Sharing Gym Equipment Politely | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jemand benutzt das Laufband schon seit langer Zeit.

   Someone has been using the treadmill for a long time.

   Jemand

   someone

   benutzt

   uses

   Laufband

   treadmill

   schon

   already

   seit

   since; for (a period)

   langer

   long

   Zeit

   time

   More detail

   Jemand means “someone”: an indefinite pronoun for one unspecified person. It does not identify who the person is. A useful contrast is niemand (“no one”). Example: Jemand wartet. — “Someone is waiting.” benutzt comes from the verb benutzen (“to use”). Here it is the present-tense form for third-person singular: er/sie/es benutzt. The present tense can describe an action that is currently continuing when the sentence includes a duration phrase. Example: Sie benutzt den Computer. — “She uses the computer.” das Laufband means “the treadmill.” Laufband is a neuter noun, so the definite article is das; nouns are capitalized in German. The compound combines Lauf (“running/walking”) with Band (“belt”), but learn Laufband as the noun for a treadmill. Example: Das Laufband ist frei. — “The treadmill is free.” schon means “already” here. With a duration expression, it emphasizes that the situation has been continuing for that length of time: “already for a long time.” Its meaning is not the same as noch (“still”), although both can occur in sentences about an ongoing situation. seit introduces the starting point or duration of an action or state. With an ongoing situation, German commonly uses the present tense after seit, even where English uses “has been …ing.” The phrase seit langer Zeit therefore means “for a long time,” not necessarily a particular calendar starting date. Example: Er arbeitet seit Montag hier. — “He has been working here since Monday.” langer is the inflected form of the adjective lang (“long”). In seit langer Zeit, langer agrees with the feminine singular noun Zeit in the dative case required by seit; the ending -er belongs to the adjective, not to the noun. The comparison chain is lang (“long”), länger (“longer”), am längsten (“the longest”). Zeit means “time.” It is a feminine noun: die Zeit. In the expression seit langer Zeit, it refers generally to an extended period rather than naming a precise duration. Example: Wir kennen uns seit langer Zeit. — “We have known each other for a long time.” Together, Jemand benutzt das Laufband says that an unspecified person uses the treadmill. schon seit langer Zeit adds that this activity has continued for an extended period up to the present. The complete meaning is: “Someone has been using the treadmill for a long time.”

2. Auf dem Schild steht, dass man es teilen soll, wenn andere warten.

   The sign says people should share it when others are waiting.

   Schild

   sign

   steht

   says; is written

   man

   people; one

   es

   it

   teilen

   share

   soll

   should; is supposed to

   andere

   others

   warten

   wait

   More detail

   Schild means “sign” here. The relevant noun is das Schild (neuter); after auf for a stationary location, it appears as dative: auf dem Schild. German also has der Schild, meaning “shield,” so the article helps distinguish the two nouns. steht is the third-person singular present form of stehen (“to stand”). With a written notice, auf dem Schild steht ... literally says “on the sign stands ...” and naturally means “the sign says ...” or “it is written on the sign ...”. Example: Auf dem Zettel steht mein Name. — “My name is written on the note.” man is the impersonal pronoun for people in general, often translated as “one” or “people.” It is grammatically third-person singular, so the verb form is singular: man soll, not man sollen. It does not identify a particular person. es is an accusative singular pronoun meaning “it” here. Its exact referent is supplied by the situation rather than named in this sentence. The pronoun itself is neuter in form and functions here as the object of teilen. teilen is the infinitive “to share” or “to divide.” In man es teilen soll, it remains an infinitive because the modal verb soll carries the finite verb position. Example: Wir teilen den Kuchen. — “We share the cake.” soll is the third-person singular present form of sollen, a modal verb. In this sentence, the sign communicates that sharing is expected or recommended: “should share” or “is supposed to share.” In a subordinate clause with a modal verb, the conjugated modal comes at the end, while the other verb stays in the infinitive: ..., dass man es teilen soll. andere means “others” here. It is the plural form of the adjective andere used substantivally, so it stands for other people without repeating a noun. As the subject of warten, it is in the nominative plural. Example: Andere warten schon. — “Others are already waiting.” warten is the infinitive “to wait.” Here it is the finite verb for the plural subject andere; its present-tense form is also warten. Example: Die Gäste warten draußen. — “The guests are waiting outside.” The structure is Auf dem Schild steht, dass ... (“The sign says that ...”). The dass clause reports the sign’s content, and its finite verb goes to the end: dass man es teilen soll. Inside that clause, man is the general subject, es is the thing to be shared, and soll teilen expresses the sign’s expectation. The second subordinate clause, wenn andere warten (“when others are waiting”), gives the condition for sharing; warten is at its end because wenn also introduces a subordinate clause. Together, the utterance means: “The sign says people should share it when others are waiting.”

