Making a private call during a work break | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich muss während der Pause privat telefonieren.

   I need to make a private call during the break.

   Ich muss

   I need to

   während

   during

   Pause

   break

   privat

   privately

   telefonieren

   to make a phone call

   More detail

   Ich muss combines the subject pronoun Ich (“I”) with muss, the first-person singular present form of müssen (“must; need to”). The modal expresses necessity here. With a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end of the clause: Ich muss arbeiten. — “I need to work.” während means “during” and introduces a time period. Standard German commonly uses it with the genitive. Pause is the feminine noun die Pause (“break”); in der Pause, the visible form can represent genitive singular, while the same form can also occur as dative singular, so the ending alone does not distinguish those cases here. Pause is also used in eine Pause (“a break”) and in der Pause (“during the break”). privat means “private” or “personal.” In this sentence it is used adverbially with telefonieren, describing the kind of call or the personal nature of the phone conversation rather than inflecting as an adjective before a noun. Compare privat telefonieren — “make a private call” — with ein privater Anruf — “a private call,” where privater is the adjective form before the masculine noun Anruf. telefonieren is the infinitive meaning “to make a phone call” or “to talk on the phone.” Its present-tense forms include ich telefoniere (“I make a phone call”) and sie telefoniert (“she makes a phone call”). For the action of calling a particular person, German also commonly uses jemanden anrufen (“to call someone”), which is a different verb from the more general telefonieren. Together, Ich muss + während der Pause + privat telefonieren gives: “I need to make a private call during the break.” The modal muss carries the necessity, während der Pause specifies when, and the infinitive telefonieren completes the verb phrase.

2. Geh in den ruhigen Flur, wenn das Thema sensibel ist.

   Use the quiet hallway if the topic is sensitive.

   Geh

   go

   ruhigen

   quiet, calm

   Flur

   hallway

   wenn

   if, when

   Thema

   topic

   sensibel

   sensitive

   ist

   is

   More detail

   Geh is the informal singular imperative of gehen (“to go”). It addresses one person directly. The polite or plural command is Gehen Sie; the informal plural command is Geht. In this sentence, Geh introduces the action that the listener is instructed to take. ruhigen means “quiet” here. Its base form is ruhig; the ending -en is on the adjective, not on Flur. In den ruhigen Flur, the masculine noun is in the accusative after in, because the sentence describes movement into a place. The definite article den and the adjective ending -en show that form. For example: Ich betrete den ruhigen Raum. — “I enter the quiet room.” Flur is a masculine noun meaning “hallway” or “corridor”; its plural is Flure. The phrase in den Flur expresses movement into the hallway. For a location without movement, German uses a different case: Ich bin im Flur. — “I am in the hallway.” wenn introduces the condition “if” here. It can also mean “when” when the context describes a repeated or expected time. A clause introduced by wenn is subordinate, so its finite verb normally comes at the end: wenn das Thema sensibel ist. Thema means “topic” or “subject.” It is a neuter noun: das Thema; its plural is die Themen. In this sentence, it is the subject of the subordinate clause, not the object of the command. sensibel means “sensitive” here, describing the topic. It is an adjective in the predicate after ist, so it has no ending: Das Thema ist sensibel. — “The topic is sensitive.” This differs from an attributive use such as ein sensibles Thema, where the adjective appears directly before the noun and takes an ending. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The useful present-tense chain is ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. Here ist agrees with the singular noun das Thema. Together, Geh in den ruhigen Flur means literally “Go into the quiet hallway.” wenn das Thema sensibel ist gives the condition: “if the topic is sensitive.” The fixed translation presents the complete instruction naturally as “Use the quiet hallway if the topic is sensitive.”

3. Ich möchte die Leute, die noch arbeiten, nicht unterbrechen.

   I don't want to interrupt people who are still working.

