Checking a restaurant order | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Könnten wir unsere Bestellung überprüfen, bevor das Essen kommt?

   Could we review our order before the food comes out?

   Könnten wir

   Could we

   Bestellung

   order

   überprüfen

   review; check

   bevor

   before

   Essen

   food

   kommt

   comes

   More detail

   Könnten wir is a reusable polite way to ask “Could we …?” Könnten is the form of können (“can; be able to”) used here for a tentative or polite request. wir means “we” and is the subject. Compare Können wir …? (“Can we …?”), which is more direct. Bestellung means “order” here, specifically the order being checked. It is a feminine noun: die Bestellung; in this sentence, unsere Bestellung is the object of überprüfen, so the possessive form is unsere. The noun is useful in service situations: eine Bestellung aufgeben means “to place an order.” überprüfen means “to check” or “to review” carefully. It is the base form, an infinitive, and follows the modal verb könnten: Wir könnten die Bestellung überprüfen (“We could check the order”). The separable verb nachprüfen can also mean “to verify,” but it is a different verb and should not be treated as the base of überprüfen. bevor means “before” and introduces an event that has not happened yet relative to the checking. In the clause introduced by bevor, German places the finite verb at the end: bevor das Essen kommt. Essen means “food” here. It is a noun written with a capital letter: das Essen, a neuter noun. Do not confuse this noun with the verb form essen (“to eat”), which is written in lowercase. kommt means “comes” here. It is the third-person singular present form of kommen: ich komme, du kommst, er/sie/es kommt. Its subject is das Essen, which is grammatically singular. In this restaurant context, the translation “comes out” makes the intended situation clear; the German form itself is simply kommt (“comes”). Together, unsere Bestellung überprüfen means “review our order.” The subordinate clause bevor das Essen kommt adds the time relationship “before the food comes out.” Thus the complete utterance politely asks whether the speakers may review their order before the food arrives.

2. Was möchten Sie bestätigen?

   What would you like to confirm?

   Was

   what

   möchten Sie

   would you like

   bestätigen

   confirm

   More detail

   Was asks for a thing or piece of information: “what.” It is the German question word for an unspecified thing. For example, Was lesen Sie? means “What are you reading?” möchten Sie expresses a polite desire or request directed to one person formally, or to more than one person. möchten is the form used with Sie; it is commonly used in questions such as Was möchten Sie trinken? — “What would you like to drink?” The pronoun Sie is the formal “you” and is always capitalized in this use. The nearby context does not identify a more specific person beyond this formal addressee or addressees. bestätigen is the infinitive meaning “to confirm,” such as confirming information, a choice, or an order. In a question with a modal-like form such as möchten, the other verb remains in the infinitive and appears at the end: Möchten Sie warten? — “Would you like to wait?” Together, Was asks which thing or information, möchten Sie asks politely about the addressee’s wish, and bestätigen names the action. The whole utterance therefore means “What would you like to confirm?” It is a polite, formal question about the item or information the addressee wishes to confirm.

3. Ich habe um die milde Variante gebeten, nicht um die scharfe.

   I asked for the mild version, not the spicy one.

