Strengthening a Report with Evidence | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ich wollte den Bericht besprechen, bevor er in größerem Kreis geteilt wird.

   I wanted to discuss the report before it is shared widely.

   Ich wollte

   I wanted

   Bericht

   report

   besprechen

   discuss

   bevor

   before

   er

   it

   größerem

   larger

   Kreis

   circle

   geteilt wird

   is shared

   More detail

   Ich wollte combines Ich (“I”) with wollte, the simple-past form of wollen (“to want”). Here it expresses the speaker’s intention: “I wanted to …”. Wollte is the first-person singular form; the same form is also used for third-person singular in the simple past. A useful present form is will (“want” or “intend”). Bericht means “report”. Its base form is der Bericht; the plural is die Berichte. In this sentence, den Bericht is the definite accusative form because it is the thing to be discussed. The article, rather than the noun ending, shows this masculine accusative form. besprechen means “to discuss”. It has an inseparable be- prefix, so the prefix stays attached in finite forms; the infinitive is also written as one word here after wollte: Ich wollte den Bericht besprechen (“I wanted to discuss the report”). Its simple-past form is besprach, and its past participle is besprochen. bevor introduces a time clause meaning “before”. Here, the discussing is presented as occurring before the report is shared. In German, a finite verb normally goes to the end of a clause introduced by bevor. er is a third-person masculine singular pronoun meaning “he” or, as here, “it” for the masculine noun Bericht. Its grammatical form is nominative because it is the subject of the subordinate clause. The intended referent here is the report identified in the translation; the pronoun’s masculine form reflects der Bericht, not the English distinction between animate and inanimate things. größerem is the dative masculine/neuter singular form of the comparative adjective größer (“larger”), whose base form is groß (“large”). The comparison is explicit: größer means “larger”, while am größten means “largest”. In in größerem Kreis, the preposition in describes a static setting and therefore takes the dative; größerem agrees with masculine Kreis in that case and number. Kreis means “circle”. In the expression in größerem Kreis, it refers to a larger or wider group of people, matching the translation “widely”. The noun is masculine: der Kreis; its plural is die Kreise. This is a useful example of a literal spatial noun used for the size of a social setting. geteilt wird forms a present passive: geteilt is the past participle of teilen (“to share” or “divide”), and wird is the third-person singular present form of werden, the auxiliary used for the passive. Together, er ... geteilt wird means “it is shared”. The passive keeps the report as the grammatical subject and does not state who shares it. In the subordinate clause, the finite auxiliary wird appears at the end. Together, Ich wollte den Bericht besprechen means “I wanted to discuss the report”. bevor er in größerem Kreis geteilt wird adds the time relation “before it is shared widely”: the report is the thing referred to by er, and in größerem Kreis presents wider circulation as sharing it with a larger group. The complete utterance is therefore: “I wanted to discuss the report before it is shared widely.”

2. Ich vermutete, dass einige Abschnitte vielleicht mehr Belege brauchen.

   I suspected some sections might need more evidence.

   Ich

   I

   vermutete

   suspected

   dass

   that

   einige

   some

   Abschnitte

   sections

   vielleicht

   perhaps

   mehr

   more

   Belege

   evidence

   brauchen

   need

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person making the judgment. Compare wir (“we”) when the speaker includes other people. vermutete means “suspected” here. It is the simple past (Präteritum) of vermuten, “to suspect” or “to assume as likely”: ich vermutete = “I suspected.” The ending -e marks the first-person singular in this past-tense form. Example: Ich vermutete einen Fehler. — “I suspected an error.” dass introduces a subordinate clause whose content is what the speaker suspected. In standard German, the finite verb in a dass clause normally comes at the end. Pattern: Ich vermutete, dass ... — “I suspected that ...”. einige means “some” and indicates an unspecified plural amount. It does not say exactly how many. It accompanies the plural noun Abschnitte here. Abschnitte means “sections” in this sentence. Its base form is the singular noun der Abschnitt; Abschnitte is its plural. The noun can refer to divisions of a report or another text, which fits the surrounding context about a report and its argumentation. vielleicht means “perhaps” or “possibly.” It makes the statement less certain: the speaker suspected a possibility rather than asserting the need as a fact. mehr means “more” here, referring to a greater amount of Belege. It is the comparative form associated with viel (“much” or “a lot”): viel → mehr → am meisten. With an uncountable amount, mehr means a greater quantity; with plural countable items, it can mean a greater number. Belege means “evidence” here. Its singular base form is der Beleg; Belege is plural. Depending on context, Beleg can also mean a receipt or a supporting document, but in this utterance it means material that supports the sections’ claims. brauchen means “need.” It is the infinitive of brauchen, used at the end because it belongs to the dass clause. The subject of this verb is einige Abschnitte, so the plural form is brauchen; with a singular subject, the corresponding present-tense form would be braucht, as in Der Abschnitt braucht mehr Belege. — “The section needs more evidence.” Together, einige Abschnitte vielleicht mehr Belege brauchen means “some sections might need more evidence.” The dass clause supplies the content of Ich vermutete, and its verb brauchen appears at the end. Thus the whole utterance means: “I suspected some sections might need more evidence.”

