Making a plan after being locked out | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich bin ausgesperrt, und mein Ersatzschlüssel liegt in der Wohnung.

   I am locked out, and my spare key is inside the apartment.

   Ich bin

   I am

   ausgesperrt

   locked out

   Ersatzschlüssel

   spare key

   liegt

   lies; is located

   in der

   in the

   Wohnung

   apartment

   More detail

   Ich bin is the first-person singular form of sein (“to be”): ich bin = “I am.” It combines with ausgesperrt to describe the speaker’s current state. ausgesperrt means “locked out” here. It is the participle of aussperren (“to lock someone out”), but after sein it describes a resulting state: Ich bin ausgesperrt = “I am locked out.” The separable verb aussperren has the forms sperrt aus (present, third-person singular) and ausgesperrt (participle). Ersatzschlüssel means “spare key.” It is a compound noun: Ersatz means “replacement/spare,” and Schlüssel means “key.” In the sentence, mein Ersatzschlüssel means “my spare key”; mein marks possession, while the noun itself is masculine. liegt comes from liegen, “to lie” or “to be located.” It is the present-tense third-person singular form: der Schlüssel liegt = “the key is located.” For a stationary object, German commonly uses liegen; legen instead means “to lay/place” something. in der means “in the” here. in takes the dative for a fixed location, and der is the dative feminine singular article. The location is therefore expressed as in der Wohnung, not as movement into the apartment. Wohnung means “apartment” or “flat.” With der, the phrase in der Wohnung means “in the apartment.” Together, Ich bin ausgesperrt states the speaker’s current situation: “I am locked out.” und connects it to the second clause. mein Ersatzschlüssel liegt in der Wohnung says that the speaker’s spare key is located inside the apartment. The complete meaning is: “I am locked out, and my spare key is inside the apartment.”

2. Versuch es zuerst beim Vermieter.

   Try the landlord first.

   Versuch

   try

   es

   it

   zuerst

   first

   beim

   with the

   Vermieter

   landlord

   More detail

   Versuch is the informal singular imperative of versuchen, “to try.” It addresses one person directly: Versuch es! means “Try it!” The informal plural imperative is Versucht, while a formal command uses Versuchen Sie. es is the accusative pronoun “it.” In the construction es bei jemandem versuchen, it refers to an unspecified attempt or course of action; this sentence does not identify a separate concrete object for es. The construction means trying something with or through a person. zuerst means “first” when ordering actions. Example: Ruf zuerst deine Schwester an. — “Call your sister first.” beim is the contraction of bei dem. In this use, bei takes the dative, and dem is the masculine singular dative article. Thus bei dem Vermieter becomes beim Vermieter; here the phrase indicates the person approached or contacted. Vermieter is the masculine noun “landlord.” Its singular forms include der Vermieter (nominative) and dem Vermieter (dative); the noun itself does not change in these forms. Its plural is also Vermieter, with die Vermieter in the nominative and den Vermietern in the dative. Together, Versuch es zuerst beim Vermieter. is an informal singular command: Versuch es (“try it”) + zuerst (“first”) + beim Vermieter (“with the landlord”). It means “Try the landlord first,” that is, make the landlord the first person you approach for help.

3. Dann ruf einen Schlüsseldienst, wenn du nicht bald Hilfe bekommst.

   Then call a locksmith if you cannot get help soon.

