Describing Cough Symptoms Before Calling a Clinic | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich muss in der Klinik anrufen, weil mein Husten nicht besser wird.

   I need to call the clinic because my cough is not getting better.

   Ich muss

   I need to

   Klinik

   clinic

   anrufen

   call by phone

   weil

   because

   Husten

   cough

   besser

   better

   wird

   gets; becomes

   More detail

   Ich muss combines the subject ich (“I”) with müssen (“must; need to”). muss is the first-person singular present form of müssen. With another verb, müssen expresses necessity, and the other verb goes to the end of the clause: Ich muss heute arbeiten. — “I need to work today.” Klinik means “clinic”. It is a feminine noun: die Klinik; after in here, the phrase in der Klinik uses the dative because it describes a fixed location. The noun itself does not change for this case; the article changes from die to der. Example: Ich bin in der Klinik. — “I am in the clinic.” anrufen means “to call by phone”. It is a separable verb: in a main clause, the finite part is separated and placed at the end, as in Ich rufe die Klinik an. — “I call the clinic.” After the modal muss, the infinitive remains together: Ich muss die Klinik anrufen. — “I need to call the clinic.” In the supplied sentence, anrufen is therefore the second verb governed by muss. weil introduces a reason clause, meaning “because”. In a clause beginning with weil, the finite verb normally goes to the end: Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin. — “I am staying at home because I am ill.” Husten means “cough”. It is a masculine noun: der Husten. In mein Husten, mein is the masculine singular nominative form of the possessive determiner because Husten is the subject of the reason clause. Possessive forms agree with the noun’s grammatical gender, number, and case: compare mein Husten with meine Klinik (“my clinic”). besser means “better” here. It is the comparative form of gut (“good”): gut → besser → am besten (“good” → “better” → “best”). This form compares the cough’s current condition with an earlier or expected condition. Example: Mein Husten ist besser. — “My cough is better.” wird is the third-person singular present form of werden (“to become; get”). With an adjective, werden describes a change of state: Es wird besser. — “It is getting better.” The negation nicht belongs to the surrounding clause, so nicht besser wird means “is not getting better.” Together, mein Husten nicht besser wird forms the reason clause “because my cough is not getting better”. The main clause Ich muss in der Klinik anrufen means “I need to call the clinic”: in der Klinik identifies the clinic as the place or institution being called, while the separable verb anrufen remains in infinitive form after muss. Thus the complete utterance means: “I need to call the clinic because my cough is not getting better.”

2. Sag ihnen, was sich verändert hat und was dir am meisten Sorgen macht.

   Tell them what has changed and what worries you most.

   Sag

   tell

   ihnen

   them

   was sich verändert hat

   what has changed

   was

   what

   dir … Sorgen macht

   causes you worry

   am meisten

   most

   More detail

   Sag is the informal singular imperative of sagen (“to say” or “to tell”). The subject du is understood, so Sag addresses one person informally. The formal imperative is Sagen Sie, used for one or more people addressed formally. Example: Sag mir die Wahrheit. — “Tell me the truth.” ihnen means “to them” here. It is the dative form of the third-person plural pronoun sie (“they”): sie as a subject becomes ihnen when they are the indirect recipient. Sag ihnen therefore means “Tell them”; the person being told is marked by the dative. was sich verändert hat is a subordinate content clause meaning “what has changed.” was introduces the thing or situation being described. sich verändern means “to change”; sich is the reflexive element belonging to that verb, not a separate person identified by the context. verändert hat is the perfect tense: the participle verändert combines with the auxiliary hat from haben. In this subordinate clause, the finite auxiliary comes at the end. Example: Ich weiß, was sich verändert hat. — “I know what has changed.” The second was introduces a second content clause, again meaning “what,” and is the subject of the clause that follows. German places the finite verb at the end of this subordinate clause, so was ... macht corresponds to “what ... worries.” dir means “you” in the dative form of the informal singular pronoun du. In jemandem Sorgen machen, literally “to cause someone worries,” the worried person is expressed with the dative. Thus dir ... Sorgen macht means “worries you.” The dative form is dir; the formal or plural counterpart is Ihnen. Sorgen macht is part of the construction Sorgen machen, used here for “to cause worries” or “to worry someone.” Sorgen is the noun “worries,” and macht is the third-person singular present form of machen (“to make”). The subject is was, so the verb is singular. Example: Das macht mir Sorgen. — “That worries me.” am meisten means “most” in a comparison. It is the superlative adverbial form related to viel (“much”): viel — “much,” mehr — “more,” am meisten — “most.” Here it specifies the greatest worry among the relevant worries: was dir am meisten Sorgen macht, “what worries you most.” The utterance combines the imperative Sag ihnen (“Tell them”) with two coordinated content clauses: was sich verändert hat (“what has changed”) and was dir am meisten Sorgen macht (“what worries you most”). The full meaning is: “Tell them what has changed and what worries you most.”

