Responding politely to noise in a quiet library area | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Die Leute hinter uns reden im Ruhebereich.

   The people behind us are talking in the silent area.

   Die Leute

   the people

   hinter uns

   behind us

   reden

   talk

   im

   in the

   Ruhebereich

   quiet area

   More detail

   Die Leute means “the people” here. Leute is a plural noun meaning people; its singular counterpart is die Person (“the person”), not a singular form of Leute. The definite article die marks this plural noun phrase. hinter uns means “behind us.” hinter is a two-way preposition: for a fixed location, as here, it takes the dative. uns is the first-person plural pronoun in the dative form; the same form also appears as the accusative form, so its form alone does not distinguish those cases. A reusable pattern is hinter + dative pronoun/noun for a location: Das Auto steht hinter uns. — “The car is behind us.” reden means “talk” or “speak.” In this sentence it is the present-tense form for the third-person plural subject Die Leute: sie reden — “they are talking.” German present tense can describe an action happening now, so no separate progressive form is needed here. The infinitive/base form is also reden; for example, Wir reden später. means “We’ll talk later.” im is the contraction of in dem, meaning “in the” here. The location is fixed, so in takes the dative. im is used before a masculine or neuter singular noun with the definite article dem; it is not itself a marker of quantity. Ruhebereich means “quiet area” or “silent area.” It is a masculine compound noun: der Ruhebereich. In im Ruhebereich, the dative form is shown by the article in the contraction im; the noun itself does not change. The first part, Ruhe, relates to quiet or rest, while Bereich means area, but the complete compound is the useful term for a designated quiet area. Together, Die Leute hinter uns is the subject “the people behind us.” reden says that this plural subject is talking, and im Ruhebereich gives the location. The complete utterance means: “The people behind us are talking in the silent area.”

2. Das lenkt ab, aber wir können höflich damit umgehen.

   It's distracting, but we can handle it politely.

   Das

   it / that

   lenkt … ab

   is distracting

   aber

   but

   wir können

   we can

   höflich

   politely

   damit umgehen

   deal with it

   More detail

   Das is the subject meaning “it” here: the distracting situation is treated as a neuter demonstrative pronoun. The form das can also be a demonstrative meaning “that” or a neuter article, so its exact role comes from the sentence. Example: Das ist schwierig. — “That is difficult.” lenkt ... ab comes from the separable verb ablenken, “to distract.” In the present tense, lenkt is the third-person singular form of lenken, while the prefix ab moves to the end of the clause: Das lenkt mich ab. — “That distracts me.” The two parts are separated in this sentence because the verb is finite and the clause is a main clause. aber connects two contrasting clauses and means “but.” It does not change the tense or the word forms around it. wir können means “we can.” können is the modal verb können in the present-tense first-person plural form; the subject wir identifies the group that has the ability or possibility. With a following verb, the other verb normally goes to the end: Wir können warten. — “We can wait.” höflich describes the manner of handling the situation, so it functions adverbially here: “politely.” The same form can also describe a noun: eine höfliche Antwort — “a polite answer.” damit umgehen is the reusable pattern mit etwas umgehen, meaning “to deal with or handle something.” damit combines da- with mit and means “with it” here; it refers to the situation already presented, without naming a separate object. umgehen is the infinitive used after the modal können. Example: Wir können damit umgehen. — “We can handle it.” Together, Das lenkt ab says that it is distracting. aber introduces the contrast, and wir können höflich damit umgehen says that we are able to handle that situation politely. The complete meaning is: “It’s distracting, but we can handle it politely.”

3. Soll ich mit ihnen sprechen oder die Bibliothekarin fragen?

   Should I speak to them or ask the librarian?