3. Die Argumentation ist stark, aber die Empfehlungen wirken nicht ausreichend belegt.

   The argument is strong, but the recommendations feel unsupported.

   Argumentation

   argumentation; reasoning

   stark

   strong

   Empfehlungen

   recommendations

   wirken

   seem; come across

   nicht ausreichend belegt

   not sufficiently supported

   More detail

   Argumentation means the reasoning or line of argument presented in a text. Its base form is die Argumentation; the plural is die Argumentationen. It is related to argumentieren (“to argue”), but the noun names the reasoning itself. Example: Die Argumentation ist klar. — “The reasoning is clear.” stark means “strong” here, describing the quality of the argumentation. Its comparison forms are stark — stärker — am stärksten (“strong” — “stronger” — “strongest”). The adjective agrees with a noun when it appears attributively, but in Die Argumentation ist stark it follows sein and therefore appears in its basic form as a predicate adjective. Empfehlungen is the plural of die Empfehlung, “recommendation.” The related verb is empfehlen (“to recommend”), but Empfehlungen refers to the recommendations themselves. Example: Die Empfehlungen sind praktisch. — “The recommendations are practical.” wirken means “seem” or “come across” here. It is the third-person plural present form of wirken; the infinitive is also wirken. With a plural subject such as die Empfehlungen, the form is wirken; with a singular subject, it would be wirkt. In this use, wirken presents an impression rather than asserting an inherent identity: Die Vorschläge wirken klar. — “The suggestions seem clear.” nicht ausreichend belegt means “not sufficiently supported” in this sentence. nicht negates the following assessment. ausreichend means “sufficiently” here, and belegt is the past participle of belegen, “to substantiate” or “to support with evidence.” The participle is used with an adjective-like result: something is belegt when evidence supports it. Example: Die Behauptung ist ausreichend belegt. — “The claim is sufficiently supported.” The first clause, Die Argumentation ist stark, says that the argumentation is strong. aber then contrasts this with the second clause: die Empfehlungen wirken nicht ausreichend belegt, meaning that the recommendations come across as lacking sufficient support. Together, the utterance means: “The argument is strong, but the recommendations feel unsupported.”

4. Ich habe mich zu sehr auf Interviews gestützt und nicht genügend Daten verwendet.

   I leaned too heavily on interviews and did not use enough data.

