Adjusting a Jogging Routine | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich habe mit dem Joggen angefangen, aber meine Knie tun nach jedem Lauf weh.

   I started jogging, but my knees feel sore after each run.

   Ich habe

   I have

   Joggen

   jogging

   angefangen

   started

   aber

   but

   Knie

   knees

   tun … weh

   feel sore / hurt

   nach jedem Lauf

   after each run

   More detail

   Ich habe is the first-person singular form of haben, but here it works as the auxiliary in the German perfect tense, not as a statement of possession. The pattern ich habe + ... can describe a completed action: Ich habe gelernt. — “I studied / I have studied.” Joggen is the capitalized noun-like use of the verb joggen, meaning “jogging.” After mit, it appears in the dative: mit dem Joggen means “with jogging” or, in this sentence, “by starting jogging.” The capitalization shows that this infinitive is being used as a noun. angefangen is the past participle of the separable verb anfangen (“to start”). Its useful perfect form is hat angefangen; with the subject here, Ich habe angefangen. In the phrase mit dem Joggen angefangen, the activity that was started is named after mit. aber connects two contrasting statements and means “but.” It does not change the tense or word order of the clauses by itself. Knie is the plural of das Knie (“knee”); the singular and plural noun forms are spelled alike. The surrounding possessive meine identifies the knees as the speaker’s, and the plural subject controls the verb form in tun weh. tun weh is the German expression for physical pain or soreness. tun is the plural form of tun here, and weh is the pain-related predicate; together, meine Knie tun weh means “my knees hurt” or “my knees feel sore.” With a singular subject, the pattern is tut weh: Mein Knie tut weh. — “My knee hurts.” nach jedem Lauf means “after each run.” nach takes the dative, so jeder Lauf becomes jedem Lauf in this phrase. Lauf is a masculine noun meaning “run” here; jedem expresses the repeated individual occasions, not merely one unspecified run. Together, Ich habe mit dem Joggen angefangen says that the speaker started jogging. aber introduces the contrasting result: meine Knie tun nach jedem Lauf weh, meaning that the speaker’s knees feel sore after every run. The complete utterance is therefore: “I started jogging, but my knees feel sore after each run.”

2. Vielleicht steigerst du dein Tempo oder deine Strecke zu schnell.

   You may be increasing your pace or distance too quickly.

   Vielleicht

   perhaps

   steigerst

   increase

   Tempo

   pace

   Strecke

   distance

   zu schnell

   too quickly

   More detail

   Vielleicht means “perhaps” or “may.” It marks the statement as a possibility rather than a certainty. It commonly appears at the beginning of a sentence, as here. steigerst is the second-person singular present form of steigern (“to increase” or “to raise”): du steigerst. The verb describes making an amount or level higher. Example: Du steigerst das Tempo. — “You increase the pace.” Tempo means “pace” here, specifically the speed of the running. Its plural is Tempi or, commonly in everyday German, Tempos. In dein Tempo, dein is the possessive form agreeing with the neuter noun Tempo in the accusative object position. Strecke means “distance” or “route.” Here it refers to the distance covered while running. In deine Strecke, deine is the possessive form used with the feminine noun Strecke in the accusative object position. The forms dein Tempo and deine Strecke show that the possessive changes with the noun’s grammatical gender and case; the possessor is du. oder connects alternatives: “or.” The verb applies to both objects: increasing either the pace or the distance. zu schnell means “too quickly.” zu marks an excessive degree, and schnell describes the manner of increasing. Compare schnell (“quickly/fast”) with zu schnell (“too quickly”). Example: Du läufst zu schnell. — “You are running too quickly.” Together, Vielleicht makes the statement tentative, steigerst du means “you are increasing,” and dein Tempo oder deine Strecke gives the two alternatives being increased. zu schnell says that the increase is happening faster than is appropriate. The whole utterance means: “You may be increasing your pace or distance too quickly.”

3. Ich wollte mich schnell verbessern und habe mich deshalb zu sehr angestrengt.

   I wanted to improve fast, so I pushed myself too hard.

