Checking a Message Before Sending | Learn German in English

German lesson set in a contemporary Berlin everyday setting: In a daily life setting, two adults check a message for clarity and a small spelling mistake before sending it..

EN → DE / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Checking a Message Before Sending to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Kannst du diese Nachricht prüfen?

kanst doo DEE-zuh NAHKH-rikhht PROO-fen? Can you check this message?
B

Ich kann sie jetzt lesen.

ikh kahn zee yetst LAY-zən. I can read it now.
A

Ist die Nachricht klar?

ist dee NAHKH-rikhht klahr? Does it look clear?
B

Der wichtigste Punkt ist leicht zu verstehen.

dair VIKH-tikh-stuh poonkt ist lykht tsoo fer-SHTAY-ən. The main point is easy to understand.
A

Siehst du Fehler?

zeest doo FAY-lər? Do you see any mistakes?
B

Ich sehe gegen Ende einen kleinen Rechtschreibfehler.

ikh ZAY-uh GAY-gən EN-duh EYE-nən KLY-nen RYKH-shrype-fay-lər. I see one small spelling mistake near the end.
A

Ich werde das jetzt korrigieren.

ikh VAIR-duh dahs yetst kor-ree-GEER-ən. I will fix that now.
B

Danach sollte sie zum Senden bereit sein.

dah-NAKH SHOLT-uh zee tsoom ZEN-den buh-RYTE zyne. After that, it should be ready to send.

