Restarting Work After a Long Pause | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Nach dem Mittagessen fühle ich mich völlig von der Aufgabe losgelöst.

   After lunch, I feel completely disconnected from the task.

   Nach dem Mittagessen

   after lunch

   fühle … mich

   feel

   völlig

   completely

   Aufgabe

   task

   losgelöst

   disconnected

   More detail

   Nach dem Mittagessen expresses when the feeling occurs: “after lunch.” The preposition nach takes the dative in this temporal use, so neuter das Mittagessen appears as dem Mittagessen. Example: Nach dem Unterricht gehe ich nach Hause. — “After class, I go home.” fühle mich is the first-person form of sich fühlen, “to feel.” fühle is the present-tense form for ich, while mich is the reflexive pronoun referring back to that same subject. German commonly uses sich fühlen for a person’s physical or emotional state. Example: Ich fühle mich müde. — “I feel tired.” völlig is an adverb meaning “completely” or “entirely.” It strengthens the following description rather than naming a separate feeling. Example: Der Raum ist völlig leer. — “The room is completely empty.” Aufgabe means “task” or “assignment.” It is the feminine noun die Aufgabe; in the sentence, von requires the dative, giving the surrounding phrase von der Aufgabe. The noun itself has no visible ending change here. Example: Ich erledige eine Aufgabe. — “I am completing a task.” losgelöst means “disconnected” or “detached” here. It is the past participle of loslösen, used adjectivally in the pattern sich von etwas losgelöst fühlen: “to feel disconnected from something.” In this predicative use, losgelöst has no visible gender or number ending. Example: Sie fühlt sich von der Arbeit losgelöst. — “She feels disconnected from the work.” Together, fühle mich ... losgelöst says “feel disconnected,” while von der Aufgabe identifies what the disconnection concerns. Nach dem Mittagessen places the feeling after lunch, and völlig intensifies losgelöst. The complete meaning is: “After lunch, I feel completely disconnected from the task.”

2. Beginne mit einer kurzen Wiederholung, statt direkt mit dem schwierigsten Teil anzufangen.

   Start with a small review instead of jumping into the hardest part.

   Beginne

   start; begin

   kurzen

   short

   Wiederholung

   review; repetition

   direkt

   directly; right away

   schwierigsten

   hardest; most difficult

   Teil

   part

   anzufangen

   to start; to begin

   More detail

   Beginne is the imperative of beginnen (“to begin”) addressed to one person. The imperative gives a direct instruction: “Begin!” In other forms, ich beginne means “I begin,” while du beginnst means “you begin.” kurzen is the inflected form of the adjective kurz (“short”). In mit einer kurzen Wiederholung, it has the ending -en because mit requires the dative, and Wiederholung is feminine singular. The useful pattern is mit einer kurzen + noun: “with a short …” Wiederholung is a feminine noun meaning “review” here; it can also mean “repetition” in other contexts. A useful example is: Wir beginnen mit einer kurzen Wiederholung. — “We start with a short review.” direkt is an adverb meaning “directly” or “right away.” It describes how immediately the starting happens and does not take an adjective ending. For example: Wir beginnen direkt. — “We start right away.” schwierigsten is the superlative form of the adjective schwierig (“difficult”). The comparison chain is schwierig — schwieriger — am schwierigsten (“difficult” — “more difficult” — “most difficult”). In mit dem schwierigsten Teil, the attributive form is schwierigsten because mit requires the dative and Teil is masculine singular. The definite article dem and the adjective ending together mark this form. Teil is a masculine noun meaning “part” or “section.” Here it refers to the part being worked on, and it appears in the dative singular after mit: mit dem Teil. Its plural is Teile, as in die Teile (“the parts”). anzufangen is the zu-infinitive of the separable verb anfangen (“to start” or “to begin”). With statt (“instead of”), German uses statt ... zu plus an infinitive: statt direkt anzufangen — “instead of starting right away.” Because anfangen is separable, zu is inserted: anzufangen. In finite forms, the parts separate: Ich fange an. — “I start.” Together, Beginne mit einer kurzen Wiederholung says “Start with a short review.” statt direkt mit dem schwierigsten Teil anzufangen adds the alternative of starting immediately with the hardest part. The complete utterance is therefore: “Start with a small review instead of jumping into the hardest part.” The imperative makes it a direct practical instruction.

3. Ich habe den Schwung verloren, weil wir mitten in der Analyse aufgehört haben.

   I lost momentum because we paused in the middle of the analysis.