   Ich wollte

   I wanted

   mich

   myself

   schnell

   quickly

   verbessern

   improve

   deshalb

   therefore

   zu sehr

   too much; too hard

   angestrengt

   exerted

   More detail

   Ich wollte: wollte is the first-person singular past form of wollen, “to want.” With an infinitive, wollen expresses what the subject wanted to do: Ich wollte lernen means “I wanted to study.” In this sentence, Ich is the subject and wollte refers to the earlier intention. mich: This is the reflexive accusative pronoun referring back to the first-person subject Ich. It belongs with verbessern in sich verbessern, meaning “to improve” or “to get better.” The same form appears again later with angestrengt; there it belongs to sich anstrengen, “to exert oneself.” German reflexive pronouns match the subject in person and number: ich ... mich, du ... dich, er/sie ... sich. schnell: Here this is an adverb modifying verbessern, so it means “quickly.” The adjective/adverb form is also schnell; the surrounding role shows that it describes how the improvement was intended to happen. Example: Sie lernt schnell. — “She learns quickly.” verbessern: This is the infinitive “to improve.” With the reflexive pronoun, sich verbessern means that the subject improves or gets better. The infinitive follows the modal verb wollte in the first clause. Example: Ich möchte mich verbessern. — “I want to improve.” deshalb: This means “therefore” or “for that reason.” It connects the intended improvement with the consequence described in the second clause. It does not itself express the amount or manner of the exertion. zu sehr: This degree expression means “too much” or, with exertion, “too hard.” zu marks an excessive degree, while sehr means “very.” Compare sehr angestrengt (“very exerted,” a strong degree) with zu sehr angestrengt (“too exerted,” more than was appropriate). Example: Du arbeitest zu sehr. — “You work too hard.” angestrengt: This is the past participle of sich anstrengen, “to exert oneself” or “to push oneself.” With the auxiliary habe, it forms the perfect: ich habe mich angestrengt — “I exerted myself.” The reflexive pronoun is required by this use of the verb; angestrengt itself carries the participial form, not the pronoun’s person or number. Together, Ich wollte mich schnell verbessern means “I wanted to improve quickly.” deshalb introduces the consequence, and habe mich zu sehr angestrengt means “I pushed myself too hard.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I wanted to improve fast, so I pushed myself too hard.”

4. Das kann zu einer Verletzung führen, wenn sich dein Körper noch nicht daran gewöhnt hat.

   That can lead to injury if your body has not adapted.

   Das

   That

   kann

   can

   führen

   lead

   Verletzung

   injury

   wenn

   if

   Körper

   body

   noch nicht

   not yet

   sich … daran gewöhnt hat

   has adapted to it

   More detail

   Das means “that” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun used as the subject; the supplied sentence does not identify a more specific referent. Demonstratives can also be used with a noun, as in dieser Plan (“this plan”), but Das stands alone here. kann is the modal verb können (“can, be able to”). In this sentence it expresses a possible result: something can lead to an injury. A modal verb is followed by the other verb in the infinitive, so the infinitive führen appears at the end of the main clause. führen means “lead” in the construction zu etwas führen (“lead to something”). The preposition zu takes the dative case. Thus zu einer Verletzung means “to an injury”; einer is the dative form of the feminine indefinite article, not a separate expression of quantity. The noun is die Verletzung (“injury”); its plural is die Verletzungen. Verletzung is the noun for an injury. The related verb verletzen means “injure,” but it is a separate word and is not the base form of the noun. Example: Sport kann zu Verletzungen führen. — “Sport can lead to injuries.” wenn introduces the condition “if.” In a wenn clause, the finite verb normally goes to the end. Here the complete condition is wenn sich dein Körper noch nicht daran gewöhnt hat. Körper means “body.” It is masculine: der Körper. In this clause, dein Körper is the subject, so it is in the nominative. dein is the informal singular possessive form meaning “your”; its form agrees with the masculine noun Körper in this position. Example: Dein Körper braucht Ruhe. — “Your body needs rest.” noch nicht means “not yet.” Together, these words say that the adaptation has not happened by the relevant time. noch alone can mean “still” or “yet,” while nicht supplies the negation; their combination here is specifically “not yet.” The construction sich an etwas gewöhnen means “to get used to something” or “to adapt to something.” sich is the reflexive part, and daran means “to it” in this construction. The exact referent of daran is not identified by the supplied sentence, so it is best learned as the reusable pattern sich an etwas gewöhnen / sich daran gewöhnen. Example: Ich gewöhne mich an das neue Training. — “I am getting used to the new training.” gewöhnt hat is the perfect form of sich gewöhnen in the wenn clause: the participle gewöhnt combines with the auxiliary hat, which is placed at the end of the subordinate clause. Because the subject is third-person singular, the auxiliary is hat; the reflexive pronoun for a third-person subject is sich. The perfect here presents the adaptation as something that has or has not been completed by the relevant time. Putting the parts together: Das kann zu einer Verletzung führen means “That can lead to an injury,” and wenn sich dein Körper noch nicht daran gewöhnt hat means “if your body has not adapted to it yet.” The whole utterance therefore says: “That can lead to injury if your body has not adapted.”