   Ich habe

   I have

   um

   for

   milde

   mild

   Variante

   version

   gebeten

   asked

   nicht

   not

   die scharfe

   the spicy one

   More detail

   Ich habe begins the German perfect tense here. habe is the first-person singular present form of haben, agreeing with Ich; the lexical verb appears later as the participle gebeten. This is not simply the possession meaning “I have.” Reusable pattern: Ich habe ... gebeten. — “I asked ... .” um belongs to the construction bitten um + accusative: it introduces what someone asks for. For example, Ich bitte um Hilfe. means “I ask for help.” milde is the adjective mild, meaning “mild” here in the sense of a non-spicy flavor. Its useful comparison chain is mild – milder – am mildesten (“mild – milder – mildest”). In die milde Variante, Variante is feminine and um requires the accusative; with the definite article die, the adjective has the ending -e. Variante is a feminine noun meaning “version” or “option”; its plural is Varianten. Thus die milde Variante means “the mild version.” gebeten is the past participle of bitten: bitten – bat – hat gebeten (“ask – asked – has asked”). Together with habe, it forms the perfect habe ... gebeten, meaning “asked.” The construction jemanden um etwas bitten means “ask someone for something,” while this sentence states what was requested without naming the person asked. nicht marks the contrastive negation here. It does not reject the entire act of asking; it excludes the item introduced by the following um phrase. The pattern nicht A, sondern B can likewise contrast alternatives, although this sentence uses nicht with the requested alternative rather than stating sondern. die scharfe means “the spicy one” in this food context. It functions as an adjective-like replacement for an omitted feminine noun, understood from the first phrase as Variante: die scharfe [Variante]. scharfe is the adjective scharf with the feminine accusative ending -e after die; feminine nominative has the same article and adjective ending in this pattern. The supplied text writes this form in lowercase; the explanation preserves that observed form rather than silently changing it. mild and scharf provide the relevant flavor contrast in this utterance. For example, Ich nehme die scharfe Soße. means “I’ll take the spicy sauce.” The sentence combines Ich habe ... gebeten with um die milde Variante: “I asked for the mild version.” The following nicht um die scharfe supplies the contrast and omits the repeated noun: “not the spicy one.” The complete meaning is therefore “I asked for the mild version, not the spicy one.”

4. Ich kläre das mit der Küche.

   Let me check that with the kitchen.

   Ich

   I

   kläre

   check / clarify

   das

   that

   Küche

   kitchen

   More detail

   Ich means “I” and is the first-person singular pronoun. It is the subject of the sentence. German subject pronouns include ich “I,” du “you” (singular), and wir “we”; the verb form must agree with the subject. kläre is the first-person singular present form of klären, “to clarify, check, or sort out.” The ending -e marks the ich form here: ich kläre. The exact English choice depends on the situation; in this sentence, the fixed translation supports “check.” Example: Ich kläre das morgen. — “I’ll check that tomorrow.” das means “that” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun referring to something already understood in the conversation, without the sentence itself specifying a new noun. Its form is accusative singular neuter in this use, because it is the direct object of klären. German demonstratives change form with grammatical gender, number, and case; compare nominative das with accusative das for a neuter singular referent, while feminine accusative is die. Küche means “kitchen.” Its base form is the feminine noun die Küche; the noun itself is capitalized because German nouns are capitalized. In mit der Küche, mit takes the dative case, so the feminine singular article changes from die to der: mit der Küche — “with the kitchen.” The chunks combine as Ich kläre das (“I’ll check that”) + mit der Küche (“with the kitchen”). Thus the complete utterance means “Let me check that with the kitchen.” Here, “the kitchen” is treated as the relevant party or department being consulted; the sentence does not identify a particular person in it.

5. Bei der Beilage mache ich mir am meisten Sorgen.

   The side dish is the part I am most worried about.

   Beilage

   side dish

   mache ich mir … Sorgen

   be worried

   am meisten

   most of all

   More detail

   Beilage means “side dish” here. The noun is feminine: die Beilage; its plural is die Beilagen. In this sentence, bei der Beilage means “as for/regarding the side dish.” The preposition bei takes the dative, so feminine die becomes der. mache ich mir ... Sorgen is the reusable German construction sich Sorgen machen, “to worry.” In the first person, the reflexive dative form is mir: Ich mache mir Sorgen = “I am worried.” The observed mache is the present-tense form of machen for ich; the subject pronoun ich appears after the finite verb because the sentence begins with Bei der Beilage. Sorgen is conventionally plural in this expression. Example: Wir machen uns Sorgen. — “We are worried.” am meisten expresses the highest degree, “the most.” A useful comparison chain is viel – mehr – am meisten (“much/a lot – more – the most”). Here it indicates that this is the part causing the greatest worry; it does not change the noun Beilage. Together, Bei der Beilage sets the topic, mache ich mir Sorgen says that the speaker is worried, and am meisten marks the greatest degree. The complete meaning is: “The side dish is the part I am most worried about.”

