Explaining Where the Line Starts | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Entschuldigung, ich glaube, die Schlange beginnt hinter dieser Frau.

   Excuse me, I think the line starts behind that woman.

   Entschuldigung

   Excuse me

   ich glaube

   I think

   Schlange

   line; queue

   beginnt

   starts

   hinter

   behind

   dieser

   that

   Frau

   woman

   More detail

   Entschuldigung means “excuse me” here. It is also the noun “apology” or “excuse”; at the beginning of an utterance, it is commonly used to attract attention politely before speaking. Example: Entschuldigung, wo ist der Bahnhof? — “Excuse me, where is the train station?” ich glaube means “I think” in this sentence. glauben is the base form, and glaube is the first-person singular present form after ich. This expression introduces the speaker’s belief rather than presenting the following information as certain. Example: Ich glaube, der Bus kommt gleich. — “I think the bus is coming soon.” Schlange means “line” or “queue” here. The same noun can refer to a snake in another context, so the surrounding situation determines the meaning. Its plural is Schlangen. In this sentence, die Schlange is the subject of beginnt; the feminine singular article identifies the noun’s grammatical gender and number. beginnt comes from beginnen, “to begin” or “to start.” It is the third-person singular present form: die Schlange beginnt. The form changes with the subject: ich beginne, but sie beginnt. Example: Der Film beginnt um acht Uhr. — “The film starts at eight o’clock.” hinter means “behind” here. It is a preposition that can be used with the dative when describing a stationary location, as in hinter dieser Frau — “behind that woman.” With movement to a position, German commonly uses the accusative instead: Ich stelle mich hinter diese Frau. — “I stand behind this woman.” dieser is a form of the demonstrative dies-, meaning “this” or “that” in context. Here it is feminine singular dative, because it accompanies Frau after the location use of hinter. The demonstrative agrees with Frau in gender and number and shows the dative case in this phrase. Its exact referent is the woman indicated by the situation; the sentence itself does not identify her further. Frau means “woman.” It is feminine singular here, and its plural is Frauen. In dieser Frau, the noun remains Frau; the dative marking is shown by the accompanying form dieser, not by a change to the noun. Example: Ich helfe der Frau. — “I help the woman.” Together, die Schlange beginnt says “the line starts,” and hinter dieser Frau specifies the location: “behind that woman.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Excuse me, I think the line starts behind that woman.”

2. Mir war nicht klar, dass alle anstehen.

   I did not realize everyone was waiting in line.

   Mir war nicht klar

   I did not realize

   alle

   everyone

   anstehen

   wait in line

   More detail

   Mir war nicht klar means “I did not realize” here. mir is the dative form of ich, used for the person to whom something is clear or unclear; it is not the subject. In this construction, war is the third-person singular past form of sein, agreeing with the content clause introduced by dass (or with an understood es), not with mir. klar means “clear.” The pattern jemandem ist/war etwas klar means that something is or was clear to someone. For example: Mir ist die Antwort klar. — “The answer is clear to me.” alle means “everyone” in this sentence. Used by itself as a pronoun, it refers collectively to all relevant people, and the verb associated with it is plural: Alle warten. — “Everyone is waiting.” This use is different from alles, which means “everything” and refers to things or situations rather than people. anstehen means “to wait in line” or “to queue.” It is a separable verb in ordinary main-clause forms: Wir stehen an. — “We are waiting in line.” In the dass clause here, the infinitive appears at the end as the single form anstehen: ..., dass alle anstehen. The verb is not the same as stehen by itself; the prefix an- contributes the line-waiting meaning. Together, Mir war nicht klar states that this was not clear to the speaker, while dass alle anstehen gives the content that was not clear: all the relevant people were waiting in line. The complete meaning is “I did not realize everyone was waiting in line.”

3. Es ist etwas unklar, weil die Leute mit Abstand stehen.

   It is a bit unclear because people are standing apart.

