Reporting a Missing Wallet Safely | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich kann mein Portemonnaie nicht finden, und zuletzt hatte ich es im Café.

   I can't find my wallet, and I last had it at the cafe.

   Ich kann

   I can

   mein

   my

   Portemonnaie

   wallet

   nicht

   not

   finden

   find

   zuletzt

   last

   hatte

   had

   es

   it

   im

   in the

   Café

   cafe

   More detail

   Ich kann combines ich (“I”) with kann, the first-person singular present form of können (“can, be able to”). With a modal verb such as kann, the other verb stays in the infinitive and appears at the end of its clause: Ich kann das finden = “I can find that.” Here, kann is negated later by nicht, so the meaning is “I cannot find …” or, naturally, “I can’t find …”. mein means “my.” Its ending is determined by the noun and its grammatical role, not by a numeric count. Portemonnaie is a neuter noun (das Portemonnaie), and here it is the direct object of finden, so the accusative neuter possessive form is still mein. Compare mein Portemonnaie with meinen Schlüssel, where the masculine accusative noun causes the possessive form to end in -en. Portemonnaie is the noun “wallet.” Its plural is Portemonnaies. The noun phrase mein Portemonnaie therefore means “my wallet” in this sentence. nicht is the ordinary negator “not.” Together with kann … finden, it negates the ability or successful result expressed by that verb phrase. German commonly places nicht before the infinitive at the end in a sentence such as Ich kann es nicht finden (“I can’t find it”). finden is the infinitive “to find.” After kann, it remains in this base form rather than being conjugated. Its present-tense forms include ich finde (“I find”), du findest (“you find”), and sie findet (“she finds”). zuletzt is an adverb meaning “last” or “most recently.” In this sentence it introduces the latest time or place associated with having the wallet: “I last had it …” It is not the same as letzte, which is an inflected adjective meaning “last” before a noun, as in der letzte Tag (“the last day”). hatte is the first-person singular simple-past form of haben (“to have”): ich hatte = “I had.” Here it refers to the last known possession of the wallet, not to a completed finding. In the clause zuletzt hatte ich es …, the adverb is placed first, so the finite verb hatte comes before the subject ich; this is a normal German word-order pattern. es is an accusative singular neuter pronoun meaning “it” here. The fixed translation identifies it as referring to the wallet, and Portemonnaie is neuter: das Portemonnaie → es. For example, Ich sehe das Buch. Ich lese es. means “I see the book. I read it.” im is the contraction of in dem, meaning “in the” here. With a stationary location, in takes the dative: in dem Café contracts to im Café. This differs from movement into a place, as in Ich gehe in das Café (“I go into the café”). Café is the neuter noun “café.” In im Café, it is part of the dative location phrase “in the café.” The phrase hatte ich es im Café therefore means “I had it at/in the café”; the fixed translation naturally renders this as “I last had it at the cafe.” Together, Ich kann mein Portemonnaie nicht finden means “I can’t find my wallet.” The coordinated clause und zuletzt hatte ich es im Café adds the latest known location: “and I last had it at the cafe.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I can’t find my wallet, and I last had it at the cafe.”

2. Bevor du anrufst, bereite eine Beschreibung davon vor, wie dein Portemonnaie aussieht.

   Before you call, prepare a description of what the wallet looks like.