3. Soll ich die Person fragen, oder wirkt das unhöflich?

   Should I ask them, or would that seem rude?

   Soll ich

   Should I …?

   Person

   person

   fragen

   ask

   wirkt

   seems

   unhöflich

   rude

   More detail

   Soll ich begins a yes/no question with the modal verb sollen (“to be supposed to/should”). soll is its present-tense form for ich; the infinitive that completes the action comes later: Soll ich warten? means “Should I wait?” In this sentence, fragen supplies that action, so the pattern is Soll ich + infinitive ...? Person means “person.” In die Person, the noun is feminine in grammatical gender, and die is also the accusative form here because fragen takes the person being asked as its direct object. This grammatical gender does not state the person’s gender. The plural is Personen: Ich sehe zwei Personen. — “I see two people.” fragen is the infinitive “to ask.” Its useful present-tense forms include ich frage (“I ask”) and du fragst (“you ask”). With a person, German commonly uses the accusative: Ich frage die Person. — “I ask the person.” In the fixed sentence, the infinitive is placed at the end of the first question part because it follows the modal verb soll. wirkt comes from wirken, “to seem” or “to come across.” wirkt is the present-tense third-person singular form, used here with das: Das wirkt freundlich. — “That seems friendly.” It describes the impression something gives, rather than directly asserting that it has a quality. unhöflich means “rude” or “impolite.” It is a predicative adjective after wirken, so it has no adjective ending here: Das wirkt unhöflich. — “That seems rude.” Its opposite is höflich, “polite.” The first part, Soll ich die Person fragen, asks whether the speaker should ask the person. oder introduces the alternative. In wirkt das unhöflich, das points to the proposed action of asking the person; in this use it means “that,” while wirkt ... unhöflich asks how the action would come across. Together, the utterance means: “Should I ask them, or would that seem rude?”

4. Frag höflich und sag, dass du gern an die Reihe kommen möchtest.

   Ask politely and say you're waiting for a turn.

   Frag

   ask

   höflich

   politely

   sag

   say

   gern

   gladly

   an die Reihe kommen

   get a turn

   möchtest

   would like

   More detail

   Frag is the informal singular imperative of fragen (“to ask”). It addresses one person using du; the same verb has the form du fragst in a statement and frag! as this command. Example: Frag ihn bitte. — “Please ask him.” höflich means “politely” here and describes how the asking should be done. German uses the adjective form höflich adverbially here; it is not a separately inflected adverb. Example: Sie antwortet höflich. — “She answers politely.” und joins the two commands. sag is the informal singular imperative of sagen (“to say”): du sagst in a statement, but sag! as a command. Thus Frag ... und sag ... gives two coordinated instructions to the same implied du. gern means “gladly” and can express that someone likes or is willing to do something. Here, together with möchtest, it contributes to the idea that the person would like to get a turn. Example: Ich helfe dir gern. — “I’m happy to help you.” an die Reihe kommen is a reusable expression meaning “to get one’s turn” or “to come up in the order.” Reihe is a feminine noun, and this expression uses die Reihe after an. The expression presents getting a turn as the desired event; it does not by itself say that the person has already received one. Example: Wann komme ich an die Reihe? — “When is it my turn?” möchtest is the singular du form used for “would like.” In the fixed sentence it combines with the infinitive kommen: du ... kommen möchtest means “you would like to come.” Möchtest du ...? can politely ask what someone wants, while du möchtest ... states that preference. möchtest carries the modal meaning; kommen remains the infinitive. In dass du gern an die Reihe kommen möchtest, dass introduces a subordinate clause whose subject is du. German places the finite verb möchtest at the end of this clause, after the infinitive kommen. The two commands therefore mean: ask politely, and say that you would like to get a turn. Together, the utterance instructs someone to make a polite request and express that turn-taking intention. In the supplied situation, this is a courteous way to ask about getting a turn.

5. Ich kann sagen: „Entschuldigung, bist du bald mit dem Laufband fertig?“

   I can say, "Excuse me, are you almost finished with the treadmill?"