6. Ich kann einen deutlichen Hinweis hinzufügen, damit die Bestellung richtig zubereitet wird.

   I can add a clear note so the order is prepared correctly.

   Ich kann

   I can

   deutlichen

   clear

   Hinweis

   note

   hinzufügen

   add

   damit

   so that

   Bestellung

   order

   richtig

   correctly

   zubereitet wird

   is prepared

   More detail

   Ich kann means “I can” here. kann is the first-person singular present form of können. As a modal verb, it is followed by another verb in the infinitive: Ich kann helfen. — “I can help.” The modal expresses ability or possibility; the fixed translation supports the ability/possibility reading here. deutlichen describes Hinweis and means “clear” in this sentence. Its base form is deutlich. The ending -en reflects the masculine accusative phrase einen deutlichen Hinweis: the article marks masculine accusative, and the adjective takes the corresponding weak ending. Example: Ich lese einen deutlichen Hinweis. — “I read a clear note.” Hinweis is a masculine noun meaning “note” or “indication”; its plural is Hinweise. In this utterance it is the thing being added. Example: Der Hinweis ist hilfreich. — “The note is helpful.” hinzufügen means “to add.” It is the infinitive used after the modal kann; with a modal, German uses the infinitive without zu. In a finite clause, this separable verb appears as ich füge ... hinzu: Ich füge einen Satz hinzu. — “I add a sentence.” damit introduces the purpose of the preceding action: “so that.” It begins a subordinate clause, and the finite verb of that clause goes to the end. Example: Ich schreibe es auf, damit niemand es vergisst. — “I write it down so that nobody forgets it.” Bestellung is a feminine noun meaning “order.” In die Bestellung its form is identical for nominative and accusative, but here it is the subject of the passive clause: the order is what gets prepared. Its plural is Bestellungen. richtig is an adverb here, describing how the preparation is carried out: “correctly” or “properly.” The related adjective is also richtig, but an adjective modifying a noun would take an ending, as in die richtige Bestellung — “the correct order.” zubereitet wird expresses “is prepared.” zubereitet is the past participle of zubereiten, and wird is the third-person singular present form of werden. Together they form the present passive: the order receives the action. In the subordinate clause, the participle comes before the finite auxiliary: Die Mahlzeit wird zubereitet. — “The meal is prepared.” The sentence assembles as Ich kann + einen deutlichen Hinweis hinzufügen: “I can add a clear note.” damit then introduces the intended purpose, die Bestellung richtig zubereitet wird: “so that the order is prepared correctly.” Because this is a subordinate clause introduced by damit, wird stands at the end. The complete meaning is: “I can add a clear note so the order is prepared correctly.”

7. Das hilft. Wir möchten nur, dass wir genau das bekommen, was wir bestellt haben.

   That helps. We just want the meal to match our order.

   hilft

   helps

   Wir möchten

   we want

   nur

   only; just

   genau das

   exactly that

   bekommen

   get; receive

   was

   what; that which

   bestellt

   ordered

   More detail

   hilft means “helps” here. It is the third-person singular present form of helfen (“to help”): ich helfe, du hilfst, er/sie/es hilft. In Das hilft, Das is the subject, referring to what has just been said or done in the situation. Wir möchten means “we want” or, more softly, “we would like”. möchten is the first-person plural form used for a present wish or request. It is historically related to mögen, but in current German it is commonly learned and used as its own polite wish form; it is not the infinitive of a regular verb. Compare ich möchte (“I would like”), wir möchten (“we would like”), and sie möchten (“they would like”). An infinitive commonly follows it: Wir möchten warten. — “We would like to wait.” nur means “just” or “only”. Here it limits the group’s request: their stated wish is specifically to receive what they ordered. Its precise scope comes from its position in the sentence. genau das means “exactly that”. genau emphasizes precision, while das is a demonstrative pronoun. Here the fixed translation identifies the intended thing as the meal matching their order. A demonstrative pronoun can refer to something understood from the situation without repeating its noun. bekommen means “get” or “receive”. It is the infinitive after möchten: Wir möchten das bekommen. — “We would like to get that.” The form itself does not identify the recipient; the subject wir supplies that participant here. was introduces the clause meaning “what” or “that which”. In das, was ..., it refers back to das and introduces information specifying that thing. Here it is a relative-clause word, not the question word in a direct question. bestellt means “ordered” here. It is the past participle of bestellen (“to order”): bestellen → bestellt. With haben, it forms the perfect, as in wir haben bestellt — “we ordered” or “we have ordered”. In the relative clause was wir bestellt haben, the finite auxiliary haben comes at the end, while bestellt appears before it. The subject of this clause is wir, the people who placed the order. Taken together, Das hilft. means “That helps.” The second sentence has the structure Wir möchten ... bekommen (“We want to get ...”), with nur limiting the request and genau das identifying the desired thing. The relative clause was wir bestellt haben specifies it as the meal they ordered. The whole utterance therefore means: “That helps. We just want the meal to match our order.”

