Checking why a payment card was blocked | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Meine Karte wurde abgelehnt, aber das Konto müsste noch aktiv sein.

   My card was declined, but the account should still be active.

   Meine

   my

   Karte

   card

   wurde abgelehnt

   was declined

   aber

   but

   Konto

   account

   müsste

   should

   noch

   still

   aktiv

   active

   sein

   be

   More detail

   Meine belongs to the possessive determiner mein (“my”). In Meine Karte, it has the ending -e because it accompanies the feminine singular noun Karte in the nominative case. Compare mein Konto (“my account”), where the neuter noun takes the form mein. Karte means “card” here. Its base form is die Karte, a feminine noun; the form is unchanged here because it is the nominative subject of the first clause. The same word can refer to other kinds of cards or maps in other contexts, but the fixed translation identifies a payment card here. wurde abgelehnt is a past passive construction. wurde is the third-person singular simple-past form of werden (“become”; as an auxiliary, “be”), and abgelehnt is the past participle of ablehnen (“reject”): ablehnen – lehnte ab – abgelehnt. The passive presents the card as the thing affected by the rejection, without stating who rejected it. Compare Die Karte wurde akzeptiert (“The card was accepted”). aber connects two contrasting clauses and means “but”. It does not itself express the reason for the contrast. Konto means “account” here. The base noun is das Konto, a neuter noun. In das Konto, the definite article and noun phrase are nominative because the account is the subject of the second clause. The phrase does not specify what kind of account beyond what the context supports. müsste is the third-person singular form of müssen in the subjunctive II form, commonly used here for a tentative conclusion or expectation: “should” or “is expected to”. It is not the simple present muss (“must”); müsste makes the conclusion less direct or more hypothetical. A useful contrast is Das Konto muss aktiv sein (“The account must be active”) versus Das Konto müsste aktiv sein (“The account should be active”). noch means “still” in this sentence. It indicates that the account is expected to remain active at the relevant time. Its position before aktiv contributes to the meaning of the whole predicate, rather than asserting a separate action. aktiv is the adjective “active”. It describes the state attributed to the account. After the linking verb sein, it appears in its uninflected form: Das Konto ist aktiv (“The account is active”). sein is the infinitive “to be”. It follows the modal verb müsste, as German requires the infinitive at the end of a clause with this modal pattern: müsste ... sein. Together, müsste ... sein expresses the expectation or inference that something is in a particular state. The first clause, Meine Karte wurde abgelehnt, says that my card was declined. Aber contrasts this with the second clause, das Konto müsste noch aktiv sein: the account should still be active. Thus the complete utterance is “My card was declined, but the account should still be active.”

2. Sie könnte gesperrt worden sein, nachdem das System ungewöhnliche Aktivitäten festgestellt hat.

   It may have been blocked after the system flagged unusual activity.

