Reporting a Reproducible Export Bug | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Die Exportfunktion schlägt jedes Mal fehl, wenn ich gefilterte Ergebnisse einbeziehe.

   The export feature fails whenever I include filtered results.

   Exportfunktion

   export feature

   schlägt … fehl

   fails

   jedes Mal

   every time

   wenn ich

   when I

   gefilterte

   filtered

   Ergebnisse

   results

   einbeziehe

   include

   More detail

   Exportfunktion is a compound noun: Export + Funktion, meaning an export feature or function. It is feminine. With the definite article in the singular nominative, it appears here as Die Exportfunktion, the subject of the sentence. A useful related compound is Suchfunktion (“search function”); this is a new example, not part of the supplied sentence. schlägt ... fehl comes from the separable verb fehlschlagen, “to fail.” Here, schlägt is the present-tense third-person singular form agreeing with Die Exportfunktion, while the prefix fehl appears at the end of the main clause. In a subordinate clause, the parts are written together: ..., weil die Funktion fehlschlägt. — “... because the function fails.” jedes Mal means “every time” and marks a repeated condition. Jedes agrees with the neuter singular noun Mal. This differs from manchmal (“sometimes”), which does not say that something happens on every occasion. wenn ich introduces the condition “when I.” wenn begins a subordinate clause, and ich is the first-person singular pronoun. The finite verb agrees with this first-person singular subject. gefilterte describes Ergebnisse as filtered. It is the adjective form based on the past participle gefiltert of filtern; here it has the ending -e before the plural noun Ergebnisse. Example: Ich öffne gefilterte Dateien. — “I open filtered files.” Ergebnisse is the plural of the neuter noun das Ergebnis, “result.” The singular and plural are useful as a pair: ein Ergebnis — “a result”; mehrere Ergebnisse — “several results.” einbeziehe comes from the separable verb einbeziehen, “to include” or “to take into account.” It is the first-person singular present form used with ich. In this subordinate clause, the finite form appears at the end as the single written form einbeziehe, rather than splitting into beziehe ... ein. Example: Wenn ich neue Daten einbeziehe, ändere ich den Bericht. — “When I include new data, I change the report.” Together, Die Exportfunktion schlägt jedes Mal fehl says “The export feature fails every time.” The subordinate clause wenn ich gefilterte Ergebnisse einbeziehe specifies the condition: “when I include filtered results.” Thus the complete utterance means: “The export feature fails whenever I include filtered results.”

2. Das klingt reproduzierbar, was die Fehlersuche deutlich einfacher macht.

   That sounds reproducible, which makes troubleshooting much easier.

   klingt

   sounds

   reproduzierbar

   reproducible

   Fehlersuche

   troubleshooting

   deutlich

   clearly; significantly

   einfacher

   easier

   macht

   makes

   More detail

   klingt is the third-person singular present form of klingen (“to sound” or “to seem”). Here it describes how the situation comes across: Das klingt ... = “That sounds ...”. For a different subject, the present form changes: Das klingt but Die Ergebnisse klingen (“The results sound ...”). reproduzierbar means “able to be reproduced,” here referring to the behavior or result being repeatable under the same conditions. The ending -bar commonly helps form adjectives meaning “can be ...,” as in lesbar (“readable”). Example: Der Fehler ist reproduzierbar. — “The error can be reproduced.” Fehlersuche is a feminine compound noun meaning “troubleshooting” or “search for the error.” Its parts are Fehler (“error”) and Suche (“search”), but the compound is used as one noun. Example: Die Fehlersuche dauert lange. — “Troubleshooting takes a long time.” deutlich means “clearly” here and strengthens the comparison: the difference is substantial or noticeable. As an adjective, it can also mean “clear” or “distinct,” but in this sentence it functions adverbially with einfacher. einfacher is the comparative form of einfach (“easy” or “simple”): einfach → einfacher → am einfachsten (“easy” → “easier” → “easiest”). In die Fehlersuche deutlich einfacher, it says that troubleshooting becomes noticeably easier than before or than under another condition. Example: Diese Anleitung ist einfacher. — “This guide is easier.” macht is the third-person singular present form of machen (“to make” or “to do”). In the pattern etwas macht etwas einfacher, the first etwas causes the second thing to become easier: Die Erklärung macht die Aufgabe einfacher. — “The explanation makes the task easier.” The sentence begins with Das, meaning “that,” followed by klingt reproduzierbar, “sounds reproducible.” The comma introduces was die Fehlersuche deutlich einfacher macht. Here was refers to the preceding fact as a whole, and the clause says that this fact makes troubleshooting noticeably easier. Thus the complete meaning is: “That sounds reproducible, which makes troubleshooting much easier.”