   Dann

   then

   ruf

   call

   Schlüsseldienst

   locksmith service

   wenn

   if

   nicht

   not

   bald

   soon

   Hilfe

   help

   bekommst

   get; receive

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here and links this instruction to the relevant situation. It can also introduce a next step in a sequence: Dann gehen wir. — “Then we’ll go.” ruf is the singular informal imperative of rufen (“to call; to summon”). The subject du is understood but omitted in an imperative. German uses jemanden/einen Dienst rufen for calling or summoning someone or a service; anrufen is a different verb and would require its separable prefix in the sentence, as in Ruf den Vermieter an. — “Call the landlord.” Schlüsseldienst is a masculine noun meaning “locksmith service.” It is a compound noun, and its grammatical gender is determined by the final element Dienst, so the phrase uses masculine accusative einen: einen Schlüsseldienst. The indefinite article does not itself assert a numerical count; it marks the noun phrase as indefinite here. wenn introduces a condition, “if” in this sentence. In a wenn clause, the finite verb normally comes at the end: wenn du Hilfe bekommst — “if you get help.” The condition can refer to a real or possible situation; it is not by itself a counterfactual form. nicht is the ordinary negation word. Here it negates the expected obtaining of help soon, so nicht bald Hilfe bekommst means “do not get help soon” or, with the fixed translation, “cannot get help soon.” bald means “soon,” referring to a time not far from the relevant moment. It is different from spät (“late”): Komm bald. — “Come soon.” Hilfe is a feminine noun meaning “help.” In Hilfe bekommen, it forms a common pattern meaning “to get or receive help.” The noun is used without an article here because the sentence refers to help in a general, uncounted sense. bekommst is the second-person singular present form of bekommen, “to get; to receive.” The present form is du bekommst; the corresponding infinitive is bekommen. The verb is at the end because it belongs to the subordinate clause introduced by wenn. Example: Du bekommst heute eine Antwort. — “You are getting an answer today.” Together, Dann ruf einen Schlüsseldienst gives the informal instruction “Then call a locksmith service.” The conditional clause wenn du nicht bald Hilfe bekommst specifies the condition for that instruction: “if you cannot get help soon.” The whole utterance is therefore: “Then call a locksmith if you cannot get help soon.”

4. Ich habe eine Nachricht hinterlassen, aber der Vermieter hat noch nicht geantwortet.

   I left a message, but the landlord has not replied yet.

   Ich habe

   I have

   Nachricht

   message

   hinterlassen

   left behind

   Vermieter

   landlord

   noch nicht

   not yet

   geantwortet

   replied

   More detail

   Ich habe is the first-person singular present form of haben, “to have.” Here it is an auxiliary, not the main meaning “possess”: German uses haben plus a past participle to form the perfect, a past-time construction. The subject form is ich; with another subject, the auxiliary changes, for example Sie hat angerufen = “She called.” Nachricht means “message.” It is a feminine noun: die Nachricht, with the indefinite form eine Nachricht in this sentence. The article eine marks an indefinite noun, but does not by itself state a numeric count. Example: Ich schreibe eine Nachricht. — “I am writing a message.” hinterlassen means “to leave behind,” including leaving something for someone to find or receive. In the fixed sentence, hinterlassen is the past participle used with habe; this verb’s participle has the same visible form as its infinitive: hinterlassen — hinterließ — hinterlassen. Example: Sie hat eine Notiz hinterlassen. — “She left a note.” Vermieter means “landlord,” specifically the person who rents out a property. In der Vermieter, der marks the masculine singular subject form here. The feminine noun is Vermieterin; the plural is Vermieter. Example: Der Vermieter antwortet. — “The landlord is replying.” noch nicht means “not yet.” noch keeps the situation open as expected or possible later, while nicht negates it at the stated time. In this sentence it describes the landlord’s reply as not having happened up to now. Example: Ich bin noch nicht fertig. — “I am not finished yet.” geantwortet comes from the verb antworten, “to reply” or “to answer.” It is the regular past participle, formed with ge- and -t: antworten → geantwortet. With hat, it forms the perfect: hat geantwortet = “has replied.” Example: Er hat sofort geantwortet. — “He replied immediately.” Together, Ich habe eine Nachricht hinterlassen says “I left a message,” using the perfect construction haben + past participle. aber links this to a contrast. der Vermieter hat noch nicht geantwortet says that the landlord has not replied yet. The complete utterance therefore means: “I left a message, but the landlord has not replied yet.”

5. Warte noch etwas länger, außer du musst sofort hinein.

   Wait a little longer unless you need to get in right away.