   Bevor

   before

   anrufst

   call

   bereite … vor

   prepare

   Beschreibung

   description

   davon

   of it

   wie … aussieht

   what ... looks like

   Portemonnaie

   wallet

   More detail

   Bevor introduces a time clause meaning “before …”. It sends the action in that clause into the earlier time position. A useful pattern is bevor + subordinate clause: Bevor du gehst, ... = “Before you leave, ...”. anrufst means “you call” here. Its base form is anrufen, a separable verb: in a main clause, Du rufst an, but after bevor the finite verb comes at the end and the prefix joins the verb: bevor du anrufst. The ending -st marks second-person singular present with du. bereite ... vor means “prepare”. This is the second-person singular imperative of vorbereiten, another separable verb. In the imperative, the form addressed to du is bereite; the prefix vor remains at the end: Bereite eine Beschreibung vor! The two quoted parts therefore work together as one reusable pattern. Beschreibung means “description”. The noun is feminine: die Beschreibung, plural die Beschreibungen. It is useful for an account of what something is like or what it looks like. Example: eine kurze Beschreibung = “a short description.” davon means “of it” in this sentence. Here, the surrounding context identifies “it” as the wallet, and the following clause specifies what is being described. davon is a compact form built from da + von; in this use, it points to the thing or matter being described rather than naming it again. wie ... aussieht means “what ... looks like” here. The base form is the separable verb aussehen (“to look, appear”). In a main clause, Das Portemonnaie sieht klein aus; in the subordinate clause, the verb is final and appears together as aussieht: wie das Portemonnaie aussieht. aussieht is third-person singular present because Portemonnaie is singular; the possessive dein also has the form required with this neuter singular noun. Portemonnaie means “wallet”. It is a neuter noun: das Portemonnaie; its plural is die Portemonnaies. The supplied context and translation identify this as the item whose appearance is to be described. Together, Bevor du anrufst means “Before you call”. bereite eine Beschreibung davon vor gives the instruction “prepare a description of it”, and wie dein Portemonnaie aussieht specifies the content of that description: “what your wallet looks like”. The complete meaning is therefore: “Before you call, prepare a description of what the wallet looks like.”

3. Es ist ein kleines schwarzes Portemonnaie mit einer abgenutzten Ecke.

   It's a small black wallet with a worn corner.

   Es ist

   it is

   kleines

   small

   schwarzes

   black

   Portemonnaie

   wallet

   mit

   with

   abgenutzten

   worn

   Ecke

   corner

   More detail

   Es ist uses es as the singular subject pronoun, translated here as “it,” and ist as the present-tense third-person singular form of sein (“to be”). Together, they identify the item being described. Example: Es ist neu. — “It is new.” kleines means “small” here. Its base form is klein; the ending -es marks the neuter nominative form after ein. In ein kleines ..., the adjective describes the noun that follows, rather than the pronoun es having a separate adjective ending. Example: ein kleines Buch — “a small book.” schwarzes means “black.” Its base form is schwarz, and it has the same neuter nominative -es ending in ein kleines schwarzes Portemonnaie. The two adjectives independently describe the same noun. Portemonnaie means “wallet.” It is a neuter noun: das Portemonnaie. Because it is the noun naming the item in the predicate noun phrase, the form is unchanged here. Example: Mein Portemonnaie ist schwarz. — “My wallet is black.” mit means “with” and introduces an accompanying feature or part. In German, mit governs the dative case. abgenutzten means “worn” here, specifically worn from use. It is the adjective-like past participle related to abnutzen (“to wear down” or “to use up”). Its -en ending is required in mit einer abgenutzten Ecke: mit requires dative, Ecke is feminine, and einer marks feminine dative singular. Example: mit einer abgenutzten Tasche — “with a worn bag.” Ecke means “corner.” Its base form is die Ecke, a feminine noun. Here, einer Ecke is feminine dative singular after mit; the indefinite article does not itself state a numerical count. Example: Die Ecke ist abgenutzt. — “The corner is worn.” The sentence first identifies the item with Es ist, then gives the noun phrase ein kleines schwarzes Portemonnaie: “a small black wallet.” The prepositional phrase mit einer abgenutzten Ecke adds a distinguishing feature: “with a worn corner.” Together, the utterance means, “It’s a small black wallet with a worn corner.”

4. Das sollte dem Personal helfen, nach dem Portemonnaie zu suchen, ohne nach privaten Details zu fragen.

   That should help the staff check without asking for private details.