   Es ist

   it is

   etwas

   a bit

   unklar

   unclear

   weil

   because

   Leute

   people

   mit Abstand

   at a distance

   stehen

   stand

   More detail

   Es ist uses impersonal es with ist, the present-tense third-person singular form of sein (“to be”). Here es does not identify a person or object; it introduces the general assessment that something is unclear. A reusable pattern is Es ist + adjective: Es ist wichtig. — “It is important.” etwas means “somewhat” or “a little” here. In this use it softens the adjective rather than asserting a specific amount of an object. The same word can also be a pronoun meaning “something,” but that is not its function here. unklar is an adjective meaning “unclear” in this sentence. It describes the situation introduced by impersonal es. Its opposite is klar (“clear”): Die Regel ist klar. — “The rule is clear.” weil introduces a reason clause, “because.” In standard German, the finite verb normally moves to the end of a weil clause. Thus the pattern is weil + subject + ... + verb: Ich bleibe, weil es regnet. — “I am staying because it is raining.” Leute is the plural noun “people.” Its singular counterpart is Person (“person”); do not treat Leute as a regular singular-to-plural form of Person. The definite article die before it is consistent with the plural noun phrase, while the noun itself expresses the people referred to here. mit Abstand means “apart” or “with space between them” in this context. It describes the spatial arrangement of the people, not a distance measured by a stated number. This construction can also be used more generally for separation: Die Stühle stehen mit Abstand. — “The chairs are set apart.” stehen is the base form “to stand.” In die Leute ... stehen, it is the present-tense form for a plural subject; it has the same written form as the infinitive. The verb describes the people’s position here, while mit Abstand specifies how they are positioned. Together, Es ist etwas unklar says that the situation is somewhat unclear. weil die Leute mit Abstand stehen gives the reason: the people are standing apart. The complete meaning is “It is a bit unclear because people are standing apart.”

4. Soll ich dann ans Ende gehen?

   Should I go to the back, then?

   Soll ich

   Should I…?

   dann

   then

   ans Ende

   to the back/end

   gehen

   go

   More detail

   Soll ich combines sollen (“should/be expected to”) with ich (“I”). Soll is the first-person singular present form of sollen; in a question, placing it first creates a yes/no question: Soll ich ...? = “Should I ...?” or “Am I supposed to ...?” Example: Soll ich warten? — “Should I wait?” dann is an adverb meaning “then” here. It connects the proposed action with the situation or preceding decision: “then” or “in that case.” It does not itself express the destination. ans Ende is the contraction of an das Ende: an + the neuter accusative article das becomes ans. Ende is a neuter noun meaning “end.” With movement toward a destination, an takes the accusative here. The phrase therefore means “to the end”; in this queue-related context, the fixed translation gives the intended sense “to the back.” Example: Wir gehen ans Ende der Straße. — “We are going to the end of the street.” gehen means “to go” and is the infinitive. After the finite modal verb soll, the infinitive stays at the end of the question: Soll ich ... gehen? The modal carries the person and tense, while gehen names the action. Together, Soll ich dann ans Ende gehen? asks whether the speaker should go to the back/end at that point: “Should I go to the back, then?” The pattern Soll ich ...? is reusable for asking whether an action is appropriate or expected, and ans + destination can express movement to a destination when the noun and article require this contraction.

5. Bitte tun Sie das. Alle warten, bis sie an der Reihe sind.

   Please do. Everyone has been waiting for their turn.