   Soll ich

   Should I …?

   mit ihnen

   to them

   sprechen

   speak

   Bibliothekarin

   librarian

   fragen

   ask

   More detail

   Soll ich uses the modal verb sollen in the first-person singular present form: ich soll = “I am supposed to / should,” while soll ich ...? places the finite verb first to form a yes-or-no question. Here it asks whether the speaker should do one of the two actions; it does not itself state that the action will happen. Example: Soll ich warten? — “Should I wait?” mit ihnen means “with them” in this sentence. mit requires the dative case, and ihnen is the dative plural form of the personal pronoun; its specific referents are not identified by the sentence. The same form can refer to people of mixed or unspecified gender. Example: Ich spreche mit ihnen. — “I am speaking with them.” sprechen is the infinitive “to speak.” With a person or group, the reusable pattern is mit + dative for “speak with”: mit ihnen sprechen. The infinitive remains unchanged here because it follows the modal verb soll; the finite verb carrying person and number is soll. Bibliothekarin means “female librarian.” Its base noun is Bibliothekarin; the masculine counterpart is Bibliothekar, and the feminine noun is marked by the ending -in. In the full chunk die Bibliothekarin, the noun phrase is the person whom the speaker may ask. Example: Ich frage die Bibliothekarin. — “I ask the librarian.” fragen is the infinitive “to ask.” When the person being asked is stated directly, German commonly uses jemanden fragen, with that person in the accusative: die Bibliothekarin fragen. This differs from mit jemandem sprechen, where mit requires the dative. As with sprechen, fragen is an infinitive coordinated with the modal verb soll. The sentence has the reusable pattern Soll ich [action 1] oder [action 2]? The first option is mit ihnen sprechen (“speak with them”); the second is die Bibliothekarin fragen (“ask the librarian”). oder joins the alternatives, and the shared modal question applies to both actions. Thus the whole utterance means: “Should I speak to them or ask the librarian?”

4. Versuch es zuerst mit einer leisen Erinnerung, es sei denn, das ist dir unangenehm.

   Try a quiet reminder first, unless that feels uncomfortable.

   Versuch es

   try it

   zuerst

   first

   leisen

   quiet; gentle

   Erinnerung

   reminder

   es sei denn

   unless

   ist dir unangenehm

   is uncomfortable for you

   More detail

   Versuch es contains the singular informal imperative of versuchen (“to try”): Versuch! means “Try!” The unstressed pronoun es is the accusative object, “it”; here the fixed translation supports the meaning “try it,” without identifying a more specific referent. For a plural or formal addressee, German uses Versucht es! or Versuchen Sie es!. Example: Versuch es noch einmal. — “Try it again.” zuerst means “first” and places this action before a later possible step. It is an adverb, so it does not change form. leisen is an inflected form of the adjective leise, “quiet” or “soft.” In mit einer leisen Erinnerung, mit requires the dative; einer marks feminine singular here, and the adjective therefore has the ending -en: leisen. The phrase presents the reminder as quiet or gentle rather than forceful. Erinnerung is a feminine noun meaning “reminder” in this sentence; its plural is Erinnerungen. The same noun can also mean “memory” in another context, but “reminder” is the sense supported here. Example: Eine kurze Erinnerung genügt. — “A brief reminder is enough.” es sei denn is a fixed expression meaning “unless.” It introduces an exception to the preceding suggestion. The sei form belongs to the fixed expression; it is not the ordinary present-tense form ist used in the following clause. ist dir unangenehm literally describes something as uncomfortable or unpleasant for you. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein; dir is the dative form of du, marking the person who experiences the discomfort. unangenehm is a predicative adjective, so it has no ending here. Example: Ist dir das unangenehm? — “Is that uncomfortable for you?” Together, Versuch es zuerst mit einer leisen Erinnerung means “Try it first with a quiet reminder.” The prepositional phrase mit einer leisen Erinnerung specifies the gentle method. es sei denn, das ist dir unangenehm adds the exception “unless that feels uncomfortable,” where das refers to the proposed approach as a whole, as supported by the fixed translation. The complete utterance is therefore: “Try a quiet reminder first, unless that feels uncomfortable.”

5. Ich könnte sie bitten, das Gespräch nach draußen zu verlegen.

   I could ask them to take the conversation outside.

