Keeping valuables safe at a crowded festival | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Dieses Festival ist viel voller, als ich erwartet habe.

   This festival is much more crowded than I expected.

   Dieses

   this

   Festival

   festival

   ist

   is

   viel

   much

   voller

   more crowded

   als

   than

   ich

   I

   erwartet habe

   have expected

   More detail

   Dieses means “this” here and points to the singular neuter noun Festival. The demonstrative agrees with that noun: dieses Festival. Its form changes with the noun’s grammatical gender, case, and number; for example, diese Tasche means “this bag,” while dieser Mann means “this man.” Festival is a neuter noun in German: das Festival. German nouns are capitalized. Here it refers to the festival in the fixed sentence. ist is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for the third-person singular: er/sie/es ist. Here it links the festival to its description: “is.” The plural form and the formal singular form are sind, not ist. viel means “much” in this sentence. Before a comparative, it strengthens the comparison: viel voller = “much more crowded,” rather than merely voller = “more crowded.” This use does not itself state a numeric quantity. voller is the comparative form of the adjective voll (“full”). In this context, voll describes how crowded the festival is, so voller means “more crowded.” A useful comparison chain is voll → voller → am vollsten (“full” → “fuller/more crowded” → “fullest/most crowded”). The comparative is used when comparing this festival with the expected degree stated in the following clause. als introduces the standard of comparison after a comparative: größer als = “bigger than,” and here voller als ... = “more crowded than ...”. It is distinct from wenn, which commonly introduces a condition or a repeated-time clause. ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It is the subject of habe in the comparison clause, so the expectation belongs to the speaker. erwartet habe uses the perfect tense of erwarten (“to expect”). erwartet is the past participle, and habe is the first-person singular present form of the auxiliary haben. In a subordinate clause introduced by als, the finite auxiliary comes at the end: als ich ... erwartet habe. Example: Ich habe mehr Besucher erwartet. — “I expected more visitors.” In the fixed sentence, the expected degree of crowdedness is left implicit: the speaker expected the festival to be less crowded than it actually is. Together, Dieses Festival ist identifies the festival and states its condition; viel voller makes that condition a strong comparison; and als ich erwartet habe gives the comparison standard. The whole utterance means: “This festival is much more crowded than I expected.”

2. Bewahre deine Wertsachen in einer Tasche mit Reißverschluss auf, nicht in der Außentasche.

   Keep your valuables in a zippered pocket, not in the outside pouch.

   Bewahre … auf

   keep/store

   Wertsachen

   valuables

   Tasche

   bag or pocket

   Reißverschluss

   zipper

   Außentasche

   outside pocket

   More detail

   Bewahre ... auf is the separable verb aufbewahren, meaning “to keep” or “to store.” Bewahre is its informal singular imperative, addressed to one person. In this clause, the separable prefix auf appears at the end: Bewahre die Schlüssel auf. — “Store the keys.” Wertsachen means valuable personal belongings. It is the plural of die Wertsache; the plural ending -n is visible in Wertsachen. Here, deine Wertsachen means “your valuables.” Tasche means “bag” or, in a suitable context, “pocket.” It is feminine: die Tasche. Because in describes a stationary location here, in einer Tasche uses the dative: “in a bag/pocket.” With movement into a place, in takes the accusative instead: Ich lege es in eine Tasche. — “I put it in a bag.” Reißverschluss means “zipper.” In mit Reißverschluss, it identifies a bag or pocket fitted with a zipper. mit takes the dative; this masculine singular noun has no additional ending in this form. Außentasche means “outside pocket” or “outer pouch.” It is a feminine compound noun containing Außen- (“outer/outside”) and Tasche (“bag/pocket”): die Außentasche. In in der Außentasche, in describes a stationary location, so the feminine dative article is der. Together, Bewahre deine Wertsachen in einer Tasche mit Reißverschluss auf means “Keep your valuables in a zippered pocket.” nicht in der Außentasche adds the contrasting location “not in the outside pouch.” The complete utterance is: “Keep your valuables in a zippered pocket, not in the outside pouch.”