   Das sollte

   That should

   dem Personal

   the staff

   helfen

   help

   nach … zu suchen

   look for

   Portemonnaie

   wallet

   suchen

   look for

   ohne … zu fragen

   without asking

   privaten

   private

   Details

   details

   fragen

   ask

   More detail

   Das sollte: Das is a demonstrative pronoun in the neuter singular form. The supplied texts do not uniquely identify what it refers to, so here it is best understood simply as “that.” Sollte is the third-person singular form of sollen; with Das and helfen, it expresses the expectation translated as “should help.” The form sollte can have other uses in German, but this sentence uses it with the meaning supported by the fixed translation. dem Personal: Personal is a neuter collective noun meaning staff or personnel. Helfen governs a dative recipient, so das Personal appears as dem Personal. This case marking expresses who is helped; it does not state how many individual staff members there are. helfen: The base form is helfen. It means “to help” here and is followed by a zu-infinitive construction: jemandem helfen, etwas zu tun = “to help someone do something.” Example: Das hilft mir, die Aufgabe zu verstehen. — “That helps me understand the task.” nach dem Portemonnaie zu suchen: This is the reusable pattern nach etwas suchen = “to look for something.” The preposition nach takes the dative in this meaning, so das Portemonnaie becomes dem Portemonnaie; the noun is neuter and its form is unchanged here. Zu suchen is the zu-infinitive of suchen, while nach and zu suchen are separated by the noun phrase. Example: Wir suchen nach dem Schlüssel. — “We are looking for the key.” Portemonnaie: This noun means “wallet” in this utterance. Its base form is the same dictionary form, das Portemonnaie; after dative dem, the noun itself still appears as Portemonnaie. The surrounding context also describes this wallet, but the sentence itself uses the noun as the object being looked for. ohne zu fragen: Ohne introduces an action that is not performed, and zu fragen is the corresponding zu-infinitive: “without asking.” The pattern ohne zu + verb is reusable. Example: Sie ging, ohne sich zu verabschieden. — “She left without saying goodbye.” privaten: This is the adjective privat, meaning “private,” modifying Details. In nach privaten Details, the phrase is plural dative because nach governs the dative here. With no article before the plural noun, the adjective has the ending -en in this form. The ending belongs to privat, not to Details. Details: Details is the plural of das Detail, meaning “details.” Here it is the thing someone might ask about. In the phrase nach privaten Details fragen, Details is plural dative; its visible form happens to be the same as the plural form in other cases. fragen: The base form is fragen, “to ask.” With the meaning “ask about or ask for information,” German commonly uses nach plus the dative: nach etwas fragen. Thus nach privaten Details fragen means “ask for private details.” Example: Sie fragt nach dem Termin. — “She asks about the appointment.” Together, Das sollte dem Personal helfen means “That should help the staff.” The infinitive construction nach dem Portemonnaie zu suchen specifies what the help enables them to do: “look for the wallet.” The final construction, ohne nach privaten Details zu fragen, adds the condition that this happens without asking for private details. The complete meaning is: “That should help the staff look for the wallet without asking for private details.”

5. Ich rufe an und erkläre, wann mir aufgefallen ist, dass es fehlt.

   I'll call and explain when I noticed it was missing.