   Ich kann

   I can

   sagen

   say

   Entschuldigung

   excuse me

   bist du

   are you

   bald

   almost

   Laufband

   treadmill

   fertig

   finished

   More detail

   Ich kann introduces the speaker’s ability or permission to do something: ich is the first-person singular pronoun, and kann is the present-tense form of können for ich. In this sentence, it is followed by the infinitive sagen, so the meaning is “I can say.” With a modal verb such as können, the other verb normally stays in the infinitive and comes later in the clause. sagen means “to say” here. Its base form is sagen; after the modal kann, it remains an infinitive rather than taking a personal ending. Example: Ich kann helfen. — “I can help.” Entschuldigung is a polite way to get someone’s attention, equivalent here to “Excuse me.” It is a noun used as a short standalone expression; it is not part of the question’s grammar. bist du forms the question “are you.” bist is the second-person singular present form of sein (“to be”), used with du. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Bist du bereit? — “Are you ready?” The form bist is for du; it is different from bin with ich and ist with er, sie, or es. bald means “soon” in many contexts. Before an adjective such as fertig, as here, it indicates that the state is expected shortly, so “almost” is the natural meaning in the fixed translation. Example: Wir sind bald fertig. — “We’ll be finished soon.” Laufband is the noun for “treadmill” in this context. It is a neuter noun: das Laufband. After the preposition mit, the article appears as dem: mit dem Laufband. The noun itself stays Laufband; dem marks the form required by this prepositional phrase. fertig is an adjective meaning “finished” or “done.” Here it describes the person’s completion of using the treadmill, not the treadmill itself. In bist du ... fertig?, sein links the subject du with the adjective, and the adjective does not change for this subject. Example: Bist du fertig? — “Are you finished?” Together, bist du bald mit dem Laufband fertig? asks whether the listener will be finished using the treadmill soon. The word order is the normal yes/no-question pattern: finite verb (bist) + subject (du) + the time expression (bald) + the phrase mit dem Laufband + the adjective (fertig). The complete utterance means: “I can say, ‘Excuse me, are you almost finished with the treadmill?’”

6. Das klingt klar, ohne die Person zu sehr unter Druck zu setzen.

   That sounds clear without putting too much pressure on them.

   Das

   that

   klingt

   sounds

   klar

   clear

   ohne

   without

   die Person

   the person

   zu sehr

   too much

   unter Druck

   under pressure

   zu setzen

   to put

   More detail

   Das means “that” here and functions as the subject. As a demonstrative pronoun, it points to an understood situation or statement; the supplied translation confirms that it refers to the proposed wording or approach, but does not identify a more specific noun. Demonstratives can also accompany nouns, as in das Gerät (“that/the device”), but Das stands alone here. klingt is the third-person singular present form of klingen (“to sound”). The useful pattern is etwas klingt + adjective: Das klingt gut. — “That sounds good.” The form klingt agrees with the singular subject Das; the infinitive base form is klingen. klar is a descriptive adjective used after klingen, so it describes how the statement sounds: “clear.” In this position it is predicative and does not take an ending. Compare eine klare Erklärung, where the same adjective appears before a noun and has a different form. ohne introduces what is absent: “without.” In German, ohne normally takes an accusative noun phrase, as in ohne die Person here. With a verb, German commonly uses ohne ... zu plus an infinitive: ohne zu warten — “without waiting.” die Person means “the person.” Person is a feminine noun, and die is its definite article in the accusative singular as well as the nominative singular. The accusative is required here by ohne; the article’s form therefore does not by itself reveal the case. In the fixed sentence, this noun is the person who would otherwise be put under pressure. zu sehr means “too much” in the sense of an excessive degree. sehr means “very,” while zu here marks excess: zu laut means “too loud.” This zu is separate from the infinitive marker in zu setzen. unter Druck setzen is a reusable verb construction meaning “to put pressure on someone.” setzen is the infinitive base form; in the fixed sentence it appears as zu setzen because it follows ohne. The person affected is expressed as an accusative object: Ich setze ihn unter Druck. — “I put pressure on him.” The noun phrase unter Druck is part of this construction, not a literal instruction about physical location. Together, ohne die Person zu sehr unter Druck zu setzen means “without putting too much pressure on the person/them.” The pattern is ohne + accusative person + zu + degree word + construction with zu-infinitive; here the repeated-looking zu has two roles: zu sehr marks excessive degree, and zu setzen introduces the infinitive after ohne. The complete utterance is therefore: Das klingt klar (“That sounds clear”) + ohne ... zu setzen (“without putting ...”). It means that the proposed wording sounds clear while avoiding putting excessive pressure on the person. In the supplied context, “them” is the natural English rendering of die Person without adding a gender specification.

7. Wenn die Person mehr Zeit braucht, kann ich warten oder ein anderes Gerät benutzen.

   If they need more time, I can wait or use another machine.