5. Soll ich mein Training leichter machen und Dehnübungen hinzufügen?

   Should I make the routine lighter and add stretching?

   Soll ich

   Should I

   Training

   routine

   leichter

   lighter

   machen

   make

   Dehnübungen

   stretching exercises

   hinzufügen

   add

   More detail

   Soll ich is a reusable way to ask whether the speaker should do something: Soll ich + infinitive ...? Here soll is the first-person singular form of sollen, and ich is the subject. The question asks for guidance or permission about the speaker’s proposed action; it does not itself state that the action will happen. Training means training, workout, or routine in this sentence. It is the neuter noun das Training; here mein marks the speaker’s possessive and the phrase is the object of machen: mein Training = “my workout/routine.” German uses the same form Training for singular nominative and accusative here; the case is determined by its role, while mein also has the same form in these neuter cases. leichter means “lighter” here, in the sense of less demanding or less intense. It is the comparative form of the adjective leicht: leicht = light/easy, leichter = lighter/easier. The adjective describes the result of changing the training, so Training leichter machen means “make the workout less demanding,” not necessarily “make it physically lighter.” Example: Ich mache die Übung leichter. — “I make the exercise easier.” machen means “make” here and is the infinitive after the modal verb soll. The pattern etwas + adjective + machen describes changing something so that it has the stated quality: den Lauf kürzer machen = “make the run shorter.” Dehnübungen means “stretching exercises.” It is the plural of the noun die Dehnübung; in this sentence it is the object of hinzufügen. The compound combines Dehn-, related to the verb dehnen (“to stretch”), with Übung (“exercise”). Its plural form is Dehnübungen. hinzufügen means “add.” It is a separable verb: in a finite clause, the prefix normally separates, as in Ich füge Dehnübungen hinzu. — “I add stretching exercises.” In this question it remains the infinitive hinzufügen at the end because it follows the modal soll. The pattern etwas hinzufügen means “add something.” Together, Soll ich mein Training leichter machen und Dehnübungen hinzufügen? asks, “Should I make my workout/routine lighter and add stretching exercises?” The two proposed actions are coordinated by und: making the training less demanding and adding stretching exercises. The sentence asks whether that plan is advisable.

6. Ruhetage und kürzere Läufe würden deinem Körper Zeit zur Erholung geben.

   Rest days and shorter runs would give your body time to recover.

   Ruhetage

   rest days

   kürzere

   shorter

   Läufe

   runs

   würden

   would

   Körper

   body

   Zeit

   time

   Erholung

   recovery

   geben

   give

   More detail

   Ruhetage means “rest days” here. It is the plural of der Ruhetag; the compound combines Ruhe (“rest”) and Tag (“day”). As the subject, it is in the plural: Ein Ruhetag hilft. — “A rest day helps.” kürzere means “shorter” and modifies Läufe. It is the comparative form of kurz: kurz → kürzer → am kürzesten (“short” → “shorter” → “shortest”). The ending -e is the adjective ending used here with a plural noun after no article: kürzere Läufe. Example: Heute mache ich kürzere Läufe. — “Today I do shorter runs.” Läufe means “runs” in this sentence. It is the plural of der Lauf; the vowel changes in the plural: der Lauf → die Läufe. The same noun can have other meanings in other contexts, but the fixed translation establishes the exercise meaning here. würden is the third-person plural form of werden in the subjunctive II, used here for a hypothetical or conditional “would.” Its plural form matches the compound subject Ruhetage und kürzere Läufe. German commonly uses würden plus an infinitive at the end: Sie würden helfen. — “They would help.” Körper means “body.” In deinem Körper, it is the recipient or affected person of the giving: literally, “to your body.” The form Körper is singular here; this noun has the same visible form in the plural, with the article distinguishing it: der Körper / die Körper. Zeit means “time.” The pattern jemandem Zeit geben means “to give someone time,” with the person or entity receiving the time in the dative and Zeit as what is given. Example: Gib mir Zeit. — “Give me time.” Erholung means “recovery” or “rest.” In zur Erholung, zur is the contraction of zu der, and the phrase expresses the purpose of the time: “for recovery.” Erholung is a feminine noun: die Erholung. geben means “give.” Here it is the infinitive placed at the end because würden carries the conditional form: würden ... geben = “would give.” The pattern jemandem etwas geben means “to give someone something”; in this sentence, deinem Körper is the recipient and Zeit is what is given. Together, Ruhetage und kürzere Läufe is the plural subject. würden ... geben forms the conditional “would give,” deinem Körper identifies the recipient, and Zeit zur Erholung identifies what the body would receive and its purpose. The complete meaning is: “Rest days and shorter runs would give your body time to recover.”