   Ich

   I

   rufe … an

   call

   erkläre

   explain

   wann

   when

   mir … aufgefallen ist

   I noticed

   dass

   that

   es

   it

   fehlt

   is missing

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” German uses ich for the speaker as the subject; its form does not change for gender. rufe and an belong together as the separable verb anrufen, “to call.” In Ich rufe an, the finite part rufe is in second position and the prefix an moves to the end. rufe is the first-person singular present form of anrufen: ich rufe an = “I call / I’ll call.” Example: Ich rufe morgen an. — “I’ll call tomorrow.” erkläre is the first-person singular present form of erklären, “to explain.” German present tense can refer to a planned near-future action when the time or context makes that clear. Example: Ich erkläre den Ablauf. — “I explain the procedure.” The conjunction und connects the two actions: calling and explaining. It does not change the subject, so Ich applies to both verbs. wann introduces the embedded question “when.” It asks about the time of the noticing, rather than introducing a direct question. In the embedded clause, the finite verb comes at the end: wann ... ist. mir is the dative form of the first-person pronoun. With auffallen, it marks the person to whom something becomes noticeable—the experiencer—so mir means “to me” here. aufgefallen ist is the perfect construction of auffallen, “to become noticeable / strike someone.” The participle is aufgefallen, and ist is the third-person singular present form of sein, used here as the auxiliary; in the subordinate clause, the auxiliary comes last. The useful pattern is jemandem ist etwas aufgefallen — “something became noticeable to someone.” In this sentence, however, what became noticeable is the content of dass es fehlt: the fact that it is missing. Thus mir ... aufgefallen is naturally translated as “I noticed.” dass introduces a subordinate content clause, “that ...”. Here dass es fehlt supplies the content of what became noticeable. As with other subordinate clauses introduced by dass, the finite verb goes to the end: dass es fehlt. es is a third-person singular pronoun functioning as the subject of fehlt. The fixed translation identifies its intended meaning here as “it,” referring to the thing that is missing; the pronoun’s grammatical form alone does not identify a more specific noun. fehlt is the third-person singular present form of fehlen, “to be missing” or “to be absent.” Here es fehlt means “it is missing.” The verb can also be used with a dative person, as in Mir fehlt etwas. — “I am missing something,” but that is a different structure from the subject es in this sentence. Together, Ich rufe an und erkläre means “I’ll call and explain.” The embedded question wann mir aufgefallen ist, dass es fehlt specifies what will be explained: the time when the fact that it is missing became noticeable to the speaker. The complete utterance therefore means, “I’ll call and explain when I noticed it was missing.”

6. Nenne ein paar Dinge, die darin sind, aber teile keine Angaben aus persönlichen Dokumenten.

   Mention a few items inside, but don't share details from personal documents.

   Nenne

   mention / name

   ein paar

   a few

   Dinge

   things / items

   darin

   inside it / in there

   sind

   are

   Angaben

   details / information

   teile

   share

   aus

   from

   persönlichen

   personal

   Dokumenten

   documents

   More detail

   Nenne is the informal singular imperative of nennen (“to name” or “to mention”). The form addresses one person: Nenn ein Beispiel! means “Name one example!” Here, ein paar Dinge is its accusative object. ein paar means “a few” without asserting an exact number. Dinge is the plural of Ding (“thing”); its form is identical in the nominative and accusative plural. Nenne ein paar Dinge therefore means “Mention a few things.” darin is an adverb meaning “inside it” or “in there.” In die darin sind, it locates the things inside an already discussed object or place; the sentence itself does not give that referent a more specific name. die is a plural relative pronoun and is the subject of sind, so the relative clause describes things that are inside. sind is the third-person plural present form of sein (“to be”). The useful present-tense chain is ich bin, du bist, sie sind; here the plural subject is die, referring back to Dinge. Angaben is the plural of the feminine noun Angabe, meaning “detail” or “piece of information.” In keine Angaben, it is the accusative object of teilen: “no details/information.” The plural is natural when referring to multiple pieces of information. teile is the informal singular imperative of teilen (“to share”). Teile die Information! means “Share the information!” In the supplied sentence, teile is followed by the negated object keine Angaben, so the instruction is not to share any details. aus is a preposition meaning “from” here. It introduces the source phrase aus persönlichen Dokumenten, and aus requires the dative case. It is not a separable prefix belonging to teile; the verb here is teilen, not austeilen. persönlichen is the adjective persönlich (“personal”). It modifies Dokumenten, not Angaben. After the preposition aus, the noun phrase is dative plural, and the adjective has the ending -en: aus persönlichen Dokumenten. Dokumenten is the dative plural of Dokument; the ordinary plural is Dokumente, and dative plural adds -n: Dokumenten. The phrase means “from personal documents,” identifying the source of the details. Together, Nenne ein paar Dinge, die darin sind means “Mention a few things that are inside it/in there.” The conjunction aber contrasts this with teile keine Angaben aus persönlichen Dokumenten: “but do not share details from personal documents.” Both Nenne and teile are informal singular imperatives, so the complete utterance gives one person two contrasting instructions.

7. Darin sind ein Foto und eine gefaltete Notiz.

   It has a photo and a folded note inside.