   Warte

   wait

   noch

   still; yet

   etwas

   a little

   länger

   longer

   außer

   unless

   musst

   must; need to

   sofort

   immediately

   hinein

   in; inside

   More detail

   Warte is the informal singular imperative of warten (“to wait”). It addresses one person directly and has no written subject: Warte! = “Wait!” The form for a formal address or for more than one person is different, so do not use Warte for every addressee. noch adds the idea that the waiting continues or is extended: “still” or “yet” in the relevant context. In Warte noch, it means “keep waiting a bit longer.” For example, Warte noch eine Minute. means “Wait another minute.” etwas means “something” as a pronoun, but here it works adverbially to soften the degree: “a little” or “somewhat.” Thus etwas länger means “a little longer,” not a stated count of anything. Example: Sprich etwas langsamer. — “Speak a little more slowly.” länger is the comparative form of the adjective/adverb lang (“long”). The comparison is lang → länger → am längsten: “long” → “longer” → “longest.” Here länger compares the requested waiting time with the waiting time already understood. außer introduces an exception. Here it means “unless” and connects the exception to the preceding instruction. In this use, the following clause has ordinary main-clause word order: du musst sofort hinein, with the finite verb musst in second position. This differs from a subordinate clause introduced by außer dass, where the finite verb is placed at the end. musst is the second-person singular present form of the modal verb müssen (“must; have to; need to”): ich muss, du musst, er/sie muss. It expresses necessity for the person addressed. In du musst sofort hinein, it combines with the directional adverb hinein without an overt lexical movement verb; the meaning is that the person needs to get or go inside immediately. sofort means “immediately” or “right away.” It specifies that the necessary movement must happen without delay. Example: Komm sofort! — “Come right away!” hinein expresses movement inward, roughly “in” or “inside” when understood as going into a place. It is directional, unlike a word used simply to describe being inside. Example: Geh hinein. — “Go inside.” The exact destination is not stated in this utterance; hinein supplies the inward direction. Together, Warte noch etwas länger means “Wait a little longer.” außer du musst sofort hinein adds the exception “unless you need to get in right away.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Wait a little longer unless you need to get in right away.”

6. Ich muss vielleicht nachweisen, dass ich hier wohne, falls jemand kommt, um zu helfen.

   I may need to prove I live here if someone comes to help.

   Ich muss

   I have to / I need to

   vielleicht

   perhaps

   nachweisen

   prove / demonstrate

   dass

   that

   ich

   I

   hier

   here

   wohne

   live / reside

   falls

   if / in case

   jemand

   someone

   kommt

   comes

   um zu helfen

   to help

   More detail

   Ich muss combines ich with the first-person singular present form muss of müssen. Here it expresses a possible need or obligation: “I need to.” The infinitive normally follows: Ich muss warten = “I have to wait.” vielleicht means “perhaps” and makes the need uncertain. Thus Ich muss vielleicht ... means “I may need to ...,” not a definite statement that the speaker must do it. nachweisen means “to prove” or “to demonstrate,” often by providing evidence. It is an infinitive here after muss. The finite form is separable in ordinary main clauses: Ich weise das nach = “I prove that.” The infinitive remains together as nachweisen. dass introduces a subordinate content clause, roughly “that.” In a German dass clause, the finite verb normally goes to the end. The pattern is Ich muss nachweisen, dass ... — “I need to prove that ...”. ich is the first-person singular pronoun “I.” It is the subject of the clause introduced by dass; it refers to the same speaker as the earlier Ich. hier means “here,” referring to the relevant place in the utterance. It is a location adverb and does not change for person or number. wohne is the first-person singular present form of wohnen, “to live” or “to reside.” The ending -e marks the ich form: ich wohne. Example: Ich wohne in Berlin. — “I live in Berlin.” falls introduces a condition meaning “if” or “in case.” Like dass, it introduces a subordinate clause, so the finite verb appears at the end: falls jemand kommt — “if someone comes.” Falls often presents the condition as a possibility. jemand means “someone” or “somebody.” It is an indefinite pronoun for one unspecified person. In this sentence it is the subject of kommt, and German uses the singular verb form with it. kommt is the third-person singular present form of kommen, “to come.” The form matches singular jemand: jemand kommt. Example: Sie kommt morgen. — “She is coming tomorrow.” um zu helfen is a purpose construction meaning “in order to help” or simply “to help.” helfen is the infinitive of “help,” and zu comes before it in this um ... zu construction. The construction links the purpose to the coming: jemand kommt, um zu helfen = “someone comes in order to help.” Together, Ich muss vielleicht nachweisen says “I may need to prove,” and dass ich hier wohne specifies what must be proved: “that I live here.” The conditional clause falls jemand kommt, um zu helfen adds the condition “if someone comes to help.” The complete meaning is: “I may need to prove I live here if someone comes to help.”