   Ich habe

   I have

   Schwung

   momentum

   verloren

   lost

   weil

   because

   mitten in

   in the middle of

   Analyse

   analysis

   aufgehört

   stopped

   haben

   have

   More detail

   Ich habe gives the first-person singular subject ich with present-tense haben. Here habe is not expressing possession; together with verloren it forms the German perfect tense. The reusable pattern is Ich habe + past participle: “I have …” or, for a completed past event, “I …”. Schwung means momentum, drive, or forward energy in this sentence. It is the masculine noun der Schwung; den Schwung is its accusative form after verloren. Example: Sie hat neuen Schwung bekommen. — “She gained new momentum.” verloren is the past participle of verlieren (“to lose”): verlieren – verlor – verloren. In Schwung verloren, it means that the speaker lost momentum. Example: Ich habe den Faden verloren. — “I lost the thread.” weil introduces a reason clause and means “because”. In a German weil clause, the finite verb normally moves to the end. The reason introduced here is therefore completed by the final verb group aufgehört haben. mitten in is a reusable phrase meaning “in the middle of”. der Analyse means “the analysis”; Analyse is a feminine noun, and der is the form of its article used in this phrase. Example: Wir sind mitten in der Arbeit. — “We are in the middle of the work.” aufgehört is the past participle of the separable verb aufhören, meaning “to stop” or “to cease”. Its base form is aufhören, not hören. Example: Der Regen hat aufgehört. — “The rain has stopped.” haben is the auxiliary at the end of the weil clause. The perfect construction is aufgehört haben (“have stopped”); because the clause begins with weil, this verb group appears at the end rather than in the usual main-clause position. Together, Ich habe den Schwung verloren means “I lost momentum.” weil wir mitten in der Analyse aufgehört haben gives the reason: “because we paused in the middle of the analysis.” The whole utterance is therefore: “I lost momentum because we paused in the middle of the analysis.”

4. Schau dir die letzte Notiz an und wähle die nächste Priorität aus.

   Look at the last note and pick the next priority.

   Schau … dir … an

   look at

   letzte

   last

   Notiz

   note

   wähle … aus

   choose

   nächste

   next

   Priorität

   priority

   More detail

   Schau ... an is the informal singular imperative of the separable verb sich etwas anschauen, “to look at something.” In this sentence, Schau comes from anschauen; the prefix an moves to the end of the clause. dir is the dative form used with du in this construction, while die letzte Notiz is the thing being looked at. Example: Schau dir das an. — “Look at that.” letzte means “last” here and is the inflected form of letzt-. It has the ending -e because it describes the feminine singular noun Notiz in the accusative phrase die letzte Notiz. The article die has the same form for feminine singular nominative and accusative, so the adjective ending helps show the noun phrase’s form. letzt- expresses the final or most recent item in an ordering; the exact ordering is supplied by context. Notiz is a feminine noun meaning “note.” Its plural is Notizen. In the sentence, it is the direct object of anschauen: the instruction is to look at the note, not merely to look in a general way. wähle ... aus is the informal singular imperative of the separable verb auswählen, “to choose” or “to select.” As with anschauen, the prefix aus is separated in the imperative. auswählen is more specifically “select” than the broader wählen, which can also mean “vote” or “elect.” Example: Wähle eine Option aus. — “Select an option.” nächste means “next” here. It is an inflected form of nächst- and agrees with the feminine singular noun Priorität in the accusative phrase die nächste Priorität. nächste identifies the item that follows in the relevant sequence; it does not itself specify how that sequence is organized. Priorität is a feminine noun meaning “priority.” Its plural is Prioritäten. Here it is the direct object of auswählen, so the selected item is the next priority. The two imperative clauses are joined by und: Schau dir die letzte Notiz an means “Look at the last note,” and wähle die nächste Priorität aus means “pick the next priority.” Together, they give the instruction: “Look at the last note and pick the next priority.”

5. Als Nächstes muss ich prüfen, ob die Zahlen mit der Quelldatei übereinstimmen.

   The next step is checking whether the numbers match the source file.

