben; this combination is different from simple past ich wurde (“I became” or, in passive contexts, “I was ...”). Example: Ich würde warten. — “I would wait.” lieber means “rather” and marks the preferred option. It is the comparative form related to gern: gern = gladly, lieber = rather/more gladly, am liebsten = most gladly. Example: Ich würde lieber bleiben. — “I would rather stay.” verschieben is the infinitive “to postpone” or “to reschedule.” Here it is the action chosen with würde; its object is omitted, and the supplied sentence and translation do not identify exactly what is to be postponed. verschieben is an inseparable verb with the prefix ver-; its first-person singular present form is ich verschiebe, and after würde the infinitive remains intact. Example: Ich würde den Termin verschieben. — “I would postpone the appointment.” weil introduces the reason for the preference. In standard German, a finite verb in a weil clause normally goes to the end of that clause. Example: Ich bleibe, weil es regnet. — “I am staying because it is raining.” Reise means “trip” or “journey.” In die Reise, die marks this noun as feminine, singular, and nominative in this sentence; the noun itself is Reise. The participle geplant later in the clause is predicative, so it does not take an ending to agree with Reise. Example: Die Reise beginnt morgen. — “The trip begins tomorrow.” Gruppenreise is the compound noun “group trip.” German compounds combine their parts into one word, and the final part determines the grammatical gender: die Reise, so die Gruppenreise is feminine. In this sentence, als Gruppenreise presents the planned type or role of the trip: “as a group trip.” Example: Wir machen eine Gruppenreise. — “We are taking a group trip.” geplant war means “was planned.” geplant is the past participle of planen (“to plan”), used here predicatively to describe a planned state. war is the third-person singular past-tense form of sein; it agrees with the singular subject die Reise, not with Gruppenreise. Together, war geplant describes the trip’s planned status in the past. The related passive form wurde geplant focuses more directly on the planning action, whereas war geplant presents the resulting planned status. Putting the parts together, Ich würde lieber verschieben means “I would rather postpone [it].” weil then adds the reason, and die Reise als Gruppenreise geplant war means “the trip was planned as a group trip.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I would rather postpone, because it was planned as a group trip.”

8. Das ergibt Sinn, besonders wenn sie nur ein paar Tage braucht, um sich zu erholen.

   That makes sense, especially if she only needs a few days to recover.

   Das ergibt Sinn

   That makes sense

   besonders

   especially

   wenn

   if

   sie

   she

   nur

   only

   ein paar

   a few

   Tage

   days

   braucht

   needs

   sich zu erholen

   to recover

   More detail

   Das ergibt Sinn means “That makes sense.” Das is a demonstrative pronoun here, referring to an already understood situation or statement; the supplied translation confirms that intended reference without identifying it more specifically. ergibt is the third-person singular present form of ergeben. With Sinn, the reusable pattern is etwas ergibt Sinn = “something makes sense.” The same verb can have other meanings in other contexts, such as “result in” or “yield,” so the noun Sinn establishes this meaning here. besonders means “especially” and highlights the condition that follows. It can also modify an adjective or another element, for example: Das ist besonders wichtig. — “That is especially important.” wenn introduces a condition: “if” or, in other contexts, “when.” In this sentence it introduces a possible condition, and German places the finite verb at the end of the subordinate clause. sie is the third-person singular feminine pronoun “she” in this sentence; the fixed translation establishes that reading. It is the subject of braucht, and its form does not show a special case ending here. The same spelling can have other grammatical functions in German, but this sentence uses it as a feminine singular subject pronoun. nur means “only” and limits the amount or extent. Here it limits the recovery time: only a small number of days are needed. Its scope combines with ein paar Tage, rather than changing the meaning of sie or braucht. ein paar is a reusable expression meaning “a few” or “a small number of.” paar is written separately here and is followed by a plural noun: ein paar Fragen — “a few questions.” The expression does not by itself specify an exact number. Tage means “days.” It is the plural of Tag (“day”); the plural form is visible in the final -e. In this sentence it measures the duration needed for recovery. Example: Drei Tage reichen. — “Three days are enough.” braucht means “needs” here. It is the third-person singular present form of brauchen; the subject is sie, so the verb has the ending -t. Compare Ich brauche Zeit. — “I need time.” The form changes with the subject: sie braucht, but wir brauchen. um sich zu erholen expresses the purpose “to recover.” erholen is used reflexively in this meaning, so sich refers back to the subject sie; the phrase means that she needs the days in order to recover. The pattern um ... zu introduces a purpose clause, with zu before the infinitive: um zu lernen — “in order to learn.” Together, wenn sie nur ein paar Tage braucht, um sich zu erholen means “if she only needs a few days to recover.” The wenn clause gives the condition, sie is its subject, braucht is the finite verb placed at the end of the clause, and the um ... zu phrase states the purpose of the needed days. The complete utterance is therefore: “That makes sense, especially if she only needs a few days to recover.”

9. Ich werde allen eine klare Nachricht mit den Möglichkeiten und dem aktuellen Stand schicken.

   I will message everyone with the options and a clear update.