   Darin

   inside it

   sind

   are

   Foto

   photo

   gefaltete

   folded

   Notiz

   note

   More detail

   Darin means “inside it” here. It is a German pronominal adverb formed with da- + in, used when the object already understood from context is nonhuman or an object. Example: Darin liegt ein Schlüssel. — “There is a key inside it.” The form does not itself identify what “it” is. Sind is the present-tense plural form of sein (“to be”). The subject is the coordinated group ein Foto und eine gefaltete Notiz, so German uses the plural form. Useful forms include ist for a singular subject and sind for a plural subject or coordinated subjects. Example: Ein Foto ist darin. — “A photo is inside it.” Foto means “photo.” The noun is neuter: das Foto; with the indefinite article in this sentence, it appears as ein Foto. Its plural is Fotos. Example: Ich sehe ein Foto. — “I see a photo.” Gefaltete means “folded” here. It is the attributive form of the participle gefaltet, from falten (“to fold”), and it describes Notiz. With the feminine noun phrase eine Notiz in this position, the adjective takes the ending -e: eine gefaltete Notiz. Example: Das ist eine gefaltete Karte. — “That is a folded card.” Notiz means “note.” It is feminine: die Notiz; with the indefinite article here, eine Notiz is used. Its plural is Notizen. Example: Ich lese eine Notiz. — “I am reading a note.” Together, Darin places the contents inside the already understood object. sind links that location with two coordinated items: ein Foto and eine gefaltete Notiz. The complete utterance therefore means that a photo and a folded note are inside it: “It has a photo and a folded note inside.”

8. Diese Angaben sollten ausreichen, um es sicher zu identifizieren.

   Those details should be enough to identify it safely.

   Diese

   these

   Angaben

   details

   sollten

   should

   ausreichen

   be enough

   es

   it

   sicher

   safely

   zu identifizieren

   to identify

   More detail

   Diese is the demonstrative form used here with the plural subject Angaben: “these.” Its form also occurs with some singular feminine nouns, so the form alone does not establish number; Angaben supplies the plural agreement here. Angaben means “details” or “information” in this sentence. It is the plural of Angabe (feminine). The plural subject is what is expected to be sufficient. Example: Die Angaben sind vollständig. — “The details are complete.” sollten is the form of sollen used with the plural subject Diese Angaben. Here it conveys a qualified expectation, “should,” rather than a firm assertion that the details definitely suffice. sollen can also express an instruction or reported obligation in other contexts; the intended meaning here is determined by the fixed translation and the surrounding infinitive construction. Example: Das sollte funktionieren. — “That should work.” ausreichen is the infinitive meaning “to be enough” or “to suffice.” After the modal verb sollten, the lexical verb remains in the infinitive and appears at the end of this clause. Example: Eine kurze Erklärung reicht aus. — “A brief explanation is enough.” es is an accusative singular neuter pronoun meaning “it” here. The fixed translation identifies the thing to be identified as “it”; the pronoun’s grammatical form does not by itself identify that thing. In es zu identifizieren, it is the object of identifizieren. sicher means “safely” here and describes the identifying action. As an adjective, sicher can mean “safe” or “certain,” but in this position it functions adverbially and expresses that the identification can be made reliably or safely. Example: Sie kann es sicher erkennen. — “She can recognize it safely/reliably.” zu identifizieren is the zu-infinitive of identifizieren, “to identify.” The pattern um ... zu + infinitive expresses purpose: um es sicher zu identifizieren means “in order to identify it safely.” The pronoun es comes before the adverb sicher and the infinitive phrase, while zu is attached to the infinitive form of this separable? No: identifizieren is not separable, so the form is simply zu identifizieren. Together, Diese Angaben sollten ausreichen means “These details should be enough.” The purpose clause um es sicher zu identifizieren adds what they should be enough for: “to identify it safely.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Those details should be enough to identify it safely.”

9. Wenn sie es haben, kann ich eine Zeit vereinbaren, um es abzuholen.

   If they have it, I can arrange a time to pick it up.