   Ich könnte

   I could

   sie

   them

   bitten

   ask

   das

   the

   Gespräch

   conversation

   nach draußen

   outside

   verlegen

   move

   More detail

   Ich könnte combines Ich (“I”) with könnte, the first-person singular Konjunktiv II form of können (“can”). Here it presents a possible or tentative action: “I could…”. The same form can also express a more hypothetical possibility, depending on context. Example: Ich könnte morgen kommen. — “I could come tomorrow.” sie means “them” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. In German, this form can also be the accusative feminine singular pronoun “her,” but that is not the reading in this utterance. As the object of bitten, it identifies the people being asked. bitten is the infinitive “to ask” or “to request.” A useful pattern is jemanden bitten, etwas zu tun: “to ask someone to do something.” The person asked is in the accusative, as in Ich bitte ihn, zu warten. — “I ask him to wait.” das is the definite article “the” used here with the neuter noun Gespräch. The article and noun form the object das Gespräch; for this neuter noun, nominative and accusative have the same visible form. Do not treat das as asserting a quantity: it identifies a specific conversation in this context. Gespräch means “conversation” or “talk.” Its plural is Gespräche. The compound noun Gespräch is related to the verb sprechen (“to speak”), but the observed word itself is the noun for the conversation, not a verb form. Example: Das Gespräch war kurz. — “The conversation was brief.” nach draußen means “outside” with a directional meaning: it indicates movement from an indoor location to the outside. This contrasts with draußen, which describes being outside without itself marking movement. Example: Wir gehen nach draußen. — “We are going outside.” verlegen is the infinitive “to relocate” or “to move” something to another place. In this sentence it applies to das Gespräch: the conversation is to be moved outside, not the people themselves. Example: Sie verlegen das Treffen in einen anderen Raum. — “They move the meeting to another room.” Together, Ich könnte sie bitten means “I could ask them.” The following infinitive construction, das Gespräch nach draußen zu verlegen, says what they would be asked to do: relocate the conversation outside. The full utterance therefore means: “I could ask them to take the conversation outside.” The wording presents this as a possible, relatively tentative course of action.

6. So ist es klar, ohne unhöflich zu klingen.

   That keeps it clear without sounding rude.

   So

   so; this way

   ist es

   it is

   klar

   clear

   ohne

   without

   unhöflich

   rude

   zu klingen

   to sound

   More detail

   So means “this way” or “that way” here. It points to the way something is handled, rather than naming the action itself. A reusable pattern is So ist ... (“That way ... is ...”). ist es contains ist, the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), and es, a neutral pronoun. In this sentence, es is the grammatical subject of the clause, while the fixed translation presents the result as “it.” The form ist is used with a singular subject; sein has the present forms bin, bist, ist, sind, and seid. klar is an adjective meaning “clear.” After sein, it appears as a predicate adjective and does not take an attributive ending here. Compare Die Erklärung ist klar (“The explanation is clear”) with eine klare Erklärung (“a clear explanation”), where the adjective is placed before a noun and is inflected. ohne means “without.” Here it introduces a second action that is avoided. The reusable pattern is ohne ... zu + infinitive (“without ...ing”); the zu construction shares the understood subject with the surrounding clause. unhöflich means “rude” or “impolite.” It describes the manner of the action in zu klingen, not a specific noun. It is formed with the negative prefix un- from höflich (“polite”): höflich contrasts with unhöflich. zu klingen is the infinitive construction of klingen, “to sound.” The base verb is klingen; its present forms include ich klinge, du klingst, and es klingt. In ohne unhöflich zu klingen, the speaker describes how something comes across: “without sounding rude.” Together, So ist es klar means “That way it is clear,” and ohne unhöflich zu klingen adds the avoided result: “without sounding rude.” The complete utterance therefore means, “That keeps it clear without sounding rude.”

7. Wenn sie weiterreden, können wir die Bibliothekarin bitten, einzugreifen.

   If they keep talking, we can ask the librarian to step in.