   Sie könnte

   it may / could

   gesperrt

   blocked

   worden sein

   have been

   nachdem

   after

   System

   system

   ungewöhnliche

   unusual

   Aktivitäten

   activities

   festgestellt

   flagged / identified

   More detail

   Sie könnte presents the blocked entity as a possibility. In this context, Sie is the third-person singular feminine pronoun referring to the card, while the English translation uses “it” for that inanimate entity. könnte is the subjunctive II form of können, used here for possibility rather than certainty. Compare Sie kann gesperrt sein (“It can be blocked,” a more general possibility) with Sie könnte gesperrt sein (“It might be blocked,” a possibility about this situation). gesperrt is the past participle of sperren, “to block” or “to lock.” In this sentence it describes the blocked status of the subject. The same participle can be used with different auxiliaries: Die Karte ist gesperrt means “The card is blocked,” while Die Karte wurde gesperrt means “The card was blocked.” worden sein completes the perfect passive construction with gesperrt: gesperrt worden sein = “to have been blocked.” In a passive construction, the affected entity is the subject, while the person or system causing the action need not be named. worden is the passive form used here; it is not the ordinary participle geworden of “become.” nachdem introduces a subordinate clause meaning “after.” It connects the possible blocking with an event that happened earlier. German places the finite verb at the end of this subordinate clause, as in nachdem das System ... festgestellt hat. System is the noun “system.” In das System, it is neuter singular and is the subject of the subordinate clause, so it has the nominative form with the definite article das. Example: Das System prüft die Zahlung. — “The system checks the payment.” ungewöhnliche is the inflected form of the adjective ungewöhnlich, “unusual.” It modifies the plural noun Aktivitäten in the accusative: ungewöhnliche Aktivitäten. With the definite article, the plural adjective has the visible ending in die ungewöhnlichen Aktivitäten (“the unusual activities”). Aktivitäten is the plural of Aktivität, “activity.” Here it is the accusative object of festgestellt hat, meaning that the system identified unusual activities. Example: Wir beobachten ungewöhnliche Aktivitäten. — “We are observing unusual activity.” festgestellt is the past participle of the separable verb feststellen, “to identify,” “detect,” or “establish.” In this sentence, festgestellt hat is the perfect construction of the subordinate clause: hat is the finite auxiliary at the end, and festgestellt is the participle earlier in the verb group. The intended sense here is “flagged” or “identified,” not simply “stated.” Together, Sie könnte gesperrt worden sein says that the card may have undergone blocking. nachdem das System ungewöhnliche Aktivitäten festgestellt hat adds that this possible blocking occurred after the system identified unusual activities. The complete meaning is: “It may have been blocked after the system flagged unusual activity.”

3. Ich war vor Kurzem auf Reisen, daher könnte das die Sperrung ausgelöst haben.

   I was traveling recently, so that might have triggered it.

   Ich

   I

   war

   was

   vor Kurzem

   recently

   auf Reisen

   traveling

   daher

   therefore

   könnte

   might

   das

   that

   die Sperrung

   the blocking

   ausgelöst

   triggered

   haben

   have

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular pronoun meaning “I.” German uses it for the speaker as the subject. A useful contrast is du for one person being addressed: Ich lerne. means “I am learning,” while Du lernst. means “You are learning.” war is the simple-past form of sein (“to be”) used here with ich, so ich war means “I was.” The useful form chain is sein → war (past): Ich war müde. means “I was tired.” vor Kurzem is a time expression meaning “recently” or “a short time ago.” In this temporal expression, vor is followed by the dative, and Kurzem is a capitalized nominalized adjective. Example: Vor Kurzem war ich in Berlin. means “Recently, I was in Berlin.” auf Reisen is a common expression meaning “traveling” or “on a trip.” It can be used with sein: Ich bin auf Reisen. means “I am traveling,” and Ich war auf Reisen. means “I was traveling.” daher is a causal adverb meaning “therefore” or “so.” It connects the preceding situation with a consequence. Example: Es regnet, daher bleibe ich zu Hause. means “It is raining, so I am staying home.” könnte is the form of können (“can, be able to”) used here to express possibility: “might.” In this sentence it has a third-person singular reading because the subject is das, but könnte has the same written form with ich; the subject and context identify the person. Compare kann (“can/may,” depending on context) with könnte (“could/might”): Das könnte helfen. means “That might help.” das means “that” here and functions as a demonstrative pronoun. Its grammatical form is neuter singular; its reference is supplied by context, here the preceding situation being presented as a possible cause. Example: Das könnte stimmen. means “That might be true.” die Sperrung is the feminine noun meaning “the blocking,” “the restriction,” or “the suspension.” Its feminine gender is shown by die; the related verb sperren means “to block, lock, or restrict.” Example: Die Sperrung bleibt bestehen. means “The restriction remains in place.” ausgelöst is the past participle of auslösen, meaning “to trigger,” “to set off,” or “to cause.” The prefix aus- is separable in some finite forms, but the participle is written as one word: auslösen → ausgelöst. Example: Der Fehler hat eine Warnung ausgelöst. means “The error triggered a warning.” haben is the infinitive of haben (“to have”). With könnte and the participle ausgelöst, it forms the modal perfect pattern könnte + ... + ausgelöst haben, meaning “might have triggered.” Together, Ich war vor Kurzem auf Reisen means “I was traveling recently.” Daher introduces the consequence, and könnte das die Sperrung ausgelöst haben means “that might have triggered the blocking.” The complete utterance means: “I was traveling recently, so that might have triggered it.” The modal perfect presents the triggering as a possible past cause, not as a certain fact.