   Als Nächstes

   next

   muss ich

   I must

   prüfen

   check

   Zahlen

   numbers

   Quelldatei

   source file

   übereinstimmen

   match

   More detail

   Als Nächstes means “next” or “as the next step.” It is a reusable time-ordering expression: Als Nächstes + verb ... places the next action at the front of the sentence. The following verb, muss, therefore appears after this fronted phrase. muss ich combines muss, the first-person singular present form of müssen, with ich, “I.” In this sentence, müssen expresses that checking is the required next action. The infinitive follows later: Ich muss prüfen = “I have to check.” prüfen is the infinitive “to check” or “to verify.” After a modal verb such as müssen, the other verb remains in the infinitive: Ich muss die Datei prüfen. = “I have to check the file.” Zahlen means “numbers.” Here it is plural; its singular form is Zahl, “number,” and its plural form is Zahlen. In the sentence, die Zahlen is the subject of the subordinate clause, so the numbers are the things being checked for agreement. Quelldatei is a compound noun meaning “source file”: Quelle means “source” and Datei means “file.” German nouns are capitalized, and this compound is feminine, so the phrase here is der Quelldatei after mit, which requires the dative case. The article and noun together are not included in the selected quote, but they form the full phrase mit der Quelldatei. übereinstimmen means “to match,” “to agree,” or “to correspond.” It is a separable verb built from überein- and stimmen: in a main clause, Die Zahlen stimmen überein. means “The numbers match.” In this sentence it is an infinitive at the end of the ob-clause, so it remains together as übereinstimmen. The sentence structure is Als Nächstes muss ich prüfen, ob ...: “Next, I have to check whether ...” The ob-clause states what must be checked, and its finite verb is placed at the end: ob die Zahlen mit der Quelldatei übereinstimmen. mit introduces the comparison reference, “with the source file.” Together, the utterance says that the next step is checking whether the numbers match the source file.

6. Damit hast du einen klaren Punkt, an dem du wieder anfangen kannst.

   That gives you a clear point to resume from.

   Damit

   with that; that way

   hast du

   you have

   klaren

   clear

   Punkt

   point

   an dem

   at which

   wieder

   again

   anfangen

   start; begin

   kannst

   can; are able to

   More detail

   Damit means “with that” here and points to something already established, without naming that thing. In this sentence it introduces the means or result that provides the clear starting point. Do not confuse this use with the conjunction damit meaning “so that,” which introduces a purpose clause. hast du uses haben in the present tense: du hast = “you have.” Because Damit occupies the first position, the finite verb comes before the subject: Damit hast du .... The idiomatic result is “That gives you ...” rather than a literal physical-possession reading. klaren is the adjective klar (“clear”). It describes Punkt and has the masculine accusative ending -en after einen: einen klaren Punkt. The adjective itself, not the noun, carries this ending. A useful contrast is ein klarer Punkt in the masculine nominative versus einen klaren Punkt in the masculine accusative. Punkt means “point” here: a definite place or stage from which something can continue. Example: Das ist ein guter Punkt zum Aufhören. — “That is a good point to stop.” an dem is a relative construction referring back to Punkt. dem is the masculine singular dative relative form, required by the preposition an in this locational sense. Together, ein Punkt, an dem ... means “a point at which ...”. Example: Das ist ein Ort, an dem ich arbeiten kann. — “That is a place where I can work.” wieder means “again” and shows that the starting action is being resumed or repeated. It modifies the action anfangen, not the noun Punkt. anfangen is the infinitive “to start” or “to begin.” Its separable-prefix behavior is useful in finite main clauses: Ich fange an means “I start,” while after a modal it remains the full infinitive anfangen, as it does here. Example: Morgen kann ich wieder anfangen. — “Tomorrow I can start again.” kannst is the second-person singular present form of können, “can; be able to.” The subject is du, and the infinitive anfangen stays at the end of this relative clause: an dem du wieder anfangen kannst — “at which you can start again.” Together, Damit hast du einen klaren Punkt presents the result as a clear point or basis. The relative clause an dem du wieder anfangen kannst specifies what makes that point useful: it is a point from which you can resume. The complete meaning is “That gives you a clear point to resume from.”

7. Ich muss auch die Chat-Apps schließen, weil ich ständig abgelenkt werde.

   I also need to close chat apps because I keep getting distracted.