3. Er ist schlimmer geworden, und ich fühle mich fiebrig und müde.

   It has gotten worse, and I feel feverish and tired.

   Er

   it

   schlimmer

   worse

   ist … geworden

   has become

   ich fühle mich

   I feel

   fiebrig

   feverish

   müde

   tired

   More detail

   Er is a masculine singular third-person pronoun. Here the fixed translation renders it as “it,” referring to the situation or condition being discussed; the supplied sentence does not identify that referent more specifically. The form Er itself marks masculine singular, not the grammatical gender of an English “it.” schlimmer means “worse” here. It is the comparative form of schlimm (“bad”): schlimm → schlimmer → am schlimmsten (“worst”). The comparative says that the condition has become more severe than before; it does not identify what caused the change. ist geworden is the perfect construction of werden (“to become”): ist is the third-person singular present form of the auxiliary sein, and geworden is the past participle of werden. Together with schlimmer, it means “has become worse.” German places the participle geworden at the end of this clause. For example: Die Situation ist besser geworden. — “The situation has gotten better.” ich fühle mich means “I feel.” fühlen is the base verb, and fühle is its first-person singular present form. mich is the reflexive pronoun referring back to ich; this construction describes the speaker’s own state. With a different subject, the reflexive form changes, for example: Sie fühlt sich müde. — “She feels tired.” fiebrig is an adjective meaning “feverish.” In this sentence it describes the speaker’s state after fühle mich; it is not an inflected form here. A useful related adjective is fieberfrei (“free of fever”), but it expresses the opposite condition rather than merely a different degree. müde is an adjective meaning “tired.” Like fiebrig, it is used as a predicate describing how the speaker feels. It can also occur after sein, as in Ich bin müde. — “I am tired.” The sentence first states the change in condition: Er ist schlimmer geworden — “It has gotten worse.” The conjunction und then links that statement to the speaker’s own report: ich fühle mich fiebrig und müde — “I feel feverish and tired.” The two adjectives fiebrig and müde describe the same speaker and are coordinated by und. Together, the utterance means: “It has gotten worse, and I feel feverish and tired.”

4. Sag, wann er angefangen hat und ob etwas geholfen hat.

   Mention when it started and whether anything has helped.

   Sag

   mention; say

   wann

   when

   angefangen

   started

   ob

   whether

   etwas

   something; anything

   geholfen

   helped

   More detail

   Sag is the singular informal imperative of sagen (“to say” or “to tell”). Here the fixed translation makes “mention” the best contextual meaning. The imperative addresses one person; the polite plural/formal form is Sagen Sie, while sagt addresses several familiar people. wann introduces an embedded question about time: “when.” In wann er angefangen hat, German places the finite auxiliary hat at the end of the subordinate clause. wann asks for a time; wenn is commonly used for “if” or for recurring situations, so it is not the appropriate form here. angefangen is the past participle of anfangen (“to begin, start”). The perfect pattern is hat angefangen (“has started” or “started”): anfangen → angefangen, with the auxiliary haben. The German pronoun er is singular and masculine in form; the fixed translation renders its intended meaning here as “it,” without naming the concrete thing referred to. ob introduces an embedded yes-or-no question: “whether.” It does not ask for a time or another information word. In the second coordinated clause, ob etwas geholfen hat, the finite auxiliary again comes last. etwas is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something”; in this question, “anything” is the natural English rendering. It is the subject of geholfen hat, but it does not assert a particular identified thing. geholfen is the past participle of helfen (“to help” or “to be helpful”), used here in hat geholfen (“has helped” or “helped”). Its participle is irregular: helfen → geholfen, not gehelft. With a person who benefits, helfen commonly takes a dative object, as in Das hat mir geholfen (“That helped me”); in this sentence, etwas itself is the subject and no beneficiary is stated. The imperative Sag takes two coordinated embedded questions as its content: wann er angefangen hat asks when it started, and ob etwas geholfen hat asks whether anything has helped. Together, the sentence means: “Mention when it started and whether anything has helped.”

5. Ich muss auch wissen, was ich tun soll, wenn mein Husten heute Abend schlimmer wird.

   I also need to know what to do if it gets worse tonight.