7. Halte deinen Ausweis bereit und warte an einem warmen Ort.

   Keep your identification ready and wait in a warm place.

   Halte … bereit

   keep ... ready

   Ausweis

   identification

   warte

   wait

   warmen

   warm

   Ort

   place

   More detail

   Halte ... bereit is a reusable German pattern meaning “keep something ready.” Halte is the singular informal imperative of halten (“to hold/keep”); the matching subject is understood as du. bereit means “ready” and completes the pattern. Example: Halte dein Handy bereit. — “Keep your phone ready.” Ausweis means an identification document or ID card. Its base form is masculine: der Ausweis; after deinen, it appears as the masculine accusative form because it is the thing being kept ready. deinen means “your” when addressing one person informally and agreeing with this masculine accusative noun. warte is the singular informal imperative of warten (“to wait”). Example: Warte hier. — “Wait here.” warmen is the adjective warm (“warm”) with an ending required by its position in the noun phrase. an einem warmen Ort describes a location, so an takes the dative here; einem marks the masculine dative form of the indefinite article, and warmen agrees within that phrase. The adjective itself has the base form warm. Ort means “place.” Its base form is masculine: der Ort. In an einem warmen Ort, the dative marks the place where the waiting happens. The phrase therefore means “in a warm place.” Together, Halte deinen Ausweis bereit gives the instruction “Keep your identification ready,” and warte an einem warmen Ort adds “and wait in a warm place.” The two imperative clauses are joined by und, so the same addressee is instructed to do both things.

8. Ich möchte keinen Schlüsseldienst rufen, außer es ist nötig.

   I do not want to call a locksmith unless it is necessary.

   Ich möchte

   I would like / I want

   keinen

   no

   Schlüsseldienst

   locksmith service

   rufen

   to call

   außer

   unless

   nötig

   necessary

   More detail

   Ich möchte means “I want” here, with a softer or more polite tone than a direct statement with wollen. möchte is the first-person singular form used for the speaker’s present wish; the infinitive that completes it appears later: Ich möchte … rufen (“I want to call …”). keinen is the negative determiner for a masculine singular noun in the accusative. It matches Schlüsseldienst, because that noun is the direct object of rufen: der Schlüsseldienst → keinen Schlüsseldienst. The negative forms change with the noun’s gender, number, and case; for example, keine Tür is feminine singular, while kein Problem is neuter singular. Here keinen means that the speaker does not want to call the service, not that a numerical quantity is being asserted. Schlüsseldienst is a compound noun meaning a locksmith service or locksmith. Its useful basic form is der Schlüsseldienst; as the masculine accusative object, it follows keinen without a visible noun ending. A related but different word is Schlüssel (“key”), which is only the first part of the compound. rufen means “to call” and is the infinitive selected by möchte. In this context it means calling a locksmith service, not physically shouting to someone. Example: Ich möchte meine Schwester rufen. — “I want to call my sister.” außer introduces the condition that limits the statement: “unless” or “except if.” The following clause gives the condition under which the speaker’s unwillingness would not apply. It is different from wenn (“if/when”), which introduces an ordinary condition without the same exception meaning. nötig means “necessary” in this clause. It is a predicative adjective after ist, so it has no ending here: Es ist nötig. — “It is necessary.” The adjective can also appear before a noun with an ending, for example ein nötiger Schritt (“a necessary step”); that ending belongs to nötig, not to the noun. Together, Ich möchte keinen Schlüsseldienst rufen says “I do not want to call a locksmith,” and außer es ist nötig adds the exception “unless it is necessary.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I do not want to call a locksmith unless it is necessary.”