   Ich muss

   I need to / I must

   auch

   also

   Chat-Apps

   chat apps

   schließen

   close

   ständig

   constantly

   abgelenkt werde

   get distracted

   More detail

   Ich muss means “I need to / I must.” müssen is the base form of the modal verb; muss is its present-tense form for ich. In a main clause, the modal is conjugated and the other verb stays in the infinitive at the end: Ich muss gehen. — “I have to go.” auch means “also” or “too.” Its position can vary with the intended emphasis. Here it adds closing the chat apps to something else already relevant to the speaker, without specifying that earlier point in this sentence. Chat-Apps is a plural noun meaning “chat apps.” The singular is die Chat-App, and the plural is formed with -s: eine Chat-App / mehrere Chat-Apps. The noun is capitalized because German nouns are capitalized. schließen means “to close.” It is the infinitive selected by muss: Ich muss die Tür schließen. — “I have to close the door.” The phrase die Chat-Apps schließen therefore means “close the chat apps.” Here die is the definite article used with a plural noun in the accusative; the article itself does not by itself establish a numeric count. ständig means “constantly” or “continually.” It describes repeated distraction here, not necessarily an uninterrupted physical process. Example: Sie wird ständig unterbrochen. — “She is constantly interrupted.” abgelenkt werde means “get distracted” in this sentence. abgelenkt is the participle of ablenken (“to distract”), and werde is the first-person singular present form of werden (“become / get” and, in this construction, the passive auxiliary). Together they form the present passive: Ich werde abgelenkt. — “I get distracted / I am distracted.” German places the finite verb at the end of a subordinate clause, so after weil the order is weil ich ... abgelenkt werde. The passive presents the speaker as the person affected by distractions; it does not identify who or what causes them. The whole utterance is built as Ich muss + auch + object die Chat-Apps + infinitive schließen, followed by the reason clause weil ich ständig abgelenkt werde. The combination of ständig with abgelenkt werde gives the repeated sense “keep getting distracted.” It means: “I also need to close chat apps because I keep getting distracted.”

8. Lass sie geschlossen, während du ungestört arbeitest, und sieh danach nach deinen Nachrichten.

   Keep them closed while you work without distractions, then check your messages.

   Lass

   keep or leave

   sie

   them

   geschlossen

   closed

   während

   while

   du

   you

   ungestört

   without distractions

   arbeitest

   work

   sieh … nach

   check

   danach

   afterwards

   deinen

   your

   Nachrichten

   messages

   More detail

   Lass is the informal singular imperative of lassen (“to let” or “to leave”). Here it means “leave,” and it addresses one person with du: Lass das Fenster offen. = “Leave the window open.” sie is the accusative plural pronoun “them.” It is the object affected by Lass; its specific referents are understood from the surrounding situation. Compare Lass ihn (“leave him”) and Lass sie (“leave them” or, in another context, “leave her”); the intended reading here is plural “them.” geschlossen means “closed.” It is the past participle of schließen (“to close”), used here as a result-state description after Lass: Lass die Tür geschlossen. = “Leave the door closed.” The form describes the object’s state; it is not the main action of the imperative. während introduces a subordinate clause meaning “while.” In German, the finite verb goes to the end of this clause. The reusable pattern is während + subject + ... + verb. du is the informal singular “you” serving as the subject of the subordinate clause. arbeitest is the present-tense form of arbeiten (“to work”) for du: du arbeitest. For example, Du arbeitest heute zu Hause. = “You are working at home today.” ungestört means “undisturbed” or “without distractions.” It describes how the work is done: Sie arbeitet ungestört. = “She works without distractions.” Together, während du ungestört arbeitest means “while you work without distractions.” The subject du and the verb arbeitest belong to this subordinate clause, whose verb appears at the end. nach is separated from sieh because the verb is the separable verb nachsehen, meaning “to check” in this use. sieh is its informal singular imperative: Sieh nach! = “Check!” In the sentence, the two parts are separated by danach: sieh danach nach. danach means “afterwards” or “after that.” It places the checking after the work described in the subordinate clause: Ich arbeite zuerst und sehe danach nach. = “I work first and check afterwards.” deinen means “your” for an informal singular owner before a plural accusative noun. Its form agrees with the noun phrase’s grammatical case and number, not with the owner: deine Nachrichten is nominative or accusative plural in some contexts, while deinen Nachrichten is dative plural; however, in the fixed sentence deinen Nachrichten follows nachsehen, whose object is conventionally expressed with nach plus dative. Thus the phrase is nach deinen Nachrichten. Nachrichten is the plural of Nachricht (“message” or “piece of news”). Here it means “messages.” After nachsehen, the preposition nach takes the dative, producing deinen Nachrichten: Ich sehe nach meinen E-Mails. = “I check my emails.” The sentence assembles as Lass sie geschlossen (“Leave them closed”), während du ungestört arbeitest (“while you work without distractions”), and sieh danach nach deinen Nachrichten (“then check your messages”). Its complete meaning is: “Keep them closed while you work without distractions, then check your messages.”