   Ich muss

   I need to / I must

   auch

   also

   wissen

   know

   was

   what

   tun

   do

   soll

   should / am supposed to

   wenn

   if / when

   Husten

   cough

   heute Abend

   tonight

   schlimmer

   worse

   wird

   becomes / gets

   More detail

   Ich muss means “I need to” or “I must.” The observed form muss is the first-person singular present form of müssen; the subject Ich determines it. Compare du musst (“you must”) and sie müssen (“they must” or formal “you must”). Example: Ich muss gehen. — “I have to go.” auch adds “also” or “too.” It marks this as an additional thing the speaker needs to know. Its position can affect emphasis, but here it contributes the meaning “also.” wissen means “to know,” especially information or an answer. It is the infinitive after muss; German places this infinitive at the end of the clause headed by the modal verb. Example: Ich muss das wissen. — “I need to know that.” was introduces the content of knowing: “what.” In was ich tun soll, it begins an indirect question. In a direct question, the finite verb comes earlier: Was soll ich tun? — “What should I do?” In an indirect question, the finite verb goes to the end: Ich weiß, was ich tun soll. — “I know what I should do.” tun means “to do.” It is the infinitive in the reusable pattern was tun (“what to do”), and it remains an infinitive because soll is the modal verb in this clause. Example: Ich weiß nicht, was ich tun soll. — “I do not know what I should do.” soll expresses what someone should do or is supposed to do. It is the first-person singular present form of sollen here, because its subject is ich in was ich tun soll. The form soll is also used with third-person singular subjects; the subject identifies the person: ich soll, du sollst, er/sie soll. In this indirect question, the infinitive tun comes before the finite modal form at the end: was ich tun soll. wenn introduces the condition “if” here: the advice about what to do applies if the cough becomes worse. The same word can mean “when” for a repeated or future situation, but “if” is the relevant meaning in this utterance. Example: Ruf an, wenn du Hilfe brauchst. — “Call if you need help.” Husten means “cough.” The noun Husten is masculine. In mein Husten, it is the subject of wird, so the noun phrase is nominative; the possessive form mein is compatible with masculine nominative, but that form alone does not establish the noun’s gender. The noun is not an action verb here. Example: Mein Husten ist stark. — “My cough is severe.” heute Abend means “tonight,” literally “this evening.” heute means “today,” and Abend means “evening”; together they specify the relevant evening. Example: Ich komme heute Abend. — “I am coming tonight.” schlimmer means “worse.” It is the comparative form of schlimm (“bad” or “severe”): schlimm → schlimmer → am schlimmsten (“worst”). Here it describes the cough as becoming more severe than before or than a comparison point, without specifying that point. Example: Der Schmerz wird schlimmer. — “The pain is getting worse.” wird means “becomes” or “gets” here. It is the third-person singular present form of werden, agreeing with the singular subject mein Husten. In schlimmer wird, werden describes a change of state, not simply a future auxiliary. Compare Der Husten wird schlimmer (“The cough gets worse”) with Der Husten ist schlimm (“The cough is severe”). Together, Ich muss auch wissen says “I also need to know.” The indirect question was ich tun soll supplies the information that must be known: “what I should do.” The conditional clause wenn mein Husten heute Abend schlimmer wird gives the condition, “if my cough gets worse tonight.” Thus the whole utterance means: “I also need to know what to do if my cough gets worse tonight.”

6. Frag, wohin du gehen sollst, wenn du schnell Hilfe brauchst.

   Ask where you should go if you need help quickly.