9. Wenn der Vermieter immer noch nicht antwortet, ruf einen und erklär die Situation.

   If the landlord still does not reply, call one and explain the situation.

   Wenn

   if

   Vermieter

   landlord

   immer noch

   still

   nicht

   not

   antwortet

   replies

   ruf

   call

   einen

   one

   erklär

   explain

   Situation

   situation

   More detail

   Wenn introduces a condition: “if/when.” In this sentence, it starts the condition clause. A useful pattern is Wenn ... , ... = “If ..., ...”. In the clause beginning with Wenn, the conjugated verb comes at the end: Wenn der Vermieter immer noch nicht antwortet. der Vermieter means “the landlord.” Vermieter is a masculine noun; its base form is Vermieter, and der marks masculine nominative here because it is the subject. The related feminine noun Vermieterin means “female landlord.” immer noch means “still,” indicating that the situation continues. nicht negates the following verbal idea here: the landlord still does not reply. Together, immer noch nicht is a useful pattern for “still not.” antwortet is the third-person singular present form of antworten, “to reply.” The subject is der Vermieter, so the form is antwortet: er/sie/es antwortet. The present tense here can describe a current situation in the condition. ruf is the informal singular imperative of rufen, “to call.” The same verb appears as ich rufe, du rufst, and in the command ruf!. This command is addressed to one person using informal du; it is not the formal command form. einen is the masculine accusative form of the indefinite article, used here as a pronoun for an omitted masculine noun: “one.” In the bounded context, the earlier Schlüsseldienst (“locksmith service”) supports that omitted object. einen does not itself assert a numerical count; its form reflects the masculine accusative role of the omitted noun. erklär is the informal singular imperative of erklären, “to explain.” Its base form is erklären; the command is erklär!. The following object is die Situation, so the command means to explain the situation. die Situation means “the situation.” Situation is a feminine noun, and die is its definite article here. The noun is used as the direct object of erklär; the article shows the definite form, not the noun’s grammatical role by itself. The whole utterance has the structure Wenn [condition], [imperative]: Wenn der Vermieter immer noch nicht antwortet gives the condition, “If the landlord still does not reply,” and ruf einen und erklär die Situation gives the two instructions, “call one and explain the situation.” Thus the complete meaning is: “If the landlord still does not reply, call one and explain the situation.”

10. Ich kann in der Eingangshalle sitzen und mein Handy eingeschaltet lassen.

    I can sit in the lobby and keep my phone on.