9. Das klingt machbar. Ich kann meine Konzentration nach und nach wieder aufbauen.

   That feels manageable. I can rebuild focus gradually.

   Das klingt

   That sounds / feels

   machbar

   manageable

   Ich kann

   I can

   Konzentration

   focus

   nach und nach

   gradually

   wieder aufbauen

   rebuild

   More detail

   Das klingt means “that sounds/feels.” klingt is the third-person singular present form of klingen (“to sound”); the subject is Das, a neuter singular demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. German uses klingen for an impression, so this does not literally say that something produces a sound. machbar means “manageable” or “feasible.” It is an adjective formed from machen (“to do/make”) with -bar, a pattern that often means “able to be done.” For example, Der Plan ist machbar. means “The plan is feasible.” In the fixed sentence, machbar describes the situation referred to by Das. Ich kann begins the second sentence: Ich is “I,” and kann is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb können (“can/be able to”). With a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end: Ich kann warten. means “I can wait.” Here, kann expresses ability or possibility, not a completed action. Konzentration is a feminine noun meaning “concentration” or “focus.” In the sentence, meine is the possessive determiner for “my”; it agrees with feminine singular Konzentration. Because the noun is the object of aufbauen, the phrase is accusative, but meine has the same form here as it would have in feminine singular nominative, so its ending alone does not distinguish those two cases. For example, Ich brauche Konzentration. means “I need concentration.” nach und nach is a fixed adverbial expression meaning “gradually” or “little by little.” It describes a step-by-step development rather than a sudden change. For example, Nach und nach wird es leichter. means “It gradually becomes easier.” wieder aufbauen means “rebuild” or “restore.” aufbauen is the infinitive of the separable verb aufbauen; its infinitive is written together here because it follows the modal kann. wieder adds the meaning “again,” so the expression presents the focus as being restored. For example, Sie baut ihr Vertrauen wieder auf. means “She rebuilds her confidence.” Together, Ich kann ... wieder aufbauen says “I can rebuild ... again,” with meine Konzentration specifying what is rebuilt and nach und nach specifying that the rebuilding happens gradually. The two sentences therefore mean: “That feels manageable. I can rebuild my focus gradually.”

10. Fang damit an, dann sollte sich der Rest weniger schwer anfühlen.

    Start there, and the rest should feel less heavy.

    Fang damit an

    start with that

    dann

    then

    sollte

    should

    der Rest

    the rest

    weniger schwer

    less heavy

    sich … anfühlen

    feel

    More detail

    Fang damit an: This is the informal singular imperative of anfangen, “to start/begin.” The verb is separable: in a main-clause command, fang appears at the front and the prefix an moves to the end. damit means “with that” or “by doing that,” referring to an already identifiable thing or action. Example: Fang mit der ersten Aufgabe an. — “Start with the first task.” dann: This means “then” and links the next step to the first one. It can mark sequence: Erst lesen, dann antworten. — “Read first, then answer.” sollte: Here sollte gives a qualified expectation: “should.” It is the form of sollen used with the third-person singular subject der Rest; in this sentence it presents the result as expected rather than guaranteed. Example: Das sollte helfen. — “That should help.” der Rest: Rest is a masculine noun meaning “the remainder” or “what is left,” so the definite article is der. The phrase refers here to what remains after starting with the indicated thing; the sentence does not specify a more exact physical object. Example: Der Rest kann später warten. — “The rest can wait until later.” weniger schwer: weniger means “less,” and schwer means “heavy” or, in a figurative context, burdensome or difficult. Together they form a comparison: “less heavy.” The adjective’s base form is schwer; its ordinary comparative is schwerer (“heavier”), while weniger schwer expresses the opposite direction without changing schwer. Example: Die Aufgabe wirkt weniger schwer. — “The task seems less difficult.” sich ... anfühlen: anfühlen means “to feel” or “to feel a certain way.” It is a separable verb built from an and fühlen; with the modal sollte, the infinitive stays together at the end: sollte sich ... anfühlen. The reflexive pronoun sich is the third-person reflexive form and is used here with der Rest; it does not change for masculine, feminine, or neuter third-person subjects. Example: Der neue Plan fühlt sich besser an. — “The new plan feels better.” Together, Fang damit an gives the first instruction: “Start with that.” dann introduces the expected result, and sollte sich der Rest weniger schwer anfühlen says that what remains is expected to feel less burdensome. The complete meaning is: “Start there, and the rest should feel less heavy.”