4. Das wäre plausibel, aber wir müssen Ihre Identität trotzdem überprüfen.

   That would make sense, but we still need to verify your identity.

   Das

   that

   wäre

   would be

   plausibel

   plausible

   wir müssen

   we need to / must

   Ihre

   your

   Identität

   identity

   trotzdem

   still

   überprüfen

   verify

   More detail

   Das means “that” here and points to the situation or explanation being discussed. As a demonstrative pronoun, its form is neuter singular; its specific referent is supplied by the context rather than by the word alone. wäre is the Konjunktiv II form of sein (“to be”). The chain is sein → ist (“is”) → wäre (“would be”). Here it presents the assessment as hypothetical or conditional: “would be,” not simply “is.” plausibel is an adjective meaning “plausible” or “reasonable.” It stays unchanged here because it follows wäre as a predicate adjective: Das wäre plausibel = “That would be plausible.” Example: Die Erklärung ist plausibel. — “The explanation is plausible.” wir müssen combines the subject wir (“we”) with müssen (“must” or “need to”). Müssen is the finite modal verb here, so it is conjugated for wir; the following lexical verb goes to the infinitive. Compare wir müssen warten — “we must wait.” Ihre means “your” in the formal form of address. In this sentence it agrees with Identität: the possessive form is feminine singular accusative, shown by the -e ending. Capitalization distinguishes formal Ihre from the lowercase possessive forms used with informal address. The form does not itself assert how many people are being addressed; the formal reference is the relevant distinction here. Identität means “identity.” It is a feminine noun: die Identität. After überprüfen, it is the direct object, so it appears in the accusative, although this feminine singular form looks the same as the nominative: die Identität. trotzdem means “still” or “nevertheless.” It marks that the need expressed in the second part remains in spite of the preceding assessment. Example: Es regnet; wir gehen trotzdem. — “It is raining; we are still going.” überprüfen means “to verify” or “to check.” It is an infinitive after the modal verb müssen; the pattern is müssen + infinitive, as in Wir müssen den Namen überprüfen. — “We need to verify the name.” Together, Das wäre plausibel says “That would be plausible.” aber introduces a contrast, and wir müssen Ihre Identität trotzdem überprüfen says “we still need to verify your identity.” The complete utterance is therefore: “That would make sense, but we still need to verify your identity.”

5. Können wir das überprüfen, ohne jeden einzelnen Kauf durchzugehen?

   Can we check that without going through every purchase?

   Können wir

   can we

   das

   that

   überprüfen

   check; verify

   ohne

   without

   jeden

   every

   einzelnen

   individual; single

   Kauf

   purchase

   durchzugehen

   go through; review

   More detail

   Können wir combines the modal verb können with the first-person plural pronoun wir. Here können is present tense and expresses ability or feasibility: “Are we able to…?” In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first. Example: Können wir morgen anfangen? — “Can we start tomorrow?” The following lexical verb remains in the infinitive and goes to the end of the clause. das is a standalone demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It is the object of überprüfen; its specific real-world referent is not identified in the supplied sentence. The form das is neuter singular in the relevant accusative form. Demonstratives change with grammatical features in other forms, for example diesen in a masculine accusative phrase. überprüfen is the infinitive meaning “to check” or “to verify”. With können, it stays in the infinitive: Wir können das überprüfen — “We can check that.” The modal carries the finite tense and the subject agreement, while überprüfen names the action. ohne introduces the idea of doing something without another action or condition. Before an infinitive clause, German commonly uses ohne plus a zu-infinitive. Example: Sie ging, ohne sich zu verabschieden. — “She left without saying goodbye.” jeden is the masculine accusative singular form of the determiner jeder (“every”). It has this form because it determines the masculine noun Kauf as the object of durchzugehen; the form is not itself a separate word for a numerical quantity. einzelnen is the adjective einzeln (“individual” or “single”), inflected here in the masculine accusative singular form. Together, jeden einzelnen emphasizes each purchase separately: jeder Kauf is “every purchase”, while jeder einzelne Kauf is “every individual purchase”. Kauf is the masculine noun der Kauf, meaning “purchase” or “buying”. In this sentence it is accusative singular after jeden einzelnen. Its plural is Käufe: Die Käufe sind dokumentiert. — “The purchases are documented.” durchzugehen is the zu-infinitive of the separable verb durchgehen, used here in the sense “to go through” or “to review” something systematically. With a separable verb, zu appears inside the infinitive: durchgehen → durchzugehen. Example: Wir versuchen, die Liste durchzugehen. — “We are trying to go through the list.” In this infinitive clause, the understood actor is the same wir as in the main question. The sentence first asks about feasibility with Können wir. das überprüfen supplies the action and its object: “check that”. The final part, ohne jeden einzelnen Kauf durchzugehen, limits how this could be done: it asks whether the checking can happen without reviewing each purchase one by one. Together: “Can we check that without going through every purchase?”

