Preparing drinks and snacks for a guest | Learn German in English

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Use Preparing drinks and snacks for a guest to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Unser Gast kommt bald.

OON-zuh gahst kohmt bahlt. Our guest will arrive soon.

Sollen wir Kaffee oder Tee servieren?

ZOL-len veer kah-FAY OH-duh tay zehr-VEE-ruhn? Should we serve coffee or tea?

Heute Abend ist Tee wahrscheinlich besser.

HOY-tuh AH-bent ist tay VAH-shine-likh BES-uh. Tea is probably better this evening.

Ich koche etwas Wasser im Wasserkocher.

Ikh KOKH-uh ET-vahs VAH-ser im VAH-ser-koh-khuh. I'll boil some water in the kettle.

Bitte benutze die große Tasse für unseren Gast.

BIT-tuh beh-NOOT-suh dee GROH-suh TAS-suh fyoor OON-zuh-ren gahst. Please use the large mug for our guest.

Soll ich auch Snacks vorbereiten?

ZOL ikh owkh SNAHKS fohr-beh-RY-tuhn? Would you like me to prepare snacks too?

Leg bitte ein paar Kekse auf den kleinen Teller.

Layk BIT-tuh ine pahr KEK-suh owf dayn KLY-nuhn TEL-uh. Put some biscuits on the small plate, please.

Alles wird fertig sein, bevor unser Gast ankommt.

AL-les veert FER-tikh zine, beh-FOHR OON-zuh gahst AHN-kommt. Everything will be ready before they arrive.

Word by Word

Unser In "Unser Gast" means “our” and identifies the guest as belonging to the speaker and others. It is the sentence-initial capitalized form of unser, and the reusable pattern is unser plus a noun. Use it when introducing someone or something shared by the speaker and another person.

Gast In "Unser Gast" means “guest,” referring to the person who is expected to visit. It is a noun used here with a possessive word before it, as in "Unser Gast". Use it when talking about someone visiting a home or event.

kommt In "Unser Gast kommt bald" means “is coming” or “will arrive soon.” It is the form of kommen used with Gast, and the pattern subject plus kommt plus a time expression is useful for announcing an arrival. Use it when telling someone that a person is on the way or expected soon.

bald In "Unser Gast kommt bald" means “soon,” indicating that the arrival will happen after a short time. It commonly follows an arrival or movement verb, as in "kommt bald". Use it when giving a brief time estimate in everyday conversation.

Sollen At the start of "Sollen wir Kaffee oder Tee servieren?" asks “Should we …?” and requests a suggestion about what to do. It is the form of sollen used with wir in a yes-or-no question, followed by the infinitive servieren. Use "Sollen wir" when asking another person to decide on a shared action.

wir In "Sollen wir Kaffee oder Tee servieren?" means “we” and identifies the people who may serve the drinks. It follows Sollen in this question and belongs to the reusable pattern Sollen wir plus an infinitive. Use it when proposing an action for yourself and at least one other person.

Kaffee In "Kaffee oder Tee" means “coffee,” one of the two drinks being considered. It is used as an object of servieren in the pattern Kaffee oder Tee servieren. Use it when choosing or discussing a coffee drink.

oder In "Kaffee oder Tee" means “or” and connects the two alternatives in the question. The reusable pattern is one option oder another option. Use it when asking someone to choose between possibilities.

Tee In "Kaffee oder Tee" means “tea,” the second drink being considered. It is also the subject of the later statement "Heute Abend ist Tee wahrscheinlich besser". Use it when choosing, preparing, or serving tea.

servieren In "Kaffee oder Tee servieren" means “serve,” referring to offering a drink to someone. It is the infinitive placed after the modal form Sollen in this question, with the drink as its object. Use servieren when talking about presenting food or drinks to another person.

Heute In "Heute Abend" means “today” and helps specify which evening is meant. Together with Abend, it forms the time expression "Heute Abend" for this evening. Use it when locating an event on the current day.

Abend In "Heute Abend" means “evening,” so the whole expression refers to this evening. It is a noun used after Heute in a time expression. Use it when talking about plans or events later in the day.

ist In "Heute Abend ist Tee wahrscheinlich besser" means “is” and links Tee with the description besser. It is the form of sein used in this statement, after the initial time expression. Use ist to describe what something is like or how it is judged in a situation.

wahrscheinlich In "Tee wahrscheinlich besser" means “probably,” showing that the speaker is giving a likely judgment rather than complete certainty. It modifies the assessment of Tee as besser. Use it when making a careful prediction or expressing a likely preference.

besser In "Tee wahrscheinlich besser" means “better” or “more suitable” for the situation. It expresses the speaker’s preference for tea this evening, without naming a separate comparison in the sentence. Use it when selecting the more suitable option.