7. Vielleicht sollte mein Ziel Regelmäßigkeit sein und nicht Geschwindigkeit.

   Maybe my goal should be consistency, not speed.

   Vielleicht

   maybe

   sollte

   should

   Ziel

   goal

   Regelmäßigkeit

   consistency; regularity

   sein

   be

   Geschwindigkeit

   speed

   More detail

   Vielleicht means “maybe” and signals that the statement is tentative rather than certain. It can be placed at the beginning to frame the whole proposition. Example: Vielleicht kommt er morgen. — “Maybe he is coming tomorrow.” sollte is the third-person singular form of sollen in the subjunctive II form. Here it expresses a tentative recommendation or what would be appropriate: “should.” The subject is mein Ziel, so the form is singular; sollten would be used with a plural subject. With a different infinitive, the same pattern is reusable: Mein Ziel sollte wachsen. — “My goal should grow.” Ziel means “goal” or “aim.” Its plural is Ziele. In mein Ziel, the possessive word mein identifies the goal as belonging to the speaker; the noun itself is singular. Example: Das Ziel ist klar. — “The goal is clear.” Regelmäßigkeit means “consistency” or “regularity.” In this sentence it refers to maintaining a regular pattern, especially regular activity, rather than increasing speed. The word is an abstract noun, so it names a quality rather than a person or concrete object. Example: Regelmäßigkeit ist beim Training wichtig. — “Consistency is important in training.” sein is the infinitive “to be.” After the modal verb sollte, the infinitive appears at the end of the clause: Mein Ziel sollte Regelmäßigkeit sein. The construction identifies what the goal should be: “My goal should be consistency.” Geschwindigkeit means “speed.” In the final contrast, nicht Geschwindigkeit excludes speed as the proposed goal. Example: Die Geschwindigkeit steigt. — “The speed increases.” Putting the parts together, mein Ziel is the subject, sollte ... sein expresses a tentative recommendation, and Regelmäßigkeit names the proposed goal. und nicht Geschwindigkeit contrasts that goal with speed, so the full meaning is: “Maybe my goal should be consistency, not speed.”

8. Das ist für jemanden, der neu mit dem Laufen anfängt, realistischer.

   That is more realistic for a new runner.

   Das ist

   That is

   für jemanden

   for someone

   neu

   new

   mit dem Laufen

   with running

   anfängt

   starts

   realistischer

   more realistic

   More detail

   Das ist means “that is” here. Das is a singular neuter demonstrative pronoun used to point to an idea or situation already under discussion; ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). Example: Das ist gut. — “That is good.” für jemanden expresses “for someone.” The preposition für governs the accusative case, so the indefinite pronoun appears as jemanden; its base form is jemand (“someone”). Example: Das ist für jemanden wichtig. — “That is important to someone.” neu describes the person as new to the activity in this context. It is an adjective in the relative clause and does not itself show the person’s gender or number here. Example: Sie ist neu in diesem Beruf. — “She is new to this profession.” mit dem Laufen means “with running” or, naturally here, “to running.” mit governs the dative case, shown by dem. Laufen is a nominalized infinitive: the verb laufen (“to run”) is used as a noun and is therefore capitalized. Example: Er beginnt mit dem Schwimmen. — “He starts swimming.” anfängt is the third-person singular present form of the separable verb anfangen (“to start, begin”). In a subordinate clause such as this relative clause, the conjugated verb appears at the end, and the prefix remains attached: der ... anfängt. In a main clause, the same verb separates: Er fängt an. — “He starts.” realistischer is the comparative of the adjective realistisch (“realistic”): realistisch → realistischer (“more realistic”). The comparison is implicit here; no second item is named after als. Example: Dieser Plan ist realistischer. — “This plan is more realistic.” The structure is Das ist für jemanden, der ... anfängt, realistischer. The relative clause der neu mit dem Laufen anfängt identifies the kind of person meant: someone who is new to running and is starting it. The main statement says that “that” is more realistic for such a person. In the supplied context, this presents the discussed goal or plan as more realistic for a beginner runner, while the next sentence develops that idea with a slower pace and walking breaks.