   Wenn

   if

   sie

   they

   weiterreden

   keep talking

   können wir

   we can

   Bibliothekarin

   librarian

   bitten

   ask

   einzugreifen

   to step in

   More detail

   Wenn introduces a condition: here it means “if,” not a time question such as “when.” In a German subordinate clause introduced by wenn, the finite verb normally comes at the end. Reusable pattern: Wenn ... , ... = “If ..., ... .” Example: Wenn es regnet, bleiben wir hier. — “If it rains, we stay here.” sie means “they” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. This pronoun is third-person plural; its specific referents are not identified by the sentence itself. Do not confuse it with singular sie (“she”) or polite Sie (“you”); capitalization and context distinguish those forms. weiterreden means “to keep talking” or “to continue talking.” It combines weiter (“on/further”) with reden (“talk”). In the fixed sentence it is the finite verb for sie, but because it follows wenn, it appears at the end of the subordinate clause. In an ordinary main clause, the parts can appear as Sie reden weiter. — “They keep talking.” können wir means “we can.” können is the modal verb können (“can, be able to”), inflected here for first-person plural wir. With a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end of the clause: Wir können helfen. — “We can help.” Here the intended possibility or available option is asking the librarian to intervene. Bibliothekarin means “librarian,” specifically the feminine form of this noun. Its related masculine noun is Bibliothekar; Bibliothekarin is formed with -in. The sentence uses the accusative noun phrase die Bibliothekarin, because she is the person being asked. The feminine form identifies the noun’s grammatical gender and denotes a female librarian; it does not by itself state anything about the number of librarians. bitten means “to ask” or “to request.” Here it is the infinitive governed by können: Wir können die Bibliothekarin bitten ... — “We can ask the librarian ...” A useful German pattern is jemanden bitten, etwas zu tun (“to ask someone to do something”), with the person asked in the accusative. einzugreifen means “to step in” or “to intervene.” It is the zu-infinitive of the separable verb eingreifen. With this verb, zu is inserted between the separable prefix ein- and the verb stem: ein + zu + greifen = einzugreifen. Example: Sie greift ein. — “She intervenes.” The infinitive clause specifies what the librarian is being asked to do. Together, Wenn sie weiterreden sets the condition “If they keep talking.” können wir presents an available action, and die Bibliothekarin bitten, einzugreifen means “ask the librarian to step in.” The complete utterance therefore means: “If they keep talking, we can ask the librarian to step in.”

8. So wird daraus keine Szene.

   That way, it doesn't turn into a scene.

   So

   that way

   wird

   becomes; turns

   daraus

   from that; out of it

   keine

   no; not any

   Szene

   scene

   More detail

   So means “that way” or “like that.” It points to the manner or consequence just being discussed. A reusable pattern is So ... = “That way, ...”; the exact referent of so comes from context. wird is the third-person singular present form of werden (“to become,” “to turn into”). In this sentence it expresses a change of state, not passive voice: etwas wird ... = “something becomes ...” or “something turns into ...”. Other present forms include ich werde, du wirst, and sie/er/es wird. daraus combines da- with aus and means “from that” or “out of that.” It refers to the situation or course of action under discussion without naming it again. The useful pattern aus etwas wird etwas means “something turns into something” or “something results from something.” Here, So wird daraus ... means “That way, it turns into ...”. keine is the negative determiner used with the feminine singular noun Szene here. The phrase keine Szene means “no scene” or, in this context, “not a scene.” keine is not a statement of a numeric count; it negates the noun. For example, Das wird keine Katastrophe. means “That will not become a catastrophe.” Szene is a feminine noun meaning “scene.” In this utterance it refers to a scene as a noticeable or potentially dramatic incident, matching the fixed translation. Its plural is Szenen: Das werden keine Szenen. means “Those will not become scenes.” Together, So + wird + daraus expresses the result of handling the situation in that way. keine Szene is the result that is denied: it will not turn into a scene. Thus the whole utterance means, “That way, it doesn’t turn into a scene.”