3. Ich stecke mein Handy um, bevor mich die Musik ablenkt.

   I'll move my phone before the music distracts me.

   stecke … um

   move ... around

   Handy

   phone

   bevor

   before

   mich

   me

   Musik

   music

   ablenkt

   distracts

   More detail

   stecke ... um: The observed form comes from the separable verb umstecken, meaning to move or reposition something. stecke is the first-person singular present form, matching Ich; the prefix um appears at the end of the main clause. This split pattern is reusable: Ich stecke X um. = “I move/reposition X.” Handy: Here it means “phone,” especially a mobile phone in German. The phrase mein Handy means “my phone”: mein marks the possessive relationship, while Handy is the thing being moved. Example: Ich nehme mein Handy. — “I take my phone.” bevor: This is a subordinating conjunction meaning “before.” It introduces a time clause and sends its finite verb to the end: bevor mich ... ablenkt. The clause describes the event that has not happened yet at the stated reference point. mich: This is the accusative form of first-person singular ich, meaning “me.” It is the person affected by ablenken; it is not the subject of that clause. The useful contrast is ich for the subject (“I”) and mich for an accusative object (“me”). Example: Die Musik lenkt mich ab. — “The music distracts me.” Musik: This noun means “music.” In the subordinate clause it is the subject: the music performs the distracting action. Its form is unchanged here; the surrounding grammar identifies its role. ablenkt: This is the third-person singular present form of ablenken, “to distract.” Its subject is die Musik, which is grammatically singular, so the verb has the third-person singular ending. In the main clause, the separable prefix can split in a suitable structure (Die Musik lenkt mich ab); after bevor, the finite verb stays at the end and appears as the attached form ablenkt. Together, Ich stecke mein Handy um means “I move my phone,” and bevor mich die Musik ablenkt means “before the music distracts me.” The complete utterance is: “I’ll move my phone before the music distracts me.” The present forms describe an intended or imminent action in this context; German does not need a separate future form here.

4. Mach das jetzt. Taschendiebe halten oft Ausschau nach Leuten, die nicht mehr aufpassen.

   Do it now. Pickpockets often watch for people who stop paying attention.

   Mach das

   do it

   jetzt

   now

   Taschendiebe

   pickpockets

   halten … Ausschau

   watch for

   oft

   often

   Leuten

   people

   nicht mehr

   no longer

   aufpassen

   pay attention

   More detail

   Mach das is an imperative: mach is the informal singular command form of machen (“to do/make”), and das is the pronoun “it/that.” Here it refers to the action understood from the situation, as reflected by “Do it.” The same command pattern is reusable: Mach das! = “Do it!” The formal or plural command is Machen Sie das! or Macht das!, respectively. jetzt means “now” and places the requested action at the present time. Jetzt mach das is another possible order; the fixed sentence puts the imperative before this time adverb. Taschendiebe means “pickpockets.” It is the plural of Taschendieb; the plural adds -e: Taschendieb → Taschendiebe. The word is a compound: Tasche (“bag”) + Dieb (“thief”), but it functions as one noun. A singular example is Ein Taschendieb wartet dort. — “A pickpocket is waiting there.” halten ... Ausschau is a fixed construction meaning “watch/look out for” someone or something. The verb is halten (“to hold/keep”), while Ausschau contributes to the idiomatic meaning; do not translate the combination literally as “hold a lookout.” In the sentence, Taschendiebe halten Ausschau nach ... means “pickpockets watch for ...”. With a singular subject, the verb changes: Ein Taschendieb hält Ausschau nach Opfern. — “A pickpocket watches for victims.” The preposition nach belongs to this construction and introduces what is being sought or watched for. oft means “often” and expresses frequent occurrence. It modifies the situation of watching for people, not the noun Taschendiebe itself. Leuten means “people” here, in the dative plural form of Leute, required by nach in this construction. The same dative plural can be seen in Ich helfe den Leuten. — “I help the people.” nicht mehr means “no longer” or “not anymore.” nicht supplies negation, while mehr contributes the sense that the situation has ceased or changed. Thus nicht mehr aufpassen means “no longer pay attention,” not simply “not pay attention.” aufpassen means “to pay attention” or, in suitable contexts, “to watch out.” It is a separable verb: in a main clause, auf can move to the end, as in Die Leute passen nicht auf. — “The people are not paying attention.” In the relative clause here, the infinitive remains together as aufpassen. The final part, die nicht mehr aufpassen, is a relative clause describing Leuten: “who no longer pay attention.” die is the relative pronoun for the plural people referred to by Leuten; the verb is plural, and the negated change is expressed by nicht mehr aufpassen. Putting the sentence together: Mach das jetzt. gives the immediate command “Do it now.” Taschendiebe halten oft Ausschau nach Leuten, die nicht mehr aufpassen. says that pickpockets often watch for people who have stopped paying attention. Together, the fixed utterance is: “Do it now. Pickpockets often watch for people who stop paying attention.”

5. Soll ich meinen Rucksack vor mir tragen?

   Should I wear my backpack in front of me?

   Soll ich

   Should I …?