6. Wir brauchen nur eine Bestätigung Ihrer Identität und einen allgemeinen Eindruck von Ihren jüngsten Aktivitäten.

   We only need identity confirmation and a general sense of recent activity.

   Wir brauchen

   we need

   nur

   only

   Bestätigung

   confirmation

   Ihrer Identität

   your identity

   allgemeinen

   general

   Eindruck

   impression; sense

   von

   of

   Ihren

   your

   jüngsten

   recent

   Aktivitäten

   activities

   More detail

   Wir brauchen uses brauchen (“to need”) in the present tense, first-person plural. Wir means “we,” and brauchen has this form with this subject in the present. The reusable pattern is Wir brauchen ... = “We need ...”. Example: Wir brauchen mehr Zeit. — “We need more time.” nur narrows what is needed: “only.” Here it limits the request to the information named afterward. Its scope comes from the surrounding sentence; it does not name an object by itself. Bestätigung is a feminine noun meaning “confirmation.” It is related to the verb bestätigen (“to confirm”). The form is singular here, and the noun names one of the two coordinated kinds of information requested. Example: Ich brauche eine Bestätigung. — “I need a confirmation.” Ihrer Identität means “your identity.” Identität is a feminine noun, and Ihrer is the formal possessive determiner Ihr- in the feminine genitive singular form. The genitive links the identity to what is being confirmed: Bestätigung Ihrer Identität = “confirmation of your identity.” In standard written German, the capitalized possessive form marks formal “your,” whether addressing one person or more than one. allgemeinen describes Eindruck as “general.” It is the inflected form of the adjective allgemein. Because Eindruck is masculine singular and appears with the accusative article einen, the adjective has the ending -en: einen allgemeinen Eindruck. The adjective and noun together mean a broad, non-detailed impression. Eindruck is a masculine noun meaning “impression” or, in this context, “general sense.” The accusative form is identical to the nominative singular, so the article and adjective show its role here: einen allgemeinen Eindruck. Example: Das macht einen guten Eindruck. — “That makes a good impression.” von is a preposition meaning “of” here. With this meaning, von is followed by the dative case, producing von Ihren jüngsten Aktivitäten — “of your recent activities.” Ihren means “your” in the formal address. It is the dative plural form of the possessive determiner Ihr-, agreeing with the plural noun Aktivitäten in the phrase introduced by von. The capitalization marks formal address; it does not itself indicate a number of activities. jüngsten means “recent” or “most recent” here. It is the inflected form of the adjective jüngst in the dative plural phrase Ihren jüngsten Aktivitäten, with the ending -en. In this context it identifies the activities as recent, rather than describing them as young. Example: Wir besprechen die jüngsten Ereignisse. — “We are discussing the most recent events.” Aktivitäten is the plural of the feminine noun Aktivität, meaning “activities.” The plural form is used because the sentence refers to activities in the plural. After von, the plural is in the dative; for this noun, the plural spelling is unchanged across these cases because it already ends in -n, so the surrounding determiner and adjective carry more of the case marking. Taken together, Wir brauchen nur says “we only need,” followed by two coordinated objects: eine Bestätigung Ihrer Identität (“identity confirmation”) and einen allgemeinen Eindruck von Ihren jüngsten Aktivitäten (“a general sense of your recent activity”). The first object is introduced by eine, while the second uses masculine accusative einen because Eindruck is masculine. The complete meaning is: “We only need identity confirmation and a general sense of recent activity.”

7. Das klingt vernünftiger, als jede einzelne Transaktion aufzulisten.

   That sounds more reasonable than listing every transaction.