   Frag

   ask

   wohin

   where to

   du

   you

   gehen

   go

   sollst

   should; are supposed to

   wenn

   if

   schnell

   quickly; fast

   Hilfe

   help

   brauchst

   need

   More detail

   Frag is the informal singular imperative of fragen (“to ask”). The subject is understood as du, so this form addresses one person directly. Example: Frag den Arzt. — “Ask the doctor.” wohin asks about a destination or direction: “where to.” It differs from wo (“where,” location without a destination). Example: Wohin gehst du? — “Where are you going?” In Frag, wohin ..., it introduces an embedded question, and the finite verb comes at the end of that embedded clause. du is the second-person singular pronoun, “you.” Here it is the person who is to go and who needs help; German uses this form for one familiar or informally addressed person. gehen means “to go.” It remains an infinitive because it follows the modal verb sollen. Example: Du willst gehen. — “You want to go.” sollst is the second-person singular present form of sollen, whose basic idea here is that someone is expected or advised to do something: “should” or “are supposed to.” The form chain is sollen → du sollst; it is not a form of gehen. With gehen, du sollst gehen means “you should go” or “you are supposed to go.” wenn introduces the condition “if” here. In a wenn clause, the finite verb normally goes to the end. This clause is conditional in this sentence. schnell is an adverb meaning “quickly” here. It modifies brauchst/brauchen, expressing that the help is needed quickly, rather than describing Hilfe as fast. The adjective and adverb form is also schnell. Example: Komm schnell! — “Come quickly!” Hilfe is the noun “help.” It is commonly used without a plural when referring to help as assistance. Example: Ich brauche Hilfe. — “I need help.” brauchst is the second-person singular present form of brauchen (“to need”): brauchen → du brauchst. The form agrees with du; Hilfe is what is needed. Example: Du brauchst eine Pause. — “You need a break.” Together, Frag, wohin du gehen sollst means “Ask where you should go.” The embedded question identifies the destination that the listener is supposed to ask about. wenn du schnell Hilfe brauchst adds the condition “if you need help quickly.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Ask where you should go if you need help quickly.”

7. Ich schreibe die wichtigsten Punkte auf, bevor ich anrufe.

   I will write the main points down before I call.

   schreibe … auf

   write down

   wichtigsten

   most important

   Punkte

   points

   bevor

   before

   anrufe

   call

   More detail

   schreibe … auf is the separated form of aufschreiben, “to write down.” schreibe is present tense, first-person singular, so with the subject Ich it means “I write down.” In German, the prefix auf moves to the end of a main clause: Ich schreibe die Punkte auf. In a subordinate clause, the parts stay together: …, weil ich die Punkte aufschreibe. German present tense can also express a planned future, which is why the fixed translation uses “I will write down.” wichtigsten is the superlative form of wichtig (“important”): wichtig → wichtiger (“more important”) → am wichtigsten (“most important”) or, as here before a noun, die wichtigsten. It has the ending -en because it accompanies the definite plural noun phrase die wichtigsten Punkte. Punkte is the plural of Punkt, “point.” The phrase die wichtigsten Punkte means “the most important points.” Punkt can refer to an item or idea in a list, not only to a dot or a physical point. bevor introduces a time clause meaning “before.” The clause after it is subordinate, so its finite verb comes at the end. For example: Ich lese den Text, bevor ich antworte. — “I read the text before I answer.” anrufe is the first-person singular present form of anrufen, “to call.” anrufen is a separable verb in a main clause: Ich rufe dich an. In the subordinate clause after bevor, the prefix remains attached and the verb is final: bevor ich anrufe. The subject ich makes the form first-person singular. Together, Ich schreibe die wichtigsten Punkte auf means “I will write down the most important points,” and bevor ich anrufe adds the time relation “before I call.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I will write the main points down before I call.”

8. Das sollte den Anruf für euch beide klarer machen.

   That should make the call clearer for both of you.

   Das sollte

   That should

   den Anruf

   the call

   für euch beide

   for both of you

   klarer

   clearer

   machen

   make

   More detail

   Das sollte combines das, a demonstrative pronoun, with sollte, a form of the modal verb sollen. Here das refers to the action or situation under discussion, and sollte expresses an expected result: “should”. In this use, sollte is the third-person singular form used for the modal’s “should” meaning; its form is identical to the preterite form, so the context determines the reading. The modal is followed by the infinitive machen at the end of the clause. Example: Das sollte reichen. — “That should be enough.” den Anruf means “the call”. Anruf is a masculine noun; its nominative singular form with the definite article is der Anruf. Here den marks masculine accusative because the call is the thing affected by machen. Its plural is die Anrufe. für euch beide means “for both of you”. für takes the accusative case, so euch is the accusative form of the second-person plural pronoun here. beide specifies that the reference includes two people. Example: Das ist für euch beide. — “That is for both of you.” klarer is the comparative form of the adjective klar (“clear”). It describes the resulting state of den Anruf: the call should be clearer than before or clearer relative to a relevant standard. The basic comparison is klar → klarer → am klarsten (“clear” → “clearer” → “clearest”). machen means “make” or “cause to become”. It is the infinitive required at the end by the modal sollte. In the pattern etwas + Adjektiv + machen, the adjective describes the result: Das macht den Text kürzer. — “That makes the text shorter.” Together, Das sollte expresses an expected result, den Anruf is the object being affected, für euch beide identifies the two people for whom the result applies, and klarer machen means “make clearer”. The whole utterance therefore means: “That should make the call clearer for both of you.”