8. Ich verstehe. Es ist besser, das zu überprüfen, bevor das Essen kommt.

   I understand. It is better to check before the food arrives.

   verstehe

   understand

   besser

   better

   das

   that

   zu überprüfen

   to check

   bevor

   before

   das

   the

   Essen

   food

   kommt

   arrives

   More detail

   verstehe is the first-person singular present form of verstehen (“to understand”): ich verstehe = “I understand.” The verb has different personal endings, for example du verstehst, but verstehe is the form used with ich. besser is the comparative of gut (“good”): gut → besser (“better”) → am besten (“best”). Here it evaluates the proposed action as preferable. Example: Es ist besser, früh zu gehen. — “It is better to leave early.” The first das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Here it refers to the matter that should be checked; the surrounding context connects that matter with ensuring that the meal matches the order. As a pronoun, it is separate from the noun phrase das Essen later in the sentence. zu überprüfen is the infinitive construction “to check” or “to verify.” Its base form is überprüfen; zu marks the infinitive here. A reusable pattern is Es ist besser, ... zu überprüfen — “It is better to check ... .” Example: Es ist besser, die Angaben zu überprüfen. — “It is better to check the information.” bevor introduces a time clause meaning “before.” The event in its clause is later than the relevant event in the main clause: the checking happens before the food comes. In German, the finite verb normally goes to the end of a clause introduced by bevor. The second das is not the pronoun “that”; it is the definite article “the.” It agrees with the neuter singular noun Essen in the noun phrase das Essen. The article itself does not express a numerical count. Essen is the neuter noun meaning “food” here. Its article is das: das Essen. The lowercase form essen is also the infinitive of the verb “to eat,” but the capitalized form in this sentence is a noun, shown by the article and capitalization. kommt is the third-person singular present form of kommen (“to come”). The subject here is das Essen, so the form is singular: das Essen kommt. German present tense can describe an expected future event when the time is clear. Because it is inside the bevor clause, kommt appears at the end of that clause. Together, Es ist besser gives the evaluation “it is better.” The infinitive phrase das zu überprüfen identifies what is better to do: check that matter. The time clause bevor das Essen kommt specifies when to do it: before the food arrives. The complete meaning is: “I understand. It is better to check that before the food arrives.”

9. Könnten Sie die Bestellung bestätigen, bevor das Essen serviert wird?

   Could you confirm the order before the food is served?