   Ich möchte

   I would like

   die Leute

   the people

   noch

   still

   arbeiten

   work

   nicht

   not

   unterbrechen

   interrupt

   More detail

   Ich möchte combines ich (“I”) with möchte, the first-person singular form of mögen used here to express a personal wish: “I would like to …”. With an infinitive, the infinitive goes to the end of the clause. The negation later in the sentence changes the complete wish into “I do not want to …”. die Leute means “the people”. Leute is a plural noun commonly used for people; German does not normally use a regular singular form of this noun for one person. For one person, useful alternatives are die Person (“the person”) and der Mensch (“the human being/person”), depending on the intended meaning. Here die marks a definite plural noun phrase, and the phrase has the accusative role because it is the people being interrupted; German plural definite articles have the same form in nominative and accusative. noch means “still” here: the people continue the activity at the relevant time. It can also have other temporal uses, so its exact contribution comes from the surrounding clause. arbeiten is the infinitive of arbeiten, “to work”. In die Leute, die noch arbeiten, it is the finite verb of the relative clause; its form is identical to the infinitive because the subject is third-person plural. In a main clause, the same verb appears in Die Leute arbeiten. — “The people are working.” The relative pronoun die refers to the people and introduces the clause describing them. nicht is the German negation word. Together with the following action, nicht unterbrechen means “not interrupt”. Its position here places the negation before the infinitive at the end; the full scope is the desired action, not merely the people or their continuing work. unterbrechen is the infinitive “to interrupt”. It is not a separable verb in this use, so its prefix remains attached. The related noun is die Unterbrechung (“interruption”), but the sentence uses the verb. The structure is Ich möchte [die Leute, die noch arbeiten] nicht unterbrechen: “I would like not to interrupt the people who are still working.” In natural English, this has the fixed meaning “I don't want to interrupt people who are still working.” The relative clause describes the people, and nicht unterbrechen states the action the speaker wishes to avoid.

4. Die Besprechung geht bald weiter, also halte dich kurz, wenn du kannst.

   The meeting restarts soon, so keep it brief if you can.

   Besprechung

   meeting

   geht … weiter

   continues

   bald

   soon

   also

   so

   halte dich kurz

   keep it brief

   wenn du kannst

   if you can

   More detail

   Besprechung means “meeting” here. It is a feminine noun: die Besprechung is singular and nominative in this sentence because it is the subject. The related noun das Gespräch means “conversation” and is not interchangeable in every context. geht ... weiter comes from the separable verb weitergehen, literally “to go on” or “to continue.” The form geht is present tense, third-person singular, agreeing with die Besprechung; weiter appears separately later in the clause. For example: Der Unterricht geht weiter. — “The lesson continues.” bald means “soon,” referring here to the meeting’s continuation. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person or number. also links the situation to its consequence: “so” or “therefore.” It introduces the request that follows. In this sentence, it does not mean “also” in the sense of “in addition.” halte dich kurz is the informal singular imperative of sich kurz halten, “to keep oneself brief” or, naturally, “to keep it brief.” halte is the imperative form of halten, and dich is the reflexive pronoun referring to the person addressed as du. kurz describes the desired brevity. German also allows the shorter imperative Halt dich kurz!; Halte dich kurz! is another standard form. wenn du kannst means “if you can.” kannst is the second-person singular present form of können (“can, be able to”), with du as its subject. Because this is a wenn-clause, the finite verb comes at the end: wenn du kannst. For example: Komm, wenn du kannst. — “Come if you can.” Together, Die Besprechung geht bald weiter says “The meeting restarts soon.” also marks the consequence, and halte dich kurz, wenn du kannst asks the addressee to keep it brief if possible. The complete meaning is: “The meeting restarts soon, so keep it brief if you can.”