    Ich kann

    I can

    sitzen

    sit

    Eingangshalle

    lobby; entrance hall

    Handy

    mobile phone

    eingeschaltet

    switched on

    lassen

    leave; keep

    More detail

    Ich kann expresses ability or permission here: “I can.” kann is the third-person-singular form of können, but the subject Ich is first-person singular, so the form used with ich is also kann. A modal verb such as können is followed by an infinitive. Example: Ich kann warten. — “I can wait.” sitzen means “to sit.” It is the infinitive required after kann. Example: Wir können hier sitzen. — “We can sit here.” Eingangshalle means “entrance hall” or “lobby.” In the sentence, in der Eingangshalle means “in the lobby”: in takes the dative for a stationary location, and der marks the feminine noun die Eingangshalle in the dative. Example: Sie wartet in der Eingangshalle. — “She is waiting in the lobby.” Handy means “mobile phone” or “cell phone” in German. It is a neuter noun: das Handy. In mein Handy, the possessive form agrees with this neuter noun; its nominative and accusative forms are both mein. Example: Ich suche mein Handy. — “I am looking for my phone.” eingeschaltet means “switched on” or “turned on.” It describes the phone’s resulting state. The word is related to the verb einschalten — “to switch on”; eingeschaltet is its past participle. Here it is used with lassen to express keeping something in that state. Example: Lass das Licht eingeschaltet. — “Leave the light on.” lassen means “to leave” or “to let,” and in etwas eingeschaltet lassen it means “to keep something switched on.” The object is mein Handy, while eingeschaltet states the condition in which it is kept. Example: Ich lasse die Tür offen. — “I leave the door open.” The modal kann applies to both coordinated actions: sitzen and mein Handy eingeschaltet lassen. The location phrase in der Eingangshalle specifies where the sitting happens, while und joins the two actions. German places the infinitives at the end in this modal construction: Ich kann ... sitzen und ... lassen. Together, the utterance means: “I can sit in the lobby and keep my phone on.”

11. Dort kannst du dich warm halten, während du dem Vermieter noch etwas Zeit gibst.

    You can stay warm there while you give the landlord a little more time.

    Dort

    there

    kannst du

    you can

    dich

    yourself

    warm

    warm

    halten

    keep

    während

    while

    Vermieter

    landlord

    noch

    more

    etwas

    some; a little

    Zeit

    time

    gibst

    give

    More detail

    Dort means “there,” referring to the place indicated by the fixed sentence. It is a location adverb and does not change for person or number. kannst du combines the second-person singular form kannst of können with du. Here können expresses ability or possibility: “you can.” In a statement, placing this verb before the subject is normal when another element such as Dort comes first. Example: Morgen kannst du kommen. — “Tomorrow you can come.” dich is the reflexive pronoun matching du: “yourself.” It shows that the person kept warm is the same person as the subject. Its accusative form is dich; the corresponding first-person form is mich, as in Ich wasche mich. — “I wash myself.” warm halten means “keep warm” or, with the reflexive pronoun here, “keep yourself warm / stay warm.” halten is the infinitive “to keep” or “to hold”; after the modal kannst, it remains in the infinitive and comes at the end of its clause. The adjective warm describes the resulting condition. Example: Ich halte mich warm. — “I keep myself warm.” während introduces a simultaneous subordinate clause: “while.” In a German subordinate clause introduced by während, the finite verb normally moves to the end. Example: Sie liest, während er kocht. — “She reads while he cooks.” Vermieter means “landlord.” In this sentence it appears in the phrase dem Vermieter: the landlord is the recipient of the extra time, so German marks the noun phrase with the dative article dem. Vermieter is a masculine noun; in the singular dative, the noun itself stays Vermieter, while the article carries the visible case marking. Its lexical plural is also Vermieter, but in the dative plural it normally takes an additional -n: den Vermietern. noch here means “more” in the sense of an additional amount, not “still” in a time-related sense. It combines with etwas Zeit to mean “a little more time.” Example: Wir brauchen noch fünf Minuten. — “We need five more minutes.” etwas means “some” or “a little” here, referring to an unspecified small amount of time. In other contexts it can mean “something,” so its meaning comes from what it modifies or how it functions. Example: Ich möchte etwas Wasser. — “I would like some water.” Zeit is the noun “time.” The phrase etwas Zeit means “a little time” or “some time”; Zeit is feminine, but this form does not show the case by itself here. gibst is the second-person singular present form of geben, “to give”: du gibst. geben has a vowel change in this form, from e to i; it is not formed by simply adding an ending to an unchanged stem. The person receiving something is commonly marked with the dative, as in Du gibst dem Kind ein Buch. — “You give the child a book.” Together, Dort kannst du dich warm halten says “You can stay warm there.” während du dem Vermieter noch etwas Zeit gibst adds the simultaneous action “while you give the landlord a little more time.” The complete utterance therefore means: “You can stay warm there while you give the landlord a little more time.”