   Ich habe

   I have

   mich

   myself

   zu sehr

   too heavily

   Interviews

   interviews

   gestützt

   supported

   nicht genügend

   not enough

   Daten

   data

   verwendet

   used

   More detail

   Ich habe introduces the perfect tense here: habe is the first-person singular present form of haben, used as the auxiliary, while the main action appears later in a participle. A reusable pattern is Ich habe ... + participle: Ich habe den Bericht gelesen. — “I read / have read the report.” mich is the first-person singular reflexive pronoun, referring back to ich. With sich auf etwas stützen, the person using the support appears as a reflexive object: Ich stütze mich auf Daten. — “I rely on data.” The form changes with the subject: ich ... mich, but er/sie ... sich. zu sehr means that the degree was excessive. It modifies the reliance expressed by mich ... gestützt, so the sentence says the speaker relied on interviews more than was appropriate. Compare zu sehr (“too much / too heavily”) with sehr (“very”): Sie vertraut ihm sehr. — “She trusts him very much”; Sie vertraut ihm zu sehr. — “She trusts him too much.” Interviews is the plural of Interview, “interview.” In sich auf etwas stützen, the thing used as support follows auf; the plural form does not itself identify how many interviews there were. gestützt is the past participle of stützen, “to support.” In the fixed expression sich auf etwas stützen, it means “to rely on something,” not simply to physically support it. The perfect pattern is sich auf etwas gestützt haben: Wir haben uns auf Erfahrungswerte gestützt. — “We relied on empirical values.” nicht genügend negates sufficiency: “not enough” or “insufficiently.” genügend means “enough / sufficient”; nicht genügend says that the amount did not meet the needed level. For example, Sie hat nicht genügend Zeit. — “She does not have enough time.” Daten means “data.” It is commonly used as a plural-form noun in German; in this sentence it is the material that was used, contrasted with the interviews on which the speaker relied. zusätzliche Daten means “additional data,” as in Zusätzliche Daten helfen bei der Prüfung. — “Additional data is helpful in the assessment.” verwendet is the past participle of verwenden, “to use.” Together with habe, it forms the perfect: habe ... verwendet, “used / have used.” The verb verwenden is a useful neutral choice for using a thing for a purpose; Ich habe diese Quelle verwendet. means “I used this source.” The sentence has two coordinated perfect-tense actions with the same subject: Ich habe mich ... gestützt and nicht genügend Daten verwendet. The first says that the speaker relied too heavily on interviews; the second says that the speaker did not use enough data. The auxiliary habe is shared across the two coordinated actions, so it is not repeated before verwendet: “I relied too heavily on interviews and did not use enough data.”

5. Zusätzliche Daten würden es schwerer machen, die Schlussfolgerungen zurückzuweisen.

   Adding data would make the conclusions harder to dismiss.

   Zusätzliche

   additional

   Daten

   data

   würden

   would

   schwerer

   harder

   machen

   make

   Schlussfolgerungen

   conclusions

   zurückzuweisen

   to dismiss

   More detail

   Zusätzliche means “additional” here. Its base form is zusätzlich; the -e ending is the attributive adjective ending used with the plural subject Daten in this no-article phrase. Example: zusätzliche Informationen = “additional information.” Daten means “data.” It is the plural form of Datum in this meaning. In the sentence, it is the subject: the additional data would have the stated effect. Example: Die Daten sind hilfreich. = “The data are helpful.” würden is the third-person plural form of the Konjunktiv II of werden, used here for a hypothetical or conditional “would.” The subject is plural, so würden agrees with Zusätzliche Daten. This form does not itself say that the event happened in the past. Example: Mehr Belege würden helfen. = “More evidence would help.” es is an anticipatory object in the construction etwas würde es ... machen: it represents the following assessment, “to dismiss the conclusions,” as what is made harder. It is not a named participant in the situation. schwerer is the comparative of the adjective schwer, “difficult” in this context: schwer → schwerer → am schwersten. The comparative says that dismissing the conclusions would become more difficult than before or than under the relevant comparison. Example: Neue Beweise machen die Entscheidung schwerer. = “New evidence makes the decision more difficult.” machen means “make” and is the infinitive after würden. In es schwerer machen, it expresses a change in difficulty: “make it harder.” Example: Das macht die Aufgabe einfacher. = “That makes the task easier.” Schlussfolgerungen means “conclusions” or “inferences.” It is the plural of Schlussfolgerung; here it is the accusative object of zurückzuweisen. The definite article die identifies the conclusions in question, but the noun itself carries the plural ending -en. Example: Wir prüfen die Schlussfolgerungen. = “We are examining the conclusions.” zurückzuweisen means “to dismiss” or “to reject” here. It is the infinitive of the separable-prefix verb zurückweisen; with zu, the written form is zurückzuweisen, with zu inserted between the prefix and the base verb. Example: Sie versucht, die Kritik zurückzuweisen. = “She tries to reject the criticism.” Together, Zusätzliche Daten würden sets up a hypothetical result: “Additional data would …”. The pattern etwas würde es + comparative adjective + infinitive means “something would make it more [adjective] to do something.” Thus Zusätzliche Daten würden es schwerer machen, die Schlussfolgerungen zurückzuweisen means “Adding data would make the conclusions harder to dismiss.”