   Rucksack

   backpack

   vor mir

   in front of me

   tragen

   carry; wear

   More detail

   Soll ich is a reusable way to ask whether the speaker ought to do something: Soll ich ...? means “Should I ...?” Here soll is the first-person singular present form of sollen, and ich is the subject. The verb sollen expresses an expected, recommended, or proposed action; the exact force comes from the situation. Rucksack means “backpack.” Its base form is the masculine noun der Rucksack. In this sentence it appears as meinen Rucksack: meinen is the masculine accusative form of the possessive determiner mein, because the backpack is the direct object of tragen. The possessive identifies it as the speaker’s backpack; it does not itself state how many backpacks there are. vor mir means “in front of me.” The preposition vor takes the dative here because this describes a stationary position rather than movement toward a position. mir is the dative form of ich (“me”). The phrase describes the backpack’s position relative to the speaker; it does not identify any other person. tragen means “to carry” and can also mean “to wear” something such as clothing or a backpack. It is the infinitive of tragen. In this question, tragen is placed at the end because sollen is the conjugated verb and the other verb remains an infinitive. Example: Ich trage eine Jacke. — “I am wearing a jacket.” Together, Soll ich introduces the yes-or-no question, meinen Rucksack names the object, vor mir specifies its position, and tragen gives the action. The complete meaning is: “Should I wear my backpack in front of me?” This wording asks whether that is the recommended action, without itself stating that the speaker has decided to do it.

6. Das wäre in der Nähe der Essensstände und Eingangstore sicherer.

   That would be safer near the food stalls and entrance gates.

   Das wäre

   That would be

   in der Nähe

   near

   Essensstände

   food stalls

   Eingangstore

   entrance gates

   sicherer

   safer

   More detail

   Das wäre means “That would be.” wäre is the third-person singular subjunctive II form of sein (“to be”). It presents the statement as a hypothetical or conditional assessment: Das ist sicherer = “That is safer,” while Das wäre sicherer = “That would be safer.” Here Das refers to the option under discussion, supported by the preceding question. in der Nähe is the reusable phrase “near” or “in the vicinity of.” Nähe is a feminine noun, and der is its dative singular form after in when the phrase expresses a fixed location rather than movement toward a place. For example, Das Hotel ist in der Nähe. means “The hotel is nearby.” Essensstände means “food stalls.” It is the plural of the compound noun Essensstand: Essen (“food”) + Stand (“stall/stand”). The plural change is Stand → Stände; in the full phrase der Essensstände, the noun is genitive plural, expressing “of the food stalls.” Eingangstore means “entrance gates.” It is the plural of Eingangstor, formed from Eingang (“entrance”) and Tor (“gate”). The plural is Tor → Tore, giving Eingangstore. In der Essensstände und Eingangstore, the shared der marks the coordinated nouns as genitive plural: “of the food stalls and entrance gates.” sicherer means “safer.” It is the comparative form of the adjective sicher (“safe”): sicher → sicherer → am sichersten (“safe” → “safer” → “safest”). Because sicherer follows wäre as a predicate adjective, it has no additional adjective ending here. For example, Diese Tasche wäre sicherer. means “This bag would be safer.” Together, Das wäre + in der Nähe der Essensstände und Eingangstore + sicherer gives: “That would be safer near the food stalls and entrance gates.” The location phrase specifies where the comparison applies, while wäre and sicherer present the suggested option as hypothetically safer.

7. Ich stecke meine Geldbörse auch in die Innentasche.

   I'll put my wallet in the inside pocket too.

   stecke

   put / place

   meine

   my

   Geldbörse

   wallet

   auch

   too / also

   in die

   into the

   Innentasche

   inside pocket

   More detail

   stecke is the first-person singular present form of stecken (“to put/place” here). German present tense can refer to a planned or imminent future, so this form corresponds to “I’ll put” in the fixed translation. The same verb can also mean “to stick” or “to insert,” depending on the object and context. Example: Ich stecke den Brief in den Umschlag. — “I put the letter into the envelope.” meine means “my” here and is the possessive determiner agreeing with Geldbörse. Geldbörse is feminine singular, and after the motion construction it is in the accusative, so the feminine accusative form is meine. The form changes with the possessed noun: for example, mein Handy (“my phone,” neuter) and meinen Schlüssel (“my key,” masculine accusative). Geldbörse means “wallet” or “purse.” Its useful base form is the singular noun die Geldbörse; its plural is die Geldbörsen. Example: Meine Geldbörse ist in der Tasche. — “My wallet is in the bag.” auch means “too” or “also.” In this sentence it adds this action or placement to something already under discussion. Its exact scope can vary with position, but here it follows the object and precedes the destination phrase. in die expresses movement into a destination. With in, German uses the accusative when something moves into a place and the dative when something is located there without movement: Ich stecke die Karte in die Tasche. — “I put the card into the pocket”; Die Karte ist in der Tasche. — “The card is in the pocket.” In in die, die is the feminine singular accusative article; it does not itself state a numerical quantity. Innentasche means “inside pocket” or “inner pocket.” It is the feminine singular noun die Innentasche, and the phrase in die Innentasche therefore uses the feminine accusative article for movement into it. Example: Ich lege den Schlüssel in die Innentasche. — “I put the key into the inside pocket.” Together, Ich stecke gives “I’ll put,” meine Geldbörse gives “my wallet” as the object, auch adds “too,” and in die Innentasche gives the destination “into the inside pocket.” The whole utterance means: “I’ll put my wallet in the inside pocket too.”