9. Ich würde das lieber tun, als mich laut zu beschweren.

   I'd rather do that than complain loudly.

   Ich würde

   I would

   das

   that

   lieber

   rather

   tun

   do

   als

   than

   mich

   myself

   laut

   loudly

   zu beschweren

   to complain

   More detail

   Ich würde introduces a first-person hypothetical or preference construction. würde is the first-person singular form of werden used with an infinitive for the conditional/subjunctive meaning; here it is not a past-tense form of “do.” The infinitive tun comes at the end of its clause. Example: Ich würde warten. — “I would wait.” das means “that” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun, and the supplied translation supports the meaning “that,” but the fixed sentence does not specify exactly what it refers to. Its form is not a general marker of a particular person or quantity. lieber expresses preference: “rather” or “preferably.” It is the comparative form related to gern (“gladly,” “with pleasure”): gern — lieber — am liebsten (“gladly” — “rather” — “most preferably”). In this sentence, würde ... lieber ... presents the speaker’s preferred action. tun is the infinitive “to do.” Together, das ... tun means “do that”; the intervening lieber modifies the preference for this action. Example: Ich würde das nicht tun. — “I would not do that.” als introduces the action that is being contrasted with the preferred action. In the reusable pattern lieber X tun, als Y zu tun, the meaning is “rather do X than do Y.” Here, als itself contributes “than”; it does not include the meaning of the following verb. mich is the first-person singular accusative reflexive pronoun, referring back to the speaker. The verb sich beschweren is reflexive, so its reflexive pronoun changes with the subject: ich beschwere mich, du beschwerst dich, and er/sie beschwert sich. The pronoun is separate from beschweren and is not the object “myself” in the ordinary English sense. laut describes how the complaining would be done here: “loudly.” In German, the same form can also be the adjective “loud”; its role here is adverbial because it modifies the action beschweren. Example: Sie spricht laut. — “She speaks loudly.” zu beschweren is the infinitive of the reflexive verb sich beschweren, “to complain,” with zu placed before the verb’s infinitive. The full infinitival group is mich laut zu beschweren: “to complain loudly.” Example: Er versucht, sich nicht zu beschweren. — “He tries not to complain.” The sentence first presents the preferred action: Ich würde das lieber tun — “I would rather do that.” The pattern then contrasts it with als mich laut zu beschweren — “than complain loudly.” Together, the fixed utterance means: “I’d rather do that than complain loudly.”

10. Lass uns leise fragen und dann weiterlernen.

    Let's ask quietly, then get back to studying.

    Lass uns

    let’s

    leise

    quietly

    fragen

    ask

    dann

    then

    weiterlernen

    continue studying

    More detail

    Lass uns is a fixed suggestion pattern meaning “let’s …”. Lass is the singular imperative of lassen; together with uns (“us”), it addresses one person in the form shown and proposes a shared action. With a plural addressee, German can use Lasst uns … instead. The following infinitive names the proposed action. leise means “quietly” here. It is the adjective leise used adverbially, so it describes how the asking happens and does not take a separate adverb ending. The adjective can also describe a noun, as in eine leise Stimme (“a quiet voice”), but its role in this sentence is different. fragen is the infinitive of fragen, “to ask.” In the pattern Lass uns fragen, the infinitive stays in this form because it follows the suggestion construction. A reusable example is Lass uns warten. — “Let’s wait.” dann is a temporal adverb meaning “then.” It places the next action after the asking: first the asking, and after that the action introduced by dann. weiterlernen is an infinitive meaning “to continue studying/learning.” It is built from weiter (“further, on”) and lernen (“learn, study”), but the combined verb expresses continuation rather than merely a new act of learning. In a finite clause, the related form can separate: Wir lernen weiter. — “We continue studying.” Here, as the second infinitive in the suggestion, it remains together as weiterlernen. Together, Lass uns introduces a shared suggestion, leise fragen specifies the first action and its manner, and dann weiterlernen adds the later action. The complete meaning is: “Let’s ask quietly, then get back to studying.”