6. Ich kann diesen Abschnitt überarbeiten und unsichere Punkte klar kennzeichnen.

   I can revise that section and flag uncertain points clearly.

   Ich kann

   I can

   diesen

   that

   Abschnitt

   section

   überarbeiten

   revise

   unsichere

   uncertain

   Punkte

   points

   klar

   clearly

   kennzeichnen

   flag

   More detail

   Ich kann combines the subject Ich (“I”) with kann, the first-person singular present form of können (“can; be able to”). With an additional verb, können is a modal verb and the other verb stays in the infinitive at the end of the clause. Example: Ich kann warten. — “I can wait.” diesen means “that” here as a demonstrative determiner. Its form is masculine singular accusative, because it accompanies Abschnitt, the direct object of überarbeiten. The demonstrative agrees with the noun’s grammatical gender, number, and case. A useful contrast is dieser Abschnitt for masculine singular nominative versus diesen Abschnitt for masculine singular accusative. Abschnitt is a masculine noun meaning “section” or “passage”; its plural is Abschnitte. In this sentence it is the object being revised. Example: Dieser Abschnitt ist kurz. — “This section is short.” überarbeiten is the infinitive “to revise” or “to edit.” It follows the modal kann, so it does not receive a finite ending here. The prefix über- is part of this verb as written; do not replace it with the different verb arbeiten (“to work”). Example: Wir können den Text überarbeiten. — “We can revise the text.” unsichere is the adjective “uncertain” in the phrase unsichere Punkte. It describes plural Punkte in the accusative, and its ending is the strong plural accusative ending used without a determiner. The adjective’s base form is unsicher; unsichere is an inflected form, not a separate verb or noun. Example: Das sind unsichere Angaben. — “Those are uncertain details.” Punkte is the plural of Punkt, meaning “points” here. In this context, the points are items that can be flagged, not punctuation marks. German uses the same noun in other contexts, so the surrounding verb and adjective establish the intended sense. Example: Wir prüfen die Punkte. — “We check the points.” klar means “clearly” in this sentence because it modifies the manner of kennzeichnen. The same form can also be the adjective “clear,” as in eine klare Erklärung (“a clear explanation”); here its adverbial use does not take an adjective ending. Example: Sie erklärt das klar. — “She explains that clearly.” kennzeichnen means “to mark,” “label,” or “flag.” It is the second infinitive coordinated with überarbeiten, and it takes unsichere Punkte as its object. Example: Bitte kennzeichnen Sie wichtige Stellen. — “Please mark important passages.” The structure is Ich kann + diesen Abschnitt + überarbeiten + und + unsichere Punkte + klar + kennzeichnen. The subject says that the speaker can perform two actions: revise that section and clearly flag uncertain points. The modal applies to both coordinated infinitives, so the complete meaning is: “I can revise that section and flag uncertain points clearly.”

7. Das würde die Glaubwürdigkeit erhöhen, ohne die Gesamtaussage zu schwächen.

   That would improve credibility without weakening the overall message.

   Das würde

   That would

   Glaubwürdigkeit

   credibility

   erhöhen

   improve; increase

   ohne

   without

   Gesamtaussage

   overall message

   schwächen

   weaken

   More detail

   Das würde means “That would …” here. Das is a demonstrative pronoun pointing to an already understood action or proposal; the supplied translation confirms that reading, but does not identify a more specific referent. würde is the form of werden used with an infinitive to express a conditional or hypothetical result. The infinitive comes at the end of its clause: Das würde ... erhöhen = “That would improve/increase ...”. This construction does not by itself assert that the improvement is happening now. Glaubwürdigkeit is the noun “credibility” or “believability.” Its article in the sentence is feminine: die Glaubwürdigkeit. The word is used for how much a person, claim, or message can be believed. Example: Die Quelle hat hohe Glaubwürdigkeit. — “The source has high credibility.” erhöhen is the infinitive “to increase” or “to improve.” In this sentence it is the lexical verb selected after würde; the conjugated conditional element is würde, while erhöhen remains an infinitive. The verb can describe increasing an amount or improving a level, as in Die Änderung erhöht die Klarheit. — “The change improves clarity.” ohne introduces an absence or an unwanted accompanying result: “without.” Here it introduces the infinitive clause ohne ... zu schwächen, so the pattern is ohne + object + zu + infinitive: “without weakening ...”. ohne itself does not state who performs the action; the understood subject is linked to the main clause. Gesamtaussage means “overall message” or “overall statement.” It refers to the message as a whole rather than one individual detail. The form is a feminine noun, as shown by die Gesamtaussage. Example: Die Überschrift verändert die Gesamtaussage nicht. — “The headline does not change the overall message.” schwächen means “to weaken.” In die Gesamtaussage zu schwächen, die Gesamtaussage is the object affected by the weakening. The infinitive with zu is required here because it follows ohne: ohne die Gesamtaussage zu schwächen = “without weakening the overall message.” Together, Das würde die Glaubwürdigkeit erhöhen says that the understood action would improve credibility. ohne die Gesamtaussage zu schwächen adds that this would happen without reducing the strength or meaning of the message as a whole. The complete utterance therefore means: “That would improve credibility without weakening the overall message.”