Ich In "Ich koche etwas Wasser" means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person preparing the water. It is the sentence-initial capitalized form of ich and is used before the verb koche. Use it when stating that you will carry out an action.

koche In "Ich koche etwas Wasser" means “boil” in this kitchen context. It is the form of kochen used with Ich, and the reusable pattern is Ich koche plus an object. Use it when describing the action of boiling water for a drink.

etwas In "etwas Wasser" means “some” and indicates an unspecified amount of water. It comes before Wasser in the quantity phrase "etwas Wasser". Use it when preparing or requesting a quantity without stating an exact amount.

Wasser In "etwas Wasser" means “water,” the substance being boiled. It is the object of koche and is used with etwas to express some water. Use it when talking about water for cooking or preparing a hot drink.

im In "im Wasserkocher" means “in the” and is the contracted form of in dem. It identifies the kettle as the place where the water is being boiled. Use im before a suitable location noun when referring to something being in that place.

Wasserkocher In "im Wasserkocher" means “kettle,” specifically the appliance used to heat the water. It follows im in a location phrase. Use it when talking about boiling or heating water in a kettle.

Bitte At the start of "Bitte benutze die große Tasse" means “please” and makes the instruction polite. It is a common request marker placed before an imperative. Use Bitte when asking someone to do something in a courteous way.

benutze In "Bitte benutze die große Tasse" means “use” and gives a direct request to one person. It is the imperative form of benutzen in this instruction and is followed by the object die große Tasse. Use it when telling someone which item or tool to use.

die In "die große Tasse" means “the” and identifies a specific cup or mug. It comes before the adjective große and the noun Tasse in the noun phrase. Use die in a phrase that names a specific feminine noun in this form.

große In "die große Tasse" means “large” and describes the selected cup or mug. It is the form of groß used with die Tasse. Use it before a noun when distinguishing a larger item from another one.

Tasse In "die große Tasse" means “mug” or “cup,” the item intended for the guest. It is also part of the phrase "Tasse für unseren Gast", which identifies the intended recipient. Use it when talking about a cup or mug used for a drink.

für In "für unseren Gast" means “for” and introduces the person the mug is intended for. It is followed here by the recipient phrase unseren Gast. Use für plus a person when identifying who will receive or use something.

unseren In "für unseren Gast" means “our” and refers to the guest shared by the speakers. It is the form of the same possessive word seen in Unser, with the ending used in this phrase before Gast. Use it in a phrase such as "für unseren Gast" when identifying the intended person.

Soll At the start of "Soll ich auch Snacks vorbereiten?" asks “Should I …?” and offers the speaker’s help with another task. It is the form of sollen used with ich in a yes-or-no question, followed by the infinitive vorbereiten. Use "Soll ich" when offering to do something for another person.

auch In "Soll ich auch Snacks vorbereiten?" means “also” or “too,” adding snack preparation to the tasks already being discussed. It appears with Snacks in the offer "auch Snacks vorbereiten". Use it when proposing an additional action or item.

Snacks In "Snacks vorbereiten" means “snacks,” referring to small food items to prepare for the guest. It is used as the object of vorbereiten. Use it when discussing simple food served alongside a drink.

vorbereiten In "Snacks vorbereiten" means “prepare,” referring to getting the snacks ready. It is the infinitive at the end of the question after Soll ich. Use the pattern something vorbereiten when talking about getting food, drinks, or other items ready.

Leg At the start of "Leg bitte ein paar Kekse auf den kleinen Teller" means “put” or “place” and gives a direct instruction. It is the imperative form of legen and is followed by the item and its destination. Use "Leg ... auf ..." when telling someone to place something on a surface.

ein In "ein paar Kekse" contributes to the fixed quantity expression “a few.” Its meaning here comes together with paar, rather than functioning alone as “a” before Kekse. Use the pattern ein paar plus a plural food or object noun for a small quantity.

paar In "ein paar Kekse" contributes the meaning “few” or “a couple of.” Together with ein, it forms the quantity phrase "ein paar" before Kekse. Use it when referring to a small number of items.