   Bitte

   please

   tun Sie

   do (formal)

   das

   that; it

   Alle

   everyone

   warten

   wait

   sie

   they

   an der Reihe

   one’s turn

   sind

   are

   More detail

   Bitte is the usual polite word “please.” It can soften a request without changing the requested action. tun Sie forms a formal request. tun is the infinitive “do,” and German formal imperatives use the infinitive together with capitalized Sie: Tun Sie das. means “Do that.” Here the verb is tun; Sie is the formal second-person pronoun, not the plural informal ihr. das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or, in this context, “it.” It refers to an understood action rather than naming the action again. The pattern tun Sie das is reusable for a formal instruction. Alle means “everyone” or “all [the people].” It is the subject of the following clause. German alle refers to a plural group even though English “everyone” is grammatically singular. warten means “wait.” This is the present-tense plural form of warten, so it agrees with Alle: Alle warten means “Everyone is waiting.” In another present-tense subject, the form changes, for example Ich warte — “I am waiting.” bis introduces the point up to which something continues: “until.” It introduces the subordinate clause bis sie an der Reihe sind. sie here is the plural pronoun “they,” referring to the people included in Alle. Its form is different from capitalized formal Sie in tun Sie; capitalization and the grammatical role distinguish them here. an der Reihe is the fixed expression for being one’s turn. The full pattern is an der Reihe sein: Ich bin an der Reihe. — “It is my turn.” The dative article der belongs to the expression and should not be replaced simply because the person whose turn it is changes. sind is the third-person plural present form of sein (“be”). It agrees with sie: sie sind. In the subordinate clause, the finite verb comes at the end, giving bis sie an der Reihe sind rather than main-clause order. Together, Bitte tun Sie das is “Please do that.” Alle warten says that everyone is waiting, and bis sie an der Reihe sind specifies that this waiting continues until each person’s turn. The complete utterance is therefore: “Please do that. Everyone is waiting until it is their turn.”

6. Ich gehe nach hinten. Ich habe nur nicht gesehen, wo die Schlange anfängt.

   I will move back. I just missed where the line began.

   gehe

   go; move

   nach hinten

   to the back

   nur

   just; only

   nicht

   not

   gesehen

   seen

   wo

   where

   die Schlange

   the line; queue

   anfängt

   begins; starts

   More detail

   gehe is the first-person singular present form of gehen (“to go”). In this utterance, the present form expresses the speaker’s intended near-future movement, matching “I will move back.” The same form can describe movement happening now: Ich gehe nach Hause. — “I’m going home.” nach hinten means “toward the back” or “backward.” Together with gehen, it gives the reusable pattern nach hinten gehen: “to move/go to the back.” Here it refers to moving back in the queue, as the surrounding context makes clear. hinten contrasts with vorne (“at the back” versus “at the front”); nach marks direction toward a place. nur means “just” here, limiting the following statement rather than expressing a quantity. nicht is the negation word “not.” The combination nur nicht gesehen means “just didn’t see” in the fixed translation: the speaker says that the relevant information was missed, not that the whole preceding movement is negated. gesehen is the past participle of sehen (“to see”). It appears with habe, the first-person singular present form of haben, in the perfect construction Ich habe ... gesehen (“I saw / I have seen”). The participle stays gesehen with this subject; habe carries the subject and tense marking. Example: Ich habe den Anfang gesehen. — “I saw the beginning.” wo introduces a place clause meaning “where.” It is not the word for a destination such as “where to”; it asks or identifies the location itself. In wo die Schlange anfängt, it introduces the information about the point at which the line begins. die Schlange means “the line” or “the queue” here, not the animal sense that Schlange can have in other contexts. Schlange is a feminine noun, so the definite article is die in the singular nominative form used here. Example: Die Schlange ist lang. — “The line is long.” anfängt is the third-person singular present form of the separable verb anfangen, “to begin” or “to start.” Its base form is anfangen; the form here has the stem change a to ä and agrees with singular die Schlange: “the line begins.” In a main clause, the prefix separates: Die Schlange fängt an. — “The line starts.” In the subordinate clause after wo, it remains together and the finite verb comes at the end: wo die Schlange anfängt. Putting the parts together, Ich gehe nach hinten. says “I will move/go to the back.” Ich habe nur nicht gesehen, wo die Schlange anfängt. says “I just didn’t see where the line began.” The second sentence uses a perfect construction for the missed perception, and the wo clause specifies the location that was not seen. Together, the utterance explains the speaker’s move toward the back while identifying the point in the queue that the speaker failed to notice.