   Das

   that

   klingt

   sounds

   vernünftiger

   more reasonable

   als

   than

   jede einzelne

   every single

   Transaktion

   transaction

   aufzulisten

   to list

   More detail

   Das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It points to the proposal or idea under discussion, rather than naming a particular noun. As the sentence’s subject, it is followed by the third-person singular form klingt. klingt is the present-tense third-person singular form of klingen, “to sound.” The same verb can describe an auditory impression or, as here, how an idea seems: Das klingt gut. — “That sounds good.” vernünftiger is the comparative form of the adjective vernünftig, “reasonable.” The basic comparison is vernünftig → vernünftiger → am vernünftigsten: reasonable → more reasonable → most reasonable. Here it evaluates the idea as more reasonable than the alternative that follows als. als introduces the second side of a comparison after a comparative form. The reusable pattern is X ist/klingt [comparative], als ... — “X is/sounds more ..., than ...”. jede einzelne means “every single.” jede is the feminine singular accusative form of the determiner jeder, agreeing with the noun Transaktion; einzelne reinforces the idea of considering the transactions individually. This does not itself state a numerical count. Transaktion is a feminine noun: die Transaktion, plural die Transaktionen, “transaction/transactions.” In this sentence it is the object of the action of listing. aufzulisten means “to list.” It is the zu-infinitive of the separable verb auflisten: auflisten → aufzulisten. With a separable verb, zu appears between the prefix and the verb stem in this infinitive form. For example, Es ist schwierig, alles aufzulisten. — “It is difficult to list everything.” Together, jede einzelne Transaktion aufzulisten means “to list every single transaction.” The full structure says that the idea referred to by Das sounds more reasonable than carrying out that action: “That sounds more reasonable than listing every transaction.”

8. Sobald Ihre Identität überprüft ist, können wir die Sperrung normalerweise sofort prüfen.

   Once your identity is verified, we can usually review the block right away.

   Sobald

   as soon as

   Identität

   identity

   überprüft

   verified; checked

   können wir

   we can

   Sperrung

   block; suspension

   normalerweise

   usually; normally

   sofort

   right away; immediately

   prüfen

   review; check

   More detail

   Sobald introduces a time condition meaning “as soon as” or “once.” In the subordinate clause it sends the finite verb to the end: Sobald ... überprüft ist = “Once ... is verified.” A reusable pattern is Sobald X ..., ... (“As soon as X ..., ...”). Identität means “identity.” It is a feminine noun: die Identität. In Ihre Identität, Ihre means formal “your” and agrees with this noun in the phrase. The sentence therefore refers to the listener’s identity, without specifying whose identity beyond that formal “your.” überprüft is the past participle of überprüfen, “to verify” or “to check.” Here it appears with ist in überprüft ist, describing the identity as having reached the verified state. Do not treat it as the base form of prüfen; prüfen is a related verb meaning “to check” or “to review,” while überprüfen commonly emphasizes verification or checking something carefully. können wir means “we can.” können is the finite modal verb, and wir is its subject, “we.” In the main clause, the conjugated modal occupies the second position and the other verb goes to the end: Wir können ... prüfen = “We can review ...” With a different subject, the modal changes: ich kann = “I can,” but wir können = “we can.” Sperrung means “block” or “suspension.” The phrase die Sperrung is the feminine noun with its definite article. Here it is the object of prüfen, so the meaning is reviewing the block or suspension, not creating one. The related verb sperren means “to block” or “to lock,” whereas the noun names the blocking or resulting restriction. normalerweise means “usually” or “normally.” It qualifies the expected process expressed by the rest of the main clause: the review can generally happen in this way, though the word itself does not assert that it happens every time. sofort means “right away” or “immediately.” It modifies prüfen, placing the review directly after the relevant condition is met. Compare später prüfen (“review later”) with sofort prüfen (“review immediately”). prüfen is the infinitive “to check,” “to review,” or “to examine.” After the modal können, it remains an infinitive at the end of the main clause: können ... prüfen. For example, Wir können den Antrag prüfen. means “We can review the application.” Together, Sobald Ihre Identität überprüft ist gives the condition “Once your identity is verified.” The main clause können wir die Sperrung normalerweise sofort prüfen says that we can usually review the block right away. The complete utterance is therefore: “Once your identity is verified, we can usually review the block right away.”