8. So ist sie schwerer zu erreichen.

   That way it is harder to reach.

   So

   that way

   ist sie

   it is

   schwerer

   harder

   zu erreichen

   to reach

   More detail

   So means “that way” here: it points to a manner or arrangement established by the surrounding context. It can introduce a sentence in first position, which places the finite verb directly after it in this sentence. ist sie: ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. sie is the feminine singular pronoun in this use, and the fixed translation identifies its meaning here as “it”; the preceding context supports the wallet as the referent. German sie can have other functions in other contexts, but that does not change its role here. The order So ist sie ... is a common verb-second pattern: the initial adverb comes first, then the finite verb, then the subject. schwerer is the comparative form of the adjective schwer (“difficult” or “hard”): schwer → schwerer (“harder”) → am schwersten (“hardest”). The comparative presents the reaching as more difficult than under an understood alternative, without stating an explicit comparison in this sentence. zu erreichen means “to reach.” erreichen is the base verb, and zu erreichen is its infinitive with zu. This construction commonly follows an adjective to express what is difficult or easy: Es ist schwer, den Ort zu erreichen. — “It is difficult to reach the place.” Together, So ist sie schwerer zu erreichen. means “That way it is harder to reach.” So refers to the arrangement just mentioned; ist ... schwerer describes its increased difficulty, and zu erreichen identifies the action whose difficulty is being assessed. In a complete reusable pattern: So ist [something] schwerer zu [verb].

9. Aber du kannst das Festival trotzdem genießen.

   But you can still enjoy the festival.

   Aber

   but

   du kannst

   you can

   Festival

   festival

   trotzdem

   still

   genießen

   enjoy

   More detail

   Aber introduces a contrast with something already understood: “but.” It does not itself state what the contrast is; here it contrasts the ability to enjoy the festival with the preceding situation. du kannst uses können (“to be able to; can”) in the present tense for second-person singular du: ich kann, du kannst, er/sie kann. The modal verb carries the finite verb form, while the other verb remains an infinitive later in the clause. Example: Du kannst kommen. — “You can come.” Festival is a noun meaning “festival.” In the sentence it appears with the definite article das: das Festival. The noun is neuter, so this article form is used in the nominative or accusative singular here; das Festival is the object of genießen. Example: Das Festival beginnt heute. — “The festival begins today.” trotzdem is an adverb meaning “still” or “nevertheless.” It marks that the ability or action remains valid despite the contrasting circumstance introduced by Aber. It is not part of the noun phrase das Festival; it modifies the clause as a whole. genießen means “to enjoy.” It is the infinitive required after the modal verb kannst; its base form is also genießen. The umlaut is part of this verb’s spelling. Example: Wir genießen den Abend. — “We are enjoying the evening.” Together, du kannst ... genießen means “you can enjoy ...”: kannst expresses the ability, and genießen names the action. das Festival is the thing enjoyed, while trotzdem says that this remains possible despite the contrast. Thus the whole utterance means: “But you can still enjoy the festival.”

10. Ich möchte mich nicht ängstlich fühlen, sondern einfach vorsichtig sein.

    I don't want to feel anxious, just careful.