7. Das Ende der Schlange ist gleich hinter diesen Leuten.

   The end of the line is just past those people.

   Ende

   end

   Schlange

   line; queue

   gleich hinter

   just past

   diesen

   these; here rendered as “those”

   Leuten

   people

   More detail

   Ende means “end” here: the endpoint of the line. Its base form is das Ende; the plural is die Enden. Its useful opposite is Anfang (“beginning”). For example, Das Ende ist nah. means “The end is near.” Schlange means “line” or “queue” here, not “snake”; the surrounding context about where the line begins and waiting supports the intended sense. It is feminine: die Schlange, with plural die Schlangen. For example, Die Schlange ist lang. means “The line is long.” gleich hinter places something immediately beyond or just past a reference point. gleich means “just” in this use, while hinter is the preposition meaning “behind” or, in this location, “past.” The phrase gleich hinter dem Haus can mean “just behind the house.” diesen is the demonstrative form used with the following plural noun in this phrase. Here it is dative plural, because hinter describes a location rather than movement toward a place. The nominative plural is diese, as in diese Leute; the fixed English translation renders the identified group as “those people,” but the observed German form is diesen. Leuten is the plural form of Leute, meaning “people.” Leute is normally used as a plural noun, and Leuten is its dative plural form, marked here after the locative hinter. For example, Ich stehe hinter den Leuten. means “I am standing behind the people.” Together, Das Ende (“the end”) and der Schlange (“of the line”) form “the end of the line.” gleich hinter diesen Leuten locates that end just past the identified people. The complete utterance is therefore: “The end of the line is just past those people.”

8. Jetzt sehe ich es. Ich werde dort warten.

   I see it now. I will wait there.

   Jetzt

   now

   sehe

   see

   es

   it

   Ich werde

   I will

   dort

   there

   warten

   wait

   More detail

   Jetzt means “now” and places the seeing at the present moment. It is a useful time adverb and can move for emphasis: Jetzt sehe ich es. means “Now I see it.” sehe is the first-person singular present form of sehen (“to see”): ich sehe, du siehst, er/sie/es sieht. Here the present form describes the speaker’s current perception. Example: Ich sehe den Weg. — “I see the way.” es is an accusative pronoun meaning “it” here. Its grammatical form is neuter singular, but the supplied sentence does not identify what es refers to. The form is not itself a claim about a particular nearby noun. Example: Ich sehe es nicht. — “I do not see it.” Ich werde combines the subject pronoun ich (“I”) with the first-person singular present form of werden. With a following infinitive, werden forms the German future: ich werde .... The future auxiliary is conjugated, while the main verb remains an infinitive. Example: Ich werde morgen kommen. — “I will come tomorrow.” dort means “there,” referring to a location understood from the situation without specifying that location in this sentence. It is a location adverb. Example: Wir warten dort. — “We are waiting there.” warten is the infinitive “to wait.” With Ich werde, it stays in the infinitive and appears at the end of this main clause. The present form is ich warte; the infinitive is warten. Example: Ich warte auf den Bus. — “I am waiting for the bus.” Together, Jetzt sehe ich es means “I see it now”: sehe expresses the speaker’s current seeing, es is the thing seen, and jetzt marks the time. Ich werde dort warten means “I will wait there”: ich werde marks a future action, dort gives its location, and final warten supplies the action. The complete utterance is therefore “I see it now. I will wait there.”

9. Damit sollte die Reihenfolge klar bleiben.

   That should keep the order clear.