3. Ich habe es mit ungefilterten Daten getestet, und der Export hat normal funktioniert.

   I tested it with unfiltered data, and export worked normally.

   Ich habe

   I have

   es

   it

   mit

   with

   ungefilterten

   unfiltered

   Daten

   data

   getestet

   tested

   Export

   export

   normal

   normally

   funktioniert

   worked

   More detail

   Ich habe combines the subject Ich (“I”) with the auxiliary habe. Together with a past participle, it forms the perfect tense: Ich habe ... getestet means “I tested ...” or literally “I have tested ...”. The auxiliary agrees with the subject: ich habe, but er/sie/es hat. es is a third-person singular neuter pronoun functioning here as the object of getestet; the fixed translation identifies its meaning as “it”. In the accusative, German personal pronouns distinguish forms such as ihn for a masculine referent, sie for a feminine referent, and es for a neuter referent. Thus the form es is specifically the neuter accusative form here. mit means “with” and normally takes the dative case. It introduces what was used in the test: mit ... Daten means “with ... data”. ungefilterten is the adjective ungefiltert (“unfiltered”). Here it describes Daten after the dative preposition mit. With a plural noun after mit, the adjective has the ending -en: mit ungefilterten Daten. The adjective, not Daten, carries this inflection. Daten means “data” here. It is a plural-form noun, and in technical usage it commonly refers to data as a mass or plural-like set. In this sentence it is the material used for testing. Example: Die Daten sind ungefiltert. — “The data are unfiltered.” getestet is the past participle of testen (“to test”). The perfect pattern is haben plus a past participle: Ich habe es getestet. — “I tested it.” The tested item is the object es; the data are introduced separately with mit. Export is the masculine noun der Export, “export”. Here it is the subject of the second clause, referring to the export in the fixed sentence. German nouns are capitalized. Example: Der Export war erfolgreich. — “The export was successful.” normal means “normally” here and functions as an adverb modifying how the export worked. The related adjective is also normal; German does not add a special adverb ending in this use. Example: Das Programm läuft normal. — “The program runs normally.” funktioniert is the past participle of funktionieren (“to function” or “to work”) in hat ... funktioniert. The verb is a regular verb whose past participle ends in -iert: funktionieren → funktioniert. Although this form can also be the present-tense form meaning “functions/works” with a third-person singular subject, here hat makes it the participle in the perfect construction. Together, Ich habe es mit ungefilterten Daten getestet means “I tested it with unfiltered data.” The perfect-tense frame Ich habe ... getestet contains the object and the mit phrase. und then adds der Export hat normal funktioniert, meaning that the export worked normally. The complete utterance is: “I tested it with unfiltered data, and export worked normally.”

4. Dann könnte die Filterlogik mit dem Exportmodul interagieren.

   Then the filter logic may be interacting with the export module.

   Dann

   Then

   könnte

   may / could

   Filterlogik

   filter logic

   Exportmodul

   export module

   interagieren

   interact

   More detail

   Dann is a temporal adverb meaning “then”; here it links the statement to the situation just described. It can also introduce a consequence: Wenn ..., dann ... = “If ..., then ...”. könnte is the Konjunktiv II form of können. In this sentence it expresses a possible interaction, so “may” or “could” is appropriate; it does not primarily mean that someone has the ability to do something. Compare kann = “can / may” for a more direct present possibility or ability, while könnte presents the possibility more tentatively. Example: Das könnte helfen. — “That could help.” Filterlogik is a compound noun meaning “filter logic”: Filter refers to filtering, and Logik to the rules or logic involved. German compounds are written as one word, and the grammatical gender is determined by the final component; Logik is feminine, which is why the surrounding sentence uses die. Exportmodul is a compound noun meaning “export module”. Its final component, Modul, is neuter, so the phrase here uses the neuter form dem after mit. The preposition mit takes the dative case: mit dem Exportmodul = “with the export module”. interagieren is the infinitive “to interact”. With the modal verb könnte, the modal verb is inflected and the lexical verb remains an infinitive at the end: könnte ... interagieren = “may/could interact”. The pattern X könnte mit Y interagieren is reusable for cautiously describing a possible interaction between two things. Together, Dann provides the temporal link, könnte marks a possibility, and die Filterlogik ... mit dem Exportmodul interagieren states the possible relation. The complete meaning is: “Then the filter logic may be interacting with the export module.”