   Könnten Sie

   Could you

   Bestellung

   order

   bestätigen

   confirm

   bevor

   before

   Essen

   food

   serviert wird

   is served

   More detail

   Könnten Sie is a polite request pattern meaning “Could you ...?” Könnten is the form of können used with Sie here. The modal verb is in the subjunctive II form, which makes the request more tentative and polite than the direct question Können Sie ...?. In this formal address, Sie is capitalized and takes the same verb form as a third-person plural subject. Bestellung means “order” here, specifically the order being confirmed. It is a feminine noun: die Bestellung; its plural is die Bestellungen. The related verb bestellen means “to order,” while bestätigen means “to confirm,” so these are different actions. bestätigen means “to confirm.” It is the infinitive because it follows the modal verb könnten: Sie könnten ... bestätigen (“you could ... confirm”). A useful pattern is etwas bestätigen, for example: Bitte bestätigen Sie die Reservierung. — “Please confirm the reservation.” bevor introduces a subordinate clause describing an earlier time: one event happens before another. In German, the conjugated verb goes to the end of a clause introduced by bevor, as in bevor das Essen serviert wird. Essen means “food” in this sentence. It is a neuter noun: das Essen. The same form can also mean “meal” in other contexts, but the fixed translation supports the meaning “food” here. Do not confuse it with the verb essen (“to eat”); capitalization marks the noun in this sentence. serviert wird means “is served.” This is a passive construction: serviert is the past participle of servieren, and wird is the present-tense form of werden used to form the passive. The food is the thing receiving the action, not the actor performing it. Compare the active sentence Das Personal serviert das Essen. — “The staff serves the food.” Together, Könnten Sie die Bestellung bestätigen asks politely whether the addressed person can confirm the order. bevor das Essen serviert wird sets the time limit: this confirmation should happen before the food is served. The complete meaning is: “Could you confirm the order before the food is served?”

10. Ich prüfe das jetzt und sage Ihnen, ob etwas geändert werden muss.

    Let me check now and tell you if anything needs changing.

    Ich

    I

    prüfe

    check

    das

    it / that

    jetzt

    now

    sage

    tell / say

    Ihnen

    you (formal)

    etwas

    anything

    geändert werden muss

    needs changing

    More detail

    Ich is the first-person singular pronoun “I.” It is the subject of both coordinated actions: Ich prüfe ... und sage .... German subject pronouns include ich “I,” du informal singular “you,” and Sie formal “you”; capitalization distinguishes formal Sie from the ordinary third-person plural pronoun sie. prüfe means “check” here. Its base form is prüfen; prüfe is the present-tense first-person singular form: ich prüfe “I check/am checking.” Example: Ich prüfe die Angaben. — “I am checking the information.” das is an object pronoun meaning “it” or “that” here. It refers to the matter just mentioned; with the supplied context, that matter is the order. As a pronoun, it is separate from the article das, which can introduce a neuter noun. Example: Ich prüfe das. — “I’ll check it.” jetzt means “now” and places the checking at the present time. It can move within a German clause for emphasis, but here it appears directly after the object: Ich prüfe das jetzt — “I’ll check it now.” und joins the two actions. The second subject is understood to be the same ich, so Ich prüfe ... und sage ... means “I check ... and tell ...,” not that a new person is introduced. sage means “tell/say” here. Its base form is sagen; sage is the present-tense first-person singular form, matching the understood subject ich: ich sage. With a person as an indirect object, German commonly uses jemandem etwas sagen (“tell someone something”). Example: Ich sage Ihnen die Antwort. — “I’ll tell you the answer.” Ihnen is the formal “you” in the dative case, used here as the person being told. The capital letter is required for formal address. This form does not itself specify singular or plural: Ihnen can address one person formally or several people formally. The related informal dative forms are dir for one person and euch for several people. ob introduces an indirect yes-or-no question, meaning “whether” or, naturally in this English sentence, “if.” The clause after it is not a direct question; German places its finite verb at the end. etwas means “something” in its basic use and “anything” in this indirect question. It is the subject of the subordinate clause: the sentence asks whether anything needs to be changed. The form itself does not mark a particular quantity or person. Example: Ob etwas fehlt, weiß ich nicht. — “I don’t know whether anything is missing.” geändert werden muss expresses “needs changing” through a passive construction with a modal verb. geändert is the past participle of ändern (“change”); werden forms the passive (“be changed”); and muss is the third-person singular present form of müssen (“must/have to”). The subject etwas is what must undergo the change, not the person being told. In the subordinate clause, the participle comes first, the passive auxiliary next, and the finite modal muss last: etwas geändert werden muss. Together, Ich prüfe das jetzt means “I’ll check it now,” and und sage Ihnen adds “and tell you.” ob etwas geändert werden muss specifies what will be reported: whether anything needs to be changed. The complete utterance therefore means: “Let me check now and tell you if anything needs changing.”