9. Ein langsameres Tempo mit Gehpausen wäre ein besserer Plan.

   An easier pace, with walking breaks, would be a better plan.

   langsameres

   slower

   Tempo

   pace

   Gehpausen

   walking breaks

   wäre

   would be

   besserer

   better

   Plan

   plan

   More detail

   langsameres means “slower” here. It is the comparative form of langsam (“slow”): langsam → langsamer → am langsamsten. Because it comes before the neuter singular noun Tempo in this nominative noun phrase, it has the ending -es: ein langsameres Tempo. The comparison is about a lower speed or rate, not necessarily about making the activity easier. Tempo is a neuter noun meaning “pace” or “speed/rate,” depending on context. In this sentence, it is the subject of the proposed situation. A useful contrasting pair is ein langsames Tempo (“a slow pace”) and ein langsameres Tempo (“a slower pace”); the latter explicitly compares it with another pace. mit Gehpausen adds the accompanying detail “with walking breaks.” Gehpausen is the plural of Gehpause, a compound meaning a break for walking. The preposition mit takes the dative; with this plural noun, the form Gehpausen is unchanged from the nominative plural. Example: Wir machen Gehpausen. — “We take walking breaks.” wäre is the third-person singular subjunctive II form of sein (“to be”). The useful form chain is sein → ist (present indicative) → wäre (a hypothetical or conditional “would be”). Here it presents the proposed plan as a possible assessment rather than stating directly that it is a better plan. Example: Das wäre hilfreich. — “That would be helpful.” besserer means “better” here. It is the comparative of the adjective gut: gut → besser → am besten. The adjective is the word that carries the -er ending, agreeing with the masculine singular nominative noun Plan: ein besserer Plan. Do not treat Plan as the base of besserer; they are separate words. Plan is a masculine noun meaning “plan.” In ein besserer Plan, it is the nominative subject complement after wäre; the indefinite article ein does not by itself assert a numerical count. Putting the parts together: Ein langsameres Tempo is the proposed subject, mit Gehpausen specifies that it includes walking breaks, and wäre ein besserer Plan says that this option would be a better plan. The complete meaning is: “A slower pace, with walking breaks, would be a better plan.”

10. Ein Hobby sollte deine Gesundheit unterstützen und ihr nicht schaden.

    A hobby should support your health, not damage it.

    Hobby

    hobby

    sollte

    should

    deine

    your

    Gesundheit

    health

    unterstützen

    support

    ihr

    it

    schaden

    harm

    More detail

    Hobby means “hobby.” Its plural is Hobbys (also written Hobbies in some usage). In this sentence, Ein Hobby is the subject: ein marks an unspecified singular noun, but it does not by itself assert a numerical count. sollte expresses advice or an expectation here: “should.” It is the form of sollen used with the third-person singular subject Ein Hobby. After sollte, the main verb stays in the infinitive and moves to the end of its clause. Example: Du solltest schlafen. — “You should sleep.” deine means “your” and agrees with Gesundheit, the feminine singular noun it determines. The form is deine Gesundheit; the possessive form does not identify the owner’s gender here. In this clause, Gesundheit is the accusative object of unterstützen, and feminine singular deine has the same visible form in this context. Gesundheit means “health.” It is a feminine noun: die Gesundheit. The related adjective is gesund (“healthy”), but the noun names the state or condition itself. Example: Gesundheit ist wichtig. — “Health is important.” unterstützen means “to support.” It takes an accusative object here: deine Gesundheit unterstützen — “support your health.” Its infinitive form appears because it follows sollte. Example: Sport kann die Gesundheit unterstützen. — “Exercise can support health.” ihr means “it” here and refers to the feminine noun Gesundheit. In German, the dative feminine singular pronoun is ihr; this is not the possessive meaning “her” in this sentence. The verb schaden requires a dative object, so German uses ihr rather than the accusative pronoun sie. schaden means “to harm” or “to damage.” It takes a dative object: jemandem/etwas schaden — “to harm someone/something.” Example: Rauchen schadet der Gesundheit. — “Smoking harms health.” The sentence has two coordinated infinitive clauses under sollte: deine Gesundheit unterstützen and ihr nicht schaden. nicht negates the second action, so the advice is to support the health and not harm it. The full meaning is: “A hobby should support your health, not damage it.”