8. Ich schicke dir die aktualisierte Version, bevor sie mit dem größeren Kreis geteilt wird.

   I'll send you the updated version before it goes to the wider group.

   Ich

   I

   schicke

   send

   dir

   to you

   aktualisierte

   updated

   Version

   version

   bevor

   before

   sie

   it

   mit

   with

   größeren

   larger

   Kreis

   group

   geteilt wird

   is shared

   More detail

   Ich is the first-person singular subject, “I.” German subject pronouns include ich “I,” du “you” (singular, informal), and sie “they” or “she/it” depending on grammatical features and context. Here, the fixed translation identifies Ich as the sender. schicke means “send” here. It is the first-person singular present form of schicken: ich schicke, du schickst, er/sie/es schickt. German present tense can refer to a planned future event when the time is clear; in this sentence, the English future “I’ll send” expresses that intended future timing. A useful pattern is Ich schicke dir ... — “I’m sending you ...” or, with future context, “I’ll send you ...”. dir means “to you.” It is the dative singular form of du, used for the recipient of the sending. Compare dich, the accusative form of “you,” used when “you” is the direct object in other constructions. In Ich schicke dir die Version, dir is the recipient and die Version is the thing sent. aktualisierte means “updated” here. It is the adjective aktualisiert with an ending agreeing with Version: feminine singular accusative after the definite article die. The adjective describes the version as having been updated; it is not the form of the noun Version. Example: die aktualisierte Datei — “the updated file.” Version means “version.” In this sentence it is feminine: die Version. It is the accusative direct object of schicke, because it is the thing being sent. The phrase die aktualisierte Version means “the updated version.” bevor means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause that gives the time relation. The event in that clause happens later than the sending in the stated sequence: the version is sent before it is shared with the wider group. In a German subordinate clause introduced by bevor, the finite verb normally comes at the end, as in bevor sie geteilt wird. sie means “it” here, referring to the feminine noun Version, as confirmed by the fixed translation. Its form is feminine singular nominative in this clause because it is the subject of the passive construction. German sie can have other functions in other contexts, but this sentence specifically uses it as “it” for the version. mit means “with.” It takes the dative case, so the following noun phrase is dem größeren Kreis, not an accusative phrase. The prepositional phrase identifies the group with which the version is shared. größeren means “wider” or “larger” here. It is the comparative form of groß “large”: groß → größer → am größten (“large” → “larger” → “largest”). The adjective has the ending -en because it follows the dative masculine article dem and modifies Kreis: mit dem größeren Kreis. In this context, the comparison is naturally rendered as “the wider group.” Kreis means “group” in this context, although its basic concrete sense can be “circle.” It is masculine: der Kreis; after mit, it appears as dative singular dem Kreis. The expression ein größerer Kreis can mean “a larger/wider group,” while der größere Kreis means “the larger/wider group.” geteilt wird means “is shared.” This is a present passive construction: geteilt is the past participle of teilen “share,” and wird is the third-person singular present form of werden, used as the passive auxiliary. The subject is sie (“it”), so the version receives the action rather than performing it. In the subordinate clause, the finite auxiliary wird comes last: bevor sie mit dem größeren Kreis geteilt wird. Together, Ich schicke dir die aktualisierte Version means “I’ll send you the updated version.” bevor sie mit dem größeren Kreis geteilt wird adds the time condition “before it is shared with the wider group.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I’ll send you the updated version before it goes to the wider group.”