   Wenn

   if

   sie

   they

   es

   it

   haben

   have

   kann ich

   I can

   Zeit

   time

   vereinbaren

   arrange

   abzuholen

   pick up

   More detail

   Wenn introduces a condition: “if/when.” Here it sets the condition for the main clause. A reusable pattern is Wenn ..., ... = “If ..., ...”. Example: Wenn du Zeit hast, ruf mich an. — “If you have time, call me.” sie means “they” here, as fixed by the translation. Lowercase sie can also mean “she” or “you” in other contexts, so the surrounding context and verb form matter; here haben is the form used with “they.” es is the pronoun “it.” Its specific referent is supported by the fixed translation and context. In the first clause it is the object of haben; the later es is the object of “pick up” and refers to the same intended item. haben is the base-form verb “to have.” With sie meaning “they,” its present-tense form is haben: sie haben = “they have.” In the subordinate clause introduced by Wenn, the finite verb comes at the end: Wenn sie es haben. kann ich means “I can.” kann is the present-tense form of können with ich; the modal expresses ability or possibility. With a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end of the clause: Ich kann helfen. — “I can help.” Zeit means “time.” In eine Zeit, it refers to a time or appointment slot that can be arranged. Zeit is feminine singular, and this noun phrase is the accusative object of vereinbaren; therefore the indefinite article is eine. The article form does not itself assert a numerical count. vereinbaren means “to arrange” or “to agree on.” It is an infinitive here, used after the modal kann: ich kann eine Zeit vereinbaren = “I can arrange a time.” Unlike a separable verb, vereinbaren remains together in this infinitive. abzuholen means “to pick up” in um es abzuholen. Its base verb is the separable verb abholen (“to pick up”); with zu, the form is abzuholen, with zu placed between ab and holen. The pattern um ... zu ... expresses purpose: Ich komme, um es abzuholen. — “I am coming to pick it up.” Together, Wenn sie es haben means “If they have it.” kann ich eine Zeit vereinbaren means “I can arrange a time,” and um es abzuholen expresses the purpose, “to pick it up.” The complete utterance therefore means: “If they have it, I can arrange a time to pick it up.”

10. Ruf jetzt an, und ich überprüfe deine Tasche noch einmal, während du wartest.

    Call now, and I'll check your bag again while you wait.

    Ruf … an

    call

    überprüfe

    check

    Tasche

    bag

    noch einmal

    again

    wartest

    wait

    More detail

    Ruf ... an is the separable verb anrufen, “to call” in the sense of calling someone by phone. Here Ruf is the informal singular imperative addressed to du; the prefix an appears at the end of the clause. In a regular statement, the same verb separates as Ich rufe an. (“I am calling.”). The imperative addressed to more than one person or formally to one person uses different forms, so do not generalize Ruf to every addressee. überprüfe comes from überprüfen, “to check” or “to inspect.” It is the first-person singular present form: ich überprüfe. The subject is expressed by ich earlier in the coordinated clause, while the verb form also identifies the speaker as the actor. Example: Ich überprüfe die Liste. — “I check the list.” Tasche is the noun die Tasche, “bag.” In this sentence, deine Tasche is the thing being checked; deine marks it as belonging to the person addressed. The noun is feminine in its dictionary form, and after überprüfen it functions as the accusative object. Example: Ich nehme die Tasche. — “I take the bag.” noch einmal means “again” or “once more.” It indicates that the checking will happen another time, without by itself specifying how many earlier checks occurred. This is a reusable time-expression pattern: Wir versuchen es noch einmal. — “We’ll try again.” wartest is the second-person singular present form of warten, “to wait”: du wartest. The form agrees with the explicit subject du in the subordinate clause. Example: Du wartest hier. — “You wait here.” In the clause introduced by während (“while”), the finite verb comes at the end: während du wartest. The utterance first gives the informal singular imperative Ruf ... an (“Call now”), then coordinates it with und (“and”). The speaker states ich überprüfe deine Tasche noch einmal (“I’ll check your bag again”), and während du wartest sets the time relationship: the checking takes place while the addressed person waits. Together: “Call now, and I’ll check your bag again while you wait.”