Kekse In "ein paar Kekse" means “biscuits” or “cookies,” the snack items being placed on the plate. It is the object of Leg and appears in the phrase "Kekse auf den kleinen Teller". Use it when offering or serving these baked snacks.

auf In "auf den kleinen Teller" means “onto” or “on” and identifies the surface where the biscuits should be placed. With Leg, it introduces the destination of the movement. Use auf with a surface when telling someone to place an item there.

den In "den kleinen Teller" means “the” and identifies a specific plate. It comes before kleinen and Teller in the destination phrase after auf. Use den in this type of phrase when referring to the particular plate being used.

kleinen In "den kleinen Teller" means “small” and describes the selected plate. It is the form of klein used in this phrase before Teller. Use it when distinguishing a smaller item from another available item.

Teller In "den kleinen Teller" means “plate,” the surface on which the biscuits should be placed. It is the destination named after auf in the instruction. Use it when talking about serving food on a plate.

Alles In "Alles wird fertig sein" means “everything,” referring collectively to the drinks, snacks, and other preparations. It is the subject of the statement about readiness. Use it when referring to all relevant items or tasks together.

wird In "Alles wird fertig sein" helps express that everything will be ready in the future. It is the form of werden used with Alles, and the future meaning is completed by sein. Use the pattern wird ... sein to say that something will be in a particular state later.

fertig In "fertig sein" means “ready,” describing the completed state of the preparations. It follows wird and comes before sein in the future expression "wird fertig sein". Use fertig sein when saying that a task or preparation is ready or complete.

sein In "wird fertig sein" means “be” and completes the expression “will be ready.” It is the infinitive used with wird to describe a future state. Use sein after a future form when naming the state something will be in.

bevor In "bevor unser Gast ankommt" means “before” and introduces the event that must happen after the preparations are ready. It connects the readiness statement with the guest’s arrival. Use bevor plus a clause when sequencing one event ahead of another.

ankommt In "bevor unser Gast ankommt" means “arrives,” referring to the guest reaching the home. It is the form of ankommen used here, and the verb appears together at the end of the clause after bevor. Use it when describing someone reaching a destination.

Grammar Points

bevor + Verb am Ende

Bevor ich Wasser koche, benutze ich den Wasserkocher.

beh-FOHR ikh VAH-ser KOKH-uh, beh-NOOT-suh ikh dayn VAH-ser-koh-khuh.

Before I boil water, I use the kettle.

Nach „bevor“ steht das konjugierte Verb am Ende des Nebensatzes: „Wasser koche“.

Adjektivendung nach „eine“

Ich benutze eine große Tasse.

Ikh beh-NOOT-suh EYE-nuh GROH-suh TAS-suh.

I use a large cup.

Nach „eine“ erhält das Adjektiv hier die Endung „-e“: „eine große Tasse“.

German Vocabulary

bald adv

bahlt soon

Unser Gast kommt bald.

besser adj

BES-uh better

Heute Abend ist Tee wahrscheinlich besser.

Gast noun

gahst guest

Unser Gast kommt bald.

heute Abend phrase

HOY-tuh AH-bent this evening

Heute Abend ist Tee wahrscheinlich besser.

Kaffee noun

kah-FAY coffee

Sollen wir Kaffee oder Tee servieren?

kochen verb

KOKH-en to boil koche

Ich koche etwas Wasser im Wasserkocher.

kommen verb

KOH-muhn to come kommt

Unser Gast kommt bald.

servieren verb

zehr-VEE-ruhn to serve

Sollen wir Kaffee oder Tee servieren?

Tee noun

tay tea

Heute Abend ist Tee wahrscheinlich besser.

wahrscheinlich adv

VAH-shine-likh probably

Heute Abend ist Tee wahrscheinlich besser.

Wasser noun

VAH-ser water

Ich koche etwas Wasser im Wasserkocher.

Wasserkocher noun

VAH-ser-koh-khuh kettle

Ich koche etwas Wasser im Wasserkocher.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Our guest will arrive soon.

Show Answer

Unser Gast kommt bald.

Should we serve coffee or tea?

Show Answer

Sollen wir Kaffee oder Tee servieren?

Tea is probably better this evening.

Show Answer

Heute Abend ist Tee wahrscheinlich besser.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

soon

Show Answer

bald

to serve

Show Answer

servieren

to come

Show Answer

kommt

better

Show Answer

besser