5. Ich kann eine Beispieldatei ohne vertrauliche Informationen senden.

   I can send a sample file without sensitive information.

   Ich kann

   I can

   Beispieldatei

   sample file

   ohne

   without

   vertrauliche

   confidential; sensitive

   Informationen

   information

   senden

   send

   More detail

   Ich kann: kann is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb können (“can; be able to”). With ich, the form is ich kann; the same form also occurs with third-person singular subjects, such as er kann, so the subject identifies the person here. In a main clause, the modal verb is conjugated while the other verb normally appears as an infinitive at the end: Ich kann warten. — “I can wait.” Beispieldatei: This compound noun means “sample file”: Beispiel means “example/sample” and Datei means “file.” German compounds are written as one word, and the grammatical gender comes from the final component: die Datei, therefore die Beispieldatei. Its plural is Beispieldateien. ohne: This preposition means “without” and introduces what is absent. ohne normally takes the accusative case: ohne einen Anhang — “without an attachment.” Here it begins the phrase specifying what is not included in what is sent. vertrauliche: This adjective means “confidential” or, in this sentence, “sensitive.” It describes the plural noun Informationen in the accusative phrase after ohne. Because there is no article, the adjective has strong plural inflection: vertrauliche Informationen; the -e ending is used in both nominative and accusative plural here. The base form is vertraulich; for example, vertrauliche Daten means “confidential data.” Informationen: This noun means “information” here. Information is the singular form, and Informationen is its plural. In this sentence the plural form is used in the accusative phrase after ohne; the plural noun itself has the same visible form in several cases. Example: Wir schützen persönliche Informationen. — “We protect personal information.” senden: This infinitive means “send.” Its base form is senden; in the fixed sentence it follows the modal kann, so it is not conjugated: Ich kann senden, not Ich kann sende. A simple present-tense sentence without a modal would conjugate it: Ich sende die Datei. — “I send the file.” Together, Ich kann expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility, eine Beispieldatei is the thing that can be sent, and ohne vertrauliche Informationen specifies that the file is sent without sensitive information. The finite modal kann is in the second position, while the infinitive senden comes at the end, producing the meaning “I can send a sample file without sensitive information.”

6. Das würde uns helfen, das Problem sicher einzugrenzen.

   That would help us isolate the issue safely.

   Das würde

   That would

   uns

   us

   helfen

   help

   das

   the

   Problem

   issue

   sicher

   safely

   einzugrenzen

   isolate

   More detail

   Das würde expresses a hypothetical result: “That would …”. würde is the conditional-looking form of werden used with an infinitive to form a conditional construction: würde + infinitive. Here Das means “that” and is not being identified more specifically by the sentence. uns means “us”. It is the first-person plural pronoun in the accusative or dative form; in this sentence, helfen governs the dative, so uns is the group that would receive help. Compare uns “us” with wir “we”: Wir helfen means “We help”, while Das hilft uns means “That helps us”. helfen means “to help”. Its base form is helfen; the form after würde remains the infinitive. German commonly uses helfen with a dative recipient and can link it to a further action with a zu-infinitive. Example: Das hilft mir, die Ursache zu verstehen. — “That helps me understand the cause.” das is the definite article “the” here. It marks Problem as a singular neuter noun in the accusative form required by the action being described. The same spelling can also be a demonstrative or pronoun in other contexts, but here it accompanies the noun Problem. Problem means “problem” or “issue”. Its base form is das Problem; the noun is neuter, which is why the article is das in this phrase. The plural is die Probleme. Example: Wir lösen das Problem. — “We are solving the problem.” sicher means “safely” in this sentence: the issue is to be narrowed down in a reliable or secure way. German uses the same form sicher as an adjective and as an adverb; as an adjective it can mean “safe” or “certain”, while here it modifies the action einzugrenzen. einzugrenzen means “to isolate” or “to narrow down”. It is the zu-infinitive of the separable verb eingrenzen: ein + grenzen, with zu inserted as einzugrenzen. The verb describes reducing a problem or range to a more limited area; it does not necessarily mean completely solving it. Example: Wir versuchen, die Ursache einzugrenzen. — “We are trying to narrow down the cause.” Together, Das würde uns helfen means “That would help us”. The following das Problem sicher einzugrenzen states the action that this help would make easier: “to isolate the issue safely.” The complete utterance is therefore: “That would help us isolate the issue safely.”