   Wenn

   if

   Person

   person

   mehr

   more

   Zeit

   time

   braucht

   needs

   kann ich

   I can

   warten

   wait

   anderes

   another

   Gerät

   machine

   benutzen

   use

   More detail

   Wenn introduces the subordinate clause and means “if” here. In this sentence, the condition is placed first; German sends the finite verb to the end of this clause. A reusable pattern is Wenn ... , ... = “If ..., ...”. Example: Wenn du Zeit hast, können wir sprechen. — “If you have time, we can talk.” Person is a feminine noun meaning “person”. Its plural is Personen. The article and noun combination die Person identifies one person grammatically, while the fixed translation uses singular “they” as an English gender-neutral reference; it does not specify that person’s gender. mehr means “more” and compares an amount with a smaller amount. Here it modifies Zeit, so mehr Zeit means “more time”. Example: Ich brauche mehr Zeit. — “I need more time.” Zeit is a feminine noun meaning “time”. In mehr Zeit, it names the amount that is needed. The noun is uncountable in this meaning, so the phrase concerns an amount of time rather than a stated number of time-units. braucht is the present-tense third-person singular form of brauchen, “to need”: ich brauche, du brauchst, er/sie/es braucht. Because the subject is singular die Person, the form is braucht. In the subordinate clause, this finite verb appears at the end: Wenn die Person mehr Zeit braucht = “If the person needs more time.” kann ich combines kann, the first-person singular present form of the modal verb können, with the subject ich. können expresses ability or possibility; ich kann means “I can”. In this main clause, the finite modal comes before the subject because the whole conditional sentence begins with the subordinate clause. With a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end: Ich kann warten. — “I can wait.” warten is the infinitive “to wait”. It follows kann and describes the action that is possible: kann ich warten = “I can wait”. The infinitive stays in this form after the modal rather than taking a personal ending. anderes means “another” or “a different” here. It is the form of ander- used with the neuter singular accusative noun Gerät: ein anderes Gerät. The adjective ending reflects the noun phrase’s grammatical gender, case, and article; it is not a form of Gerät. Gerät is a neuter noun meaning “device” or “piece of equipment”; “machine” is the intended translation here. Its plural is Geräte. In ein anderes Gerät, it is the object of benutzen, so the phrase means “another device”. benutzen is the infinitive “to use”. It is coordinated with warten after the same modal: kann ich warten oder ein anderes Gerät benutzen = “I can wait or use another device”. The modal kann applies to both alternatives, so it is not repeated before benutzen. Together, Wenn die Person mehr Zeit braucht gives the condition “If they need more time”. The main clause offers two alternatives: kann ich warten (“I can wait”) or ein anderes Gerät benutzen (“use another device”). Thus the complete utterance means: “If they need more time, I can wait or use another machine.”

8. So teilen sich alle das Gerät, ohne dass ein Streit entsteht.

   That keeps the equipment shared without starting an argument.

   So

   in this way; so

   teilen sich

   share among themselves

   alle

   everyone; all

   Gerät

   device; equipment

   ohne dass

   without ... happening

   Streit

   argument; dispute

   entsteht

   arises; comes about

   More detail

   So means “in this way” or “so,” showing how the situation is achieved. Example: So machen wir es. — “That is how we do it.” teilen sich combines teilen (“share” or “divide”) with sich. Here sich gives the sharing a reciprocal meaning: the people share the device among themselves. The verb form teilen is present tense, third-person plural, matching alle. Example: Wir teilen uns die Arbeit. — “We share the work.” alle means “everyone” or “all” and functions here as the plural subject. It presents the people as one group without specifying their individual identities. Gerät means “device”; in this context, “equipment” is also a suitable translation. The noun’s citation form is das Gerät, and its plural is die Geräte. Here das Gerät is the definite object being shared. das marks this noun as neuter and definite; it does not express a quantity. ohne dass introduces a subordinate clause meaning “without ... happening.” In this construction, the finite verb appears at the end: ohne dass ... entsteht. The clause describes an event that does not occur in connection with the main action. Streit means “argument” or “dispute.” It is the masculine noun der Streit. In ein Streit, the indefinite article marks masculine singular nominative agreement with the subject of the subordinate clause. The phrase ein Streit entsteht means “an argument arises.” entsteht is the present-tense third-person singular form of entstehen, “to arise” or “come about.” It agrees with the singular subject ein Streit. Example: Ein Problem entsteht. — “A problem arises.” Together, So teilen sich alle das Gerät means “That way, everyone shares the equipment.” The subordinate clause ohne dass ein Streit entsteht adds “without an argument arising.” The complete utterance therefore means: “That keeps the equipment shared without starting an argument.”