   Damit

   that way / with that

   sollte

   should

   Reihenfolge

   order / sequence

   klar

   clear

   bleiben

   remain / stay

   More detail

   Damit is a German pronominal adverb meaning “with that” or “by that”; here it refers to the means or measure and is naturally translated as “that way.” It is distinct from the subordinating conjunction damit meaning “so that,” which introduces a following clause. sollte is the third-person singular form used here with the singular subject die Reihenfolge, and the fixed translation gives it the meaning “should.” It expresses an expected or intended result in this sentence. Its infinitive is sollen; other forms include sollten for third-person plural. Example: Das sollte funktionieren. — “That should work.” Reihenfolge means “order” or “sequence.” It is a feminine noun, which is why the definite article in die Reihenfolge is die. The related noun Reihe means “row” or “series,” but it is not the base form of Reihenfolge in this sentence. klar means “clear” here. After bleiben, it is a predicative adjective, so it has no adjective ending: klar bleiben. Its comparison forms are klarer (“clearer”) and am klarsten (“clearest”). Example: Die Regel bleibt klar. — “The rule remains clear.” bleiben means “to remain” or “to stay.” It is the infinitive at the end of this clause because it follows the modal verb sollte. In klar bleiben, klar describes the continuing state of the subject. Example: Bitte bleiben Sie ruhig. — “Please remain calm.” Together, Damit sollte presents an expected result or effect, die Reihenfolge is the subject whose state is described, and klar bleiben says that this state continues. The complete meaning is: “That should keep the order clear.”

10. Ich habe die Situation falsch verstanden, aber ich kann das in Ordnung bringen.

    I misunderstood the situation, but I can fix it.

    Ich habe

    I have

    die Situation

    the situation

    falsch

    wrongly

    verstanden

    understood

    aber

    but

    ich kann

    I can

    das

    it; that

    in Ordnung bringen

    fix; put right

    More detail

    Ich habe begins a German perfect-tense construction when it is followed by the past participle verstanden. Here, habe is the first-person singular present form of haben, and it functions as the auxiliary; the completed action is expressed by verstanden at the end of the clause. Example: Ich habe den Film gesehen. — “I watched the film.” die Situation means “the situation.” Situation is a feminine noun, so its definite article is die in the accusative form used here. The article reflects the noun’s grammatical gender and case; it does not indicate that there is more than one situation. falsch describes how the action was carried out here: “wrongly” or “incorrectly.” German can use an adjective in this adverbial way without changing its form. Example: Du hast die Frage falsch verstanden. — “You misunderstood the question.” verstanden is the past participle of verstehen (“to understand”). The useful chain is verstehen → verstanden; with haben, it forms the perfect: Ich habe ... verstanden — “I understood / have understood ...”. In this sentence, falsch verstanden means “misunderstood,” rather than simply “understood something incorrectly” as a separate result. aber connects two contrasting clauses and means “but.” It does not change the tense or person of either clause. Example: Ich bin müde, aber ich arbeite weiter. — “I am tired, but I continue working.” ich kann expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility: “I can.” kann is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb können. With a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end of the clause. Example: Ich kann dir helfen. — “I can help you.” das is the pronoun “it” or “that” here, functioning as the object of bringen. The fixed translation supports an object to be fixed, but it does not uniquely identify that object beyond the supplied wording. Its form should therefore not be presented as a direct restatement of the feminine noun Situation; German pronoun choice depends on the intended referent and grammatical form. Example: Ich sehe das. — “I see it.” in Ordnung bringen is a reusable construction meaning “to fix something” or “to put something right.” bringen is the infinitive of “to bring,” but in this construction in Ordnung gives it the sense of restoring something to a satisfactory state. After kann, the infinitive remains at the end: Ich kann das in Ordnung bringen. — “I can fix it.” Together, Ich habe die Situation falsch verstanden says “I misunderstood the situation”: the speaker uses the perfect construction, with falsch specifying the manner of understanding. aber contrasts that completed misunderstanding with ich kann das in Ordnung bringen, “but I can fix it,” where kann introduces the infinitive construction in Ordnung bringen. The complete utterance therefore means: “I misunderstood the situation, but I can fix it.”