7. Bitte bestätigen Sie, ob die Protokolle private Inhalte enthalten.

   Please confirm whether logs include any private content.

   Bitte

   please

   bestätigen

   confirm

   Sie

   you (formal)

   ob

   whether

   Protokolle

   logs

   private

   private

   Inhalte

   content

   enthalten

   contain

   More detail

   Bitte is a polite way to make a request. It can stand at the beginning of a formal request without changing the factual content. bestätigen means “to confirm.” Its base form is the infinitive bestätigen; here it is used in the formal imperative pattern Bestätigen Sie ... (“Please confirm ...”). A useful contrast is prüfen (“check”): confirming communicates that something is established or verified, while checking emphasizes examining it. Sie is the formal second-person pronoun, meaning “you” when addressing one or more people politely. It is written with a capital letter. In the formal imperative, the infinitive is followed by Sie, as in Bestätigen Sie .... ob introduces an indirect yes/no question and means “whether.” It differs from wenn, which commonly introduces a condition (“if/when”). In an ob clause, the finite verb normally goes to the end: Ich weiß, ob er kommt. — “I know whether he is coming.” Protokolle means “logs” here. The singular base noun is Protokoll; Protokolle is its plural. The definite article die in the full sentence marks this noun phrase as definite and plural, though die can have other functions in German. private means “private” and describes Inhalte. Here it is an attributive adjective before a plural noun in an article-less accusative noun phrase. Because no article carries the case and number marking, the adjective has the strong plural ending -e. With a definite article, the corresponding form is die privaten Inhalte. Inhalte means “content” in the sense of pieces or kinds of content. Its singular base noun is Inhalt; Inhalte is plural. The phrase private Inhalte therefore refers to private content without asserting a particular numerical amount. enthalten means “contain” here. The base form is also enthalten, and the present-tense plural form for sie (“they”) is enthalten, so the infinitive and this finite form look identical. The subject is die Protokolle, and the verb agrees with that plural subject. For comparison, singular Das Protokoll enthält ... uses enthält. Together, Bitte bestätigen Sie forms a polite formal request: “Please confirm.” The ob clause gives the yes/no issue to be confirmed. Inside that clause, die Protokolle is the plural subject, private Inhalte is the accusative object, and enthalten appears at the end because this is a subordinate clause introduced by ob. The whole utterance means: “Please confirm whether logs include any private content.”

8. Ich werde das überprüfen, bevor ich die Protokolle anfordere.

   I will verify that before requesting the logs.

   Ich werde

   I will

   das

   that

   überprüfen

   verify

   bevor

   before

   Protokolle

   logs

   anfordere

   request

   More detail

   Ich werde introduces a future statement here: werde is the first-person singular present form of werden, used as an auxiliary with the infinitive at the end of the clause. Pattern: Ich werde + infinitive = “I will …”. In another context, werden can mean “become”, but that is not its function here. das is an accusative neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” in this sentence. It stands for the matter already identified by the context, without needing to repeat it. The form das also appears as a neuter article, so its role must be determined from the surrounding words. überprüfen is the infinitive “to verify” or “to check”. With das, it forms das überprüfen, “verify that”. The infinitive remains unchanged after the future auxiliary: Ich werde das überprüfen. Example: Wir werden die Angaben überprüfen. — “We will verify the information.” bevor introduces a subordinate clause meaning “before”. In German, the finite verb in this clause goes to the end: bevor ich … anfordere. This clause expresses the earlier point in the sequence, while the main clause states what will happen. Protokolle is the plural of das Protokoll, here meaning “logs”. In die Protokolle, the plural article marks the accusative object of anfordern; the noun itself has the same form in the plural nominative and accusative. Example: Ich lese die Protokolle. — “I read the logs.” anfordere means “request” here. It is the first-person singular present form of the separable verb anfordern (“to request”). In a main clause, its parts separate: Ich fordere die Protokolle an. In the bevor subordinate clause, the finite form is at the end and the parts appear together: bevor ich die Protokolle anfordere. Together, Ich werde das überprüfen means “I will verify that”, and bevor ich die Protokolle anfordere means “before requesting the logs”. The complete utterance is therefore: “I will verify that before requesting the logs.”