Word by Word

Kannst “Kannst” means “can” when asking one person about their ability or willingness. In “Kannst du diese Nachricht prüfen?”, it comes before the subject and the infinitive; this is a reusable way to ask someone to check something.
du “du” means “you” when addressing one person informally. In “Kannst du diese Nachricht prüfen?”, it is the person being asked to check the message.
diese “diese” means “this” and points to the particular message being checked in “diese Nachricht”. A reusable pattern is “diese” before a noun when identifying one specific nearby or known thing.
Nachricht “Nachricht” means “message” here, the object that is being checked. In “diese Nachricht prüfen”, it is used for a written message that someone wants another person to review.
prüfen “prüfen” means “to check” or “to review” the message. In “Kannst du diese Nachricht prüfen?”, it is the infinitive placed after the modal verb; this pattern is useful when asking someone to review something.
Ich “Ich” means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person who can read, see, or correct something. It is used as the subject in “Ich kann sie jetzt lesen” and “Ich sehe gegen Ende einen kleinen Rechtschreibfehler”.
kann “kann” means “can” when the speaker says what they are able to do. In “Ich kann sie jetzt lesen”, it is followed by the infinitive “lesen”, a common pattern for expressing ability.
sie “sie” means “it” here and refers back to the feminine noun “Nachricht”. In “Ich kann sie jetzt lesen”, it is the message that the speaker is able to read.
jetzt “jetzt” means “now” and places the reading in the present moment. In “Ich kann sie jetzt lesen”, it is used with an action that can happen immediately.
lesen “lesen” means “to read” and describes the action the speaker can perform on the message. In “Ich kann sie jetzt lesen”, it remains in the infinitive after “kann”.
Ist “Ist” means “is” and begins the yes-or-no question “Ist die Nachricht klar?”. It asks whether the message has the stated quality.
klar “klar” means “clear” or easy to understand in this message-checking context. In “Ist die Nachricht klar?”, it describes the message after the verb “ist”.
Der “Der” means “the” and introduces the specific noun phrase “Der wichtigste Punkt”. It helps identify the particular main point being discussed.
wichtigste “wichtigste” means “most important” and identifies the main point as the one that matters most. In “Der wichtigste Punkt”, it singles out one point for priority.
Punkt “Punkt” means “point” here, referring to the main idea of the message. In “Der wichtigste Punkt ist leicht zu verstehen”, it is the subject whose understandability is being described.
leicht “leicht” means “easy” in “leicht zu verstehen”. Together with the following infinitive phrase, it says that the main point can be understood without difficulty.
zu “zu” introduces the infinitive phrase “zu verstehen” in “leicht zu verstehen”. The pattern “leicht zu” plus an infinitive is used to describe something that is easy to do or understand.
verstehen “verstehen” means “to understand” in “leicht zu verstehen”. With “leicht zu”, it describes the main point as easy for someone to understand.
Siehst “Siehst” means “see” when asking one person whether they notice something. In “Siehst du Fehler?”, it is the verb at the start of a question about mistakes in the message.
Fehler “Fehler” refers to mistakes in the message. In “Siehst du Fehler?”, it names the things the other person is being asked to notice.
sehe “sehe” means “see” when the speaker says what they notice. In “Ich sehe gegen Ende einen kleinen Rechtschreibfehler”, it describes the speaker’s observation.
gegen “gegen” contributes the meaning “toward” or “near” in the time expression “gegen Ende”. This expression is useful when locating something close to the end of a text, event, or period.
Ende “Ende” means “end” in “gegen Ende”. The phrase identifies the location of the spelling mistake as being near the end of the message.
einen “einen” means “a” or “one” in “einen kleinen Rechtschreibfehler”. It introduces the single spelling mistake that the speaker has noticed.
kleinen “kleinen” means “small” and describes the spelling mistake in “einen kleinen Rechtschreibfehler”. It appears between “einen” and the noun it describes.
Rechtschreibfehler “Rechtschreibfehler” means “spelling mistake” and identifies the specific kind of error found in the message. In “einen kleinen Rechtschreibfehler”, it is the error that the speaker sees.
werde “werde” means “will” here and signals that the speaker plans to correct the error. In “Ich werde das jetzt korrigieren”, it is followed by the infinitive “korrigieren” at the end.
das “das” means “that” or “it” here and refers to the spelling mistake just mentioned. In “Ich werde das jetzt korrigieren”, it is the thing the speaker will correct.
korrigieren “korrigieren” means “to correct” or “to fix” the mistake. In “Ich werde das jetzt korrigieren”, it is the infinitive used after “werde” for the planned action.
Danach “Danach” means “after that” and connects the correction with the next result. At the beginning of “Danach sollte sie zum Senden bereit sein”, it shows that the message’s readiness follows the correction.
sollte “sollte” expresses the expectation that the message will be ready after the correction. In “Danach sollte sie zum Senden bereit sein”, it presents this as the likely result.
zum “zum” means “for” or “to the” in “zum Senden” and introduces the activity of sending. It is the contracted form of “zu dem” and is used here to describe what the message is ready for.
Senden “Senden” means “sending” in “zum Senden”. The capitalized form names the activity that the message should be ready for.
bereit “bereit” means “ready” and describes the message’s state after the correction. In “zum Senden bereit sein”, it says that the message can now be sent.
sein “sein” means “to be” and completes the expression “bereit sein”. In “Danach sollte sie zum Senden bereit sein”, it follows “sollte” and states the expected state of the message.

Grammar Points

der wichtigste Punkt

Der wichtigste Punkt ist klar.

dair VIKH-tikh-stuh poonkt ist klahr.

The most important point is clear.

The superlative wichtigste means “most important” and takes an adjective ending before the noun.

einen kleinen Fehler

Einen kleinen Fehler korrigieren.

EYE-nən KLY-nen FAY-lər kor-ree-GEER-ən.

To correct a small mistake.

After einen, the masculine adjective takes the ending -en: einen kleinen Fehler.

German Vocabulary

diese det
DEE-zuh this
Fehler noun
FAY-lər mistake
jetzt adv
yetst now
klar adj
klahr clear
leicht adj
ly kht easy
lesen verb
LAY-zən to read
Nachricht noun
NAHKH-rikhht message

diese Nachricht

prüfen verb
PROO-fen to check
Punkt noun
poonkt point
sehen verb
ZAY-ən to see Siehst
verstehen verb
fer-SHTAY-ən to understand
wichtig adj
VIKH-tikh important wichtigste

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Can you check this message?

Show AnswerKannst du diese Nachricht prüfen?

I can read it now.

Show AnswerIch kann sie jetzt lesen.

Does it look clear?

Show AnswerIst die Nachricht klar?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

point

Show AnswerPunkt

clear

Show Answerklar

easy

Show Answerleicht

important

Show Answerwichtigste