    Ich möchte

    I would like

    mich

    myself

    nicht

    not

    ängstlich

    anxious

    fühlen

    feel

    sondern

    but rather

    einfach

    simply

    vorsichtig

    careful

    sein

    be

    More detail

    Ich möchte expresses a present wish or intention: “I would like to” or “I want to.” möchte is the first-person singular form used for this meaning of mögen; with another verb, that verb stays in the infinitive and comes later in the clause. Example: Ich möchte bleiben. — “I would like to stay.” mich is the reflexive accusative pronoun referring back to the subject Ich here. The verb fühlen uses it because the person experiences the feeling themselves. The related first-person forms are ich fühle mich, du fühlst dich, and sie fühlt sich; the reflexive form changes with the participant. nicht negates the following unwanted state or action in mich nicht ängstlich fühlen: the speaker does not want to feel anxious. It does not turn möchte into a general statement that the speaker wants nothing. ängstlich is an adjective meaning “anxious” or “fearful.” It describes the speaker’s state after fühlen. German adjectives used this way do not receive a noun-ending here: Ich fühle mich ängstlich. — “I feel anxious.” A related but different adjective is vorsichtig, used later for being careful rather than for feeling anxious. fühlen means “to feel.” Its base form is the infinitive fühlen; in a main clause with a first-person subject, the finite form is ich fühle. With möchte, the infinitive remains at the end of its clause: Ich möchte mich sicher fühlen. — “I would like to feel safe.” sondern introduces the preferred alternative after a negation. The pattern is nicht A, sondern B: “not A, but rather B.” It contrasts the unwanted state mich ängstlich fühlen with the desired state that follows. Example: Ich bin nicht müde, sondern aufmerksam. — “I am not tired, but attentive.” einfach means “simply” or “just” here. It modifies the alternative vorsichtig sein, making that the uncomplicated intended choice; it does not mean that the speaker is being careless. vorsichtig is an adjective meaning “careful” or “cautious.” In vorsichtig sein, it describes how the subject is or wants to be. Its comparative is vorsichtiger (“more careful”), and its opposite is commonly unvorsichtig (“careless” or “incautious”). Example: Sei vorsichtig! — “Be careful!” sein is the infinitive “to be.” After möchte, it remains infinitive, and with vorsichtig it forms vorsichtig sein (“to be careful”). Thus the sentence contrasts two complete alternatives: feeling anxious versus being careful. Taken together, Ich möchte mich nicht ängstlich fühlen means “I would not like to feel anxious,” and sondern einfach vorsichtig sein replaces that unwanted state with the intended one: “but rather just be careful.” The complete meaning is: “I don't want to feel anxious, just careful.”

11. Dann bleiben wir aufmerksam, ohne uns den ganzen Nachmittag Sorgen zu machen.

    Then let us stay alert without worrying all afternoon.

    Dann

    then

    bleiben

    stay; remain

    wir

    we

    aufmerksam

    alert; attentive

    ohne

    without

    uns … Sorgen zu machen

    to worry

    More detail

    Dann means “then” here and marks the next step or consequence. It can also refer to a later time in other sentences. Example: Dann gehen wir nach Hause. — “Then we go home.” bleiben means “remain” or “stay.” In the sentence, bleiben is the present-tense form for wir, the first-person plural subject. Useful forms include bleiben (“stay/remain”), bleibt (“stays/remains” for er/sie/es), and blieb (“stayed/remained” in the simple past). After Dann, the verb comes before the subject: Dann bleiben wir .... This is German subject–verb inversion after an element placed first; it does not change who remains. wir means “we,” the first-person plural pronoun. It identifies the speaker together with at least one other participant. Its form is not changed by grammatical gender. The following verb uses the corresponding first-person plural form: wir bleiben, not wir bleibt. aufmerksam means “alert” or “attentive” here. It is a predicate adjective after bleiben, so it describes the state that is maintained and has no adjective ending in this position. aufmerksam focuses on paying attention or staying alert; vorsichtig, used in the preceding sentence, focuses on taking care to avoid danger. They can describe related behavior, but they are not the same word. Example: Bleib aufmerksam! — “Stay alert!” ohne means “without.” Here it introduces an action that does not happen, using the pattern ohne ... zu + infinitive. The action inside this clause is Sorgen zu machen, while ohne connects it to the main action: the group remains alert without carrying out that worrying action. uns belongs with Sorgen zu machen. It is the first-person plural reflexive pronoun in the expression sich Sorgen machen, literally “make worries for oneself,” which is used to mean “worry.” In this sentence, uns refers back to wir; the form uns is used for both the first-person plural accusative and dative reflexive pronoun, so this form alone does not distinguish those grammatical cases. Sorgen zu machen contains the noun Sorgen and the infinitive machen with zu. The fixed expression sich Sorgen machen means “to worry,” not simply “to make” something. In the ohne ... zu construction, zu is placed before the infinitive: ohne sich Sorgen zu machen — “without worrying.” Example: Sie versucht, sich keine Sorgen zu machen. — “She tries not to worry.” Putting the parts together, Dann sets this up as the next step, bleiben wir aufmerksam means “let us stay alert,” and ohne uns den ganzen Nachmittag Sorgen zu machen adds that this happens without worrying throughout the whole afternoon. The complete intended meaning is: “Then let us stay alert without worrying all afternoon.”