   Ich werde

   I will

   allen

   everyone

   klare

   clear

   Nachricht

   message

   Möglichkeiten

   options

   aktuellen

   current

   Stand

   status; update

   schicken

   send

   More detail

   Ich werde introduces a future plan: werden is the finite verb here, and Ich is its first-person singular subject. German commonly forms the future with werden + an infinitive at the end: Ich werde morgen anrufen. — “I will call tomorrow.” In this sentence, werde does not mean “become.” allen means “everyone” in the intended sense of all the people receiving the message. It is the dative plural form of alle, because the recipient of schicken is marked as an indirect object. Compare alle for a direct-object use and allen for a dative plural use: Ich sehe alle. — “I see everyone.” / Ich helfe allen. — “I help everyone.” klare describes Nachricht and means “clear.” The adjective is based on klar; its ending is -e in eine klare Nachricht, because it follows the indefinite article eine before a feminine accusative noun. The comparison forms are klar, klarer, am klarsten (“clear, clearer, clearest”). Nachricht is a feminine noun meaning “message.” Its plural is Nachrichten. The phrase eine klare Nachricht is the direct object of schicken, so it is in the accusative: Ich schicke eine Nachricht. — “I send a message.” Möglichkeiten means “options” here. It is the plural of Möglichkeit (“possibility; option”). After mit, the noun phrase is dative: mit den Möglichkeiten means “with the options.” The singular/plural contrast is die Möglichkeit / die Möglichkeiten. aktuellen describes Stand and means “current” here. Its base form is aktuell; in dem aktuellen Stand, the adjective has the weak dative masculine ending -en after dem. aktueller Stand is a common expression for the present status or latest situation. Example: Ich kenne den aktuellen Stand. — “I know the current status.” Stand means “status” or “current state” in this context, rather than a physical stand. It is a masculine noun: der Stand; the phrase here is dative after mit: mit dem aktuellen Stand. A useful related expression is auf dem neuesten Stand — “up to date.” schicken means “send.” It is the infinitive used with werde; the finite future verb is werde, while schicken stays at the end. The verb can take a recipient in the dative and the thing sent as an accusative object: Ich schicke ihr die Datei. — “I send her the file.” Together, the structure is Ich werde + dative recipient allen + accusative thing sent eine klare Nachricht + the content included with mit (den Möglichkeiten und dem aktuellen Stand) + final infinitive schicken. The whole utterance means: “I will message everyone with the options and a clear update.” More literally, it says that the speaker will send everyone a clear message containing the options and the current status.

10. Die Leute werden mit der Änderung besser umgehen, wenn sie den Grund und den Zeitpunkt kennen.

    People will handle the change better if they know the reason and timing.

    Die Leute werden

    people will

    Änderung

    change

    besser

    better

    umgehen

    handle; deal with

    wenn

    if; when

    sie

    they

    Grund

    reason

    Zeitpunkt

    point in time; timing

    kennen

    know

    More detail

    Die Leute werden combines the plural noun Leute (“people”) with werden, which here is the future auxiliary. The finite verb werden has the form used with a plural subject; the lexical verb comes later in the infinitive. A reusable pattern is werden + ... + infinitive: Die Kinder werden kommen. — “The children will come.” Änderung means “change” here. Its base form is die Änderung; the plural is die Änderungen. In this sentence, mit der Änderung means “with/dealing with the change”: mit takes the dative, so the feminine article appears as der. besser is the comparative form of gut (“good”): gut – besser – am besten. It modifies how successfully the people will deal with the change. Besser is not derived from the noun Änderung. umgehen means “deal with” or “handle” in this context. The relevant construction is mit etwas umgehen — “to deal with something”; the preposition mit takes the dative. As a separable verb, its finite present-tense form separates, as in Sie geht damit um. — “She deals with it.” After the future auxiliary werden, the infinitive remains together at the end: Sie wird damit umgehen. — “She will deal with it.” wenn introduces the condition “if” here. In a wenn subordinate clause, the finite verb normally goes to the end. It can also mean “when” for a time condition, but “if” is the intended meaning in this sentence. sie means “they” here and refers to Die Leute. This plural subject pronoun is distinct from singular sie (“she”) and the formal Sie (“you”), which is capitalized. The form itself does not identify a particular group beyond the supported reference to the people in this utterance. Grund means “reason” or “basis”; here it is the reason for the matter being discussed. The noun is masculine: der Grund, plural die Gründe. In den Grund, the masculine singular article is accusative because it is the object of kennen. Zeitpunkt means a specific “point in time” or “timing,” rather than time in general. It is masculine: der Zeitpunkt, plural die Zeitpunkte. The phrase den Zeitpunkt is another masculine singular accusative object of kennen. kennen means “know” in the sense of being familiar with or knowing a person, place, thing, or specified information. It is different from wissen, which is commonly used for knowing a fact or knowing that something is true. Here, kennen applies to den Grund and den Zeitpunkt. In the subordinate clause, kennen is at the end because German subordinate clauses normally place the finite verb at the end; its form is kennen because the subject sie is plural: Sie kennen den Plan. — “They know the plan.” Together, mit der Änderung besser umgehen means “handle the change better.” The main clause uses future werden with the infinitive umgehen. The wenn clause supplies the condition: sie den Grund und den Zeitpunkt kennen — “they know the reason and the timing.” Thus the complete utterance means: “People will handle the change better if they know the reason and timing.”