5. Wenn ich nicht genau pünktlich zurück bin, könntest du im Blick behalten, was ich verpasse?

   If I'm not back exactly on time, could you keep track of anything I miss?

   zurück bin

   am back

   genau pünktlich

   exactly on time

   könntest du

   could you

   im Blick behalten

   keep track of

   verpasse

   miss

   More detail

   zurück bin comes from zurück sein, “to be back.” bin is the first-person singular present form of sein (“I am”); zurück specifies the state or location as being back. In this subordinate clause, the finite verb appears at the end: Wenn ich ... zurück bin = “If I am back ...”. Example: Ich bin um sechs zurück. — “I’ll be back at six.” genau pünktlich means “exactly on time.” pünktlich can describe arriving or being ready at the expected time, while genau intensifies the precision: genau pünktlich = precisely on time. Example: Der Zug kommt pünktlich. — “The train arrives on time.” könntest du is a polite request pattern. könntest is the second-person singular Konjunktiv II form of können (“can/to be able to”), and du is the singular informal “you.” The conditional form makes the request less direct than Kannst du ...? (“Can you ...?”). Example: Könntest du mir helfen? — “Could you help me?” im Blick behalten is a reusable expression meaning “keep track of” or “keep an eye on.” behalten means “keep/retain,” and im is the contracted form of in dem; together with Blick, the expression presents something as remaining under observation. Example: Bitte behalte die Zeit im Blick. — “Please keep track of the time.” verpasse comes from verpassen, “to miss.” It is the first-person singular present form, matching ich: ich verpasse = “I miss.” In was ich verpasse, the clause ich verpasse specifies the things that I miss; was means “what” or “anything that” in this free-relative construction. Example: Ich verpasse den Anfang. — “I miss the beginning.” The sentence first sets a condition with Wenn: Wenn ich nicht genau pünktlich zurück bin means “If I am not back exactly on time.” The negation nicht applies to being back exactly on time. The main clause then asks politely, könntest du im Blick behalten, “could you keep track,” followed by was ich verpasse, “what I miss.” Together: “If I’m not back exactly on time, could you keep track of anything I miss?”

6. Das kann ich machen, aber schreib mir, wenn der Anruf länger dauert.

   I can do that, but message me if the call takes longer.

   Das

   that

   kann ich

   I can

   machen

   do; make

   aber

   but

   schreib mir

   message me

   wenn

   if; when

   Anruf

   call

   länger

   longer

   dauert

   takes (time)

   More detail

   Das means “that” here and points to the action being discussed, rather than naming a new object. As a demonstrative pronoun, it has the neuter form das; its specific referent comes from the surrounding exchange, not from the nearest noun. kann ich: kann is the present-tense form of können for ich (“I can”). The finite verb comes before the subject because Das occupies the first position in this German main clause; this is the regular verb-second pattern, not question word order. With a modal verb, the other verb normally goes to the end: Ich kann das machen = “I can do that.” machen means “to do” in this sentence. Its base form is machen; after the modal kann, it remains in the infinitive: kann ... machen. The same verb can also mean “to make” when the context involves producing something, but that is not the meaning here. aber connects the ability or willingness just stated with a contrasting request: “but.” It does not itself change the tense or word order of the clauses it joins. schreib mir: schreib is the informal singular imperative of schreiben (“to write”), used here for a short message: “message me.” The recipient is expressed by mir, the dative form of ich (“to me”). The imperative Schreib mir! is a reusable way to tell one person informally to contact the speaker in writing. This form is distinct from the infinitive schreiben and from the first-person form ich schreibe. wenn introduces the condition “if” here. In the clause beginning with wenn, the finite verb goes to the end in German: wenn der Anruf länger dauert = “if the call takes longer.” Wenn can also mean “when” when the context presents a time event rather than a condition; the fixed translation supports the conditional reading here. Anruf is a masculine noun meaning “call,” especially a phone call in this context. Its article and noun form are der Anruf in the singular. The noun, not dauert, carries the noun’s gender; der marks the masculine singular nominative subject here. länger is the comparative form of the adjective lang (“long”): lang → länger (“longer”). It compares the call’s duration with an understood reference duration; the sentence does not specify exactly what that reference is. The comparative modifies the duration, not the number of calls. dauert comes from the verb dauern, “to last” or “to take [time].” It is present tense, third-person singular, agreeing with der Anruf: der Anruf dauert. In this context, länger dauern means “take longer” or “last longer,” not “become physically longer.” Together, Das kann ich machen means “I can do that.” Aber schreib mir adds the contrasting request “but message me.” The conditional clause wenn der Anruf länger dauert specifies when to send the message: “if the call takes longer.” The whole utterance is therefore: “I can do that, but message me if the call takes longer.”

7. Mach ich. Ich sollte vor dem nächsten Punkt auf der Tagesordnung zurück sein.

   I will. I should be back before the next agenda item.

   Mach ich

   I will / I’ll do it

   Ich sollte

   I should

   nächsten

   next

   Punkt

   item / point

   Tagesordnung

   agenda

   zurück sein

   be back

   More detail

   Mach ich is a compact conversational response meaning “I will” or “I’ll do it.” Here mach is not the ordinary full first-person form: it is the colloquial shortened form of mache, with the subject ich placed after the verb in this response. It is not an imperative addressed to someone else. Example: Mach ich morgen. — “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Ich sollte means “I should” here. sollte is the form of the modal verb sollen used with ich; in this sentence it presents the speaker’s expected return time rather than an absolute guarantee. With a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end: Ich sollte pünktlich sein. — “I should be on time.” nächsten means “next” in dem nächsten Punkt. The adjective is based on nächst-; its -en ending appears here because Punkt is masculine singular, vor has a temporal dative phrase, and the definite article is dem. Compare der nächste Punkt — “the next item” — with vor dem nächsten Punkt — “before the next item.” Punkt is a masculine noun meaning “item” in this agenda context. Its plural is Punkte: zwei Punkte — “two items.” In other contexts, the same noun can mean a physical point or dot; here Tagesordnung supports the agenda-item meaning. Tagesordnung means “agenda.” It is a feminine noun: die Tagesordnung. In auf der Tagesordnung, the dative article der occurs because auf describes a location or listing here: auf der Tagesordnung — “on the agenda.” zurück sein means “be back.” sein is the infinitive of “to be,” while zurück adds the meaning of returning or being back. After the modal sollte, this infinitive phrase stands at the end: Ich sollte zurück sein — “I should be back.” Example: Sie sollte bald zurück sein. — “She should be back soon.” Together, vor dem nächsten Punkt auf der Tagesordnung means “before the next item on the agenda.” The temporal preposition vor places the expected return before that scheduled item. The whole utterance means: “I will. I should be back before the next agenda item.”

8. Im ersten Teil nach der Pause gibt es nur einen kurzen Zwischenstand.

   The first part after the break is just a quick update.

   ersten

   first

   Teil

   part

   nach

   after

   Pause

   break

   gibt es

   there is

   nur

   only; just

   kurzen

   short; brief

   Zwischenstand

   update; interim status

   More detail

   ersten describes Teil in the phrase im ersten Teil. Its base form is erst (“first”); ersten is the inflected form required here by the masculine singular noun phrase after im (= in dem). Compare erste in other grammatical environments; the ending is not part of the adjective’s base. Teil means “part” or “section.” Its plural is Teile. In this sentence, it identifies a section of the event or schedule, without specifying anything more about that section. nach means “after” here and introduces der Pause, using the dative case. The same preposition can express other relations in other contexts, so its meaning here comes from the time relation: one section occurs after the break. Pause means “break” or “pause.” The form der Pause is feminine singular dative after nach; the base noun is Pause. Example: Nach der Pause beginnt der zweite Teil. — “The second part begins after the break.” gibt es is a reusable German existence/presence construction, literally organized around geben (“give”), but meaning “there is/are” in this use. The verb form gibt is third-person singular present, while es is the fixed placeholder subject in the construction. Example: Hier gibt es Kaffee. — “There is coffee here.” nur means “only” or “just” and limits the amount or characterization of what follows. Here it signals that the relevant section contains just one brief interim update, without adding a quantity beyond that limiting meaning. kurzen means “short” or “brief” here. Its base form is kurz; kurzen is the masculine singular accusative form agreeing with Zwischenstand after the indefinite article einen. The comparison chain is kurz — kürzer — am kürzesten (“short” — “shorter” — “shortest”). Zwischenstand means “interim status,” “current result,” or, in this translation, “update.” It is a masculine compound noun: Zwischen- conveys an intermediate stage and Stand relates to a state or status. Here einen kurzen Zwischenstand is the thing that exists. The form einen marks masculine singular accusative in this noun phrase; it does not by itself assert a numerical count in the English sense. Together, im ersten Teil identifies the relevant first section, and nach der Pause places it after the break. gibt es presents what is present in that section; nur limits it, while einen kurzen Zwischenstand specifies it as a brief update or interim status. The complete meaning is that the first section after the break consists of just a brief update. The phrasing is neutral and suitable for describing a schedule or event structure.

9. Das hilft. Ich gehe jetzt nach draußen.

   That helps. I'll step outside now.

   Das

   that

   hilft

   helps

   gehe

   go

   jetzt

   now

   nach draußen

   outside

   More detail

   Das means “that” here and stands alone as a demonstrative pronoun, not as an article modifying a noun. Its specific referent is not identified by the supplied sentence; it points to something understood from the situation. The form das can also be used with a neuter noun, but no such noun follows here. hilft is the present-tense third-person singular form of helfen (“to help”): helfen → hilft. The vowel change is part of this verb’s present-tense pattern. Example: Das hilft mir. — “That helps me.” gehe is the first-person singular present form of gehen (“to go”): ich gehe. German present tense can describe an action happening now or a near-future action when the context makes the timing clear. Example: Ich gehe nach Hause. — “I’m going home.” jetzt means “now” and gives the time of the action. Example: Ich lerne jetzt. — “I’m studying now.” nach draußen is a directional expression for movement toward the outdoors, naturally “outside” in this sentence. draußen describes being outdoors, whereas nach draußen accompanies movement toward that place. Compare Ich bin draußen. — “I am outside.” — with Ich gehe nach draußen. — “I’m going outside.” Together, Das hilft. means “That helps.” Ich gehe jetzt nach draußen. means “I’ll step outside now”: Ich is the subject, gehe expresses the speaker’s movement, jetzt specifies the time, and nach draußen gives the direction. The two sentences form a straightforward conversational statement.

10. Nimm dir die Zeit, die du brauchst, aber achte auf die Uhr.

    Take the time you need, but keep an eye on the clock.

    Nimm dir

    take for yourself

    die Zeit

    the time

    brauchst

    need

    achte auf

    keep an eye on

    die Uhr

    the clock

    More detail

    Nimm dir is the informal singular imperative of nehmen (“to take”) with the dative pronoun dir (“for yourself/to you”). Together here, Nimm dir ... means “take ... for yourself,” and it addresses one person with du. The imperative of nehmen is irregular: du nimmst becomes Nimm!; the vowel change is part of the verb form, not an ending on dir. Example: Nimm dir einen Moment. — “Take a moment for yourself.” die Zeit is the noun phrase “the time.” Zeit is feminine; in this sentence, die marks the accusative form after nehmen. The same article form can also occur in other cases, so the grammatical role comes from the sentence structure, not from die alone. brauchst is the present-tense second-person singular form of brauchen (“to need”): du brauchst. In die du brauchst, it is the verb of the relative clause describing the time: “that you need.” The relative pronoun die refers back to the feminine noun Zeit and is accusative because it is the object of brauchst. Example: Du brauchst eine Pause. — “You need a break.” achte auf combines the informal singular imperative achte of achten (“pay attention”) with the preposition auf and its object. auf etwas achten means “to pay attention to something” or, in this context, “to keep an eye on something.” This is a verb with a prepositional complement, not a separable verb: the preposition auf remains before its object, while achte is the imperative form of achten. In this construction, auf takes an accusative object. Example: Achte auf die Zeit. — “Keep an eye on the time.” die Uhr means “the clock.” Uhr is feminine, and here die Uhr is the accusative object governed by auf in auf die Uhr achten. The article looks the same as the feminine nominative article, but the construction and role identify it as the object here. The first part assembles as Nimm dir die Zeit, die du brauchst: “Take the time that you need.” The relative clause die du brauchst specifies which time is meant. aber then contrasts this with the second instruction, achte auf die Uhr: “but keep an eye on the clock.” Together, the utterance gives one person two linked instructions: take the time needed while monitoring the clock.