Sticking to the grocery list | Learn German in English

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Use Sticking to the grocery list to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste.

HAL-ten veer oons an dee EYN-kowfs-LISS-tuh. Let's stick to the grocery list.

So kaufen wir hoffentlich nicht zu viel.

zoh KOW-fen veer HOFF-ent-likh nikht tsoo FEEL. That should keep us from buying too much.

Wo sind die Nudeln und der Reis?

voh zint dee NOO-deln oont dair RICE? Where are the pasta and rice?

Sie sind im Gang mit den trockenen Lebensmitteln.

zee zint im GAHNG mit dehn TROHK-uh-nen LAY-bens-mit-len. They are in the dry food aisle.

Das sind die Nudeln, die wir letztes Mal gekauft haben.

dahs zint dee NOO-deln, dee veer LETS-tes mahl geh-KOWFT HAH-ben. This is the pasta we bought last time.

Legen wir eine Packung in den Einkaufswagen.

LAY-gen veer EYE-nuh PAHK-oong in dehn EYN-kowfs-vah-gen. Let's put one pack in the cart.

Danach brauchen wir nur noch Milch.

dah-NAHKH BROW-khen veer noor nokh MILKH. After that, we only need milk.

Dann können wir direkt zur Kasse gehen.

dahn KURN-en veer dee-REKT tsoor KAH-suh GAY-en. Then we can head straight to checkout.

Word by Word

Halten In “Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste”, “Halten” proposes that we stick to something. It is used with “sich an etwas halten”, followed here by “an die Einkaufsliste”; use this when suggesting that people follow a rule or plan.

wir “wir” means “we” in “Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste” and includes the speaker and another person. It appears with the verb form “Halten” in this suggestion; use it when proposing a shared action.

uns “uns” refers to the speaker and the other person as the people who should stick to the list. Together with “Halten” and “an” in “Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste”, it forms the expression for keeping to something; use this construction for following a plan or rule.

an In “Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste”, “an” is the preposition used in the expression for sticking to something. The reusable pattern is “sich an etwas halten”, with the thing being followed after “an”; here that thing is “die Einkaufsliste”.

die In “die Einkaufsliste” and “die Nudeln”, “die” means “the”. It accompanies a feminine singular noun in “die Einkaufsliste” and a plural noun in “die Nudeln”; use the form before these kinds of noun phrases.

Einkaufsliste “Einkaufsliste” means “grocery list” in “die Einkaufsliste”. The compound names a list used for shopping; it is used here after “an” in “sich an die Einkaufsliste halten”.

So “So” means “that way” in “So kaufen wir hoffentlich nicht zu viel”. It connects the suggested action with its expected result; use it at the beginning of a sentence to refer to a way of doing something.

kaufen “kaufen” means “buy” in “So kaufen wir hoffentlich nicht zu viel”. With “wir”, it describes the shared shopping action; use it with the thing being bought, such as “kaufen wir Milch” in a new sentence.

hoffentlich “hoffentlich” means “hopefully” and expresses a wish or expectation in “So kaufen wir hoffentlich nicht zu viel”. It comments on the whole statement rather than naming an item; use it when you hope that an event will have a particular result.

nicht “nicht” makes the buying action negative in “kaufen wir hoffentlich nicht zu viel”. Here it helps say that the shoppers will hopefully avoid buying too much; use it to negate an action or statement.

zu In the exact expression “zu viel”, “zu” marks an excessive amount. Together, “zu viel” means “too much”, and this phrase can follow a verb such as “kaufen” when the amount is more than wanted.

viel In “zu viel”, “viel” supplies the meaning of a large amount, while “zu” makes it excessive. The phrase “nicht zu viel” means “not too much”; use it when limiting the amount of something.

Wo “Wo” means “where” in “Wo sind die Nudeln und der Reis?”. It asks about the location of the pasta and rice; use it at the beginning of a question about where something is.

sind “sind” means “are” in “Wo sind die Nudeln und der Reis?”. It links the plural items to their location, which is then supplied by the answer; use it with “sie” or another plural subject when asking or stating where things are.

Nudeln “Nudeln” means “pasta” or “noodles” in “die Nudeln”. It names one of the grocery items being located and later identified; use it when referring to pasta products in a shopping context.

und “und” means “and” in “die Nudeln und der Reis”. It joins the two grocery items as one coordinated list; use it to connect nouns or other parts of a sentence.

der In “der Reis”, “der” means “the” and accompanies “Reis”. It is the definite article used here before this singular noun; use the complete noun phrase when referring to the rice.

Reis “Reis” means “rice” in “der Reis”. It is the second grocery item in the question “Wo sind die Nudeln und der Reis?”; use it when discussing rice as a food item.

Sie “Sie” means “they” in “Sie sind im Gang mit den trockenen Lebensmitteln” and refers to the pasta and rice. It is used with “sind” for a plural subject; use it to refer back to plural items already mentioned.

im “im” means “in the” in “im Gang mit den trockenen Lebensmitteln”. It is the contracted form of “in dem” and marks the location of the items; use it before a masculine or neuter location noun in a fixed location phrase.

Gang “Gang” means “aisle” in “im Gang mit den trockenen Lebensmitteln”. It identifies the part of the grocery shop where the items are located; use it with “im” when giving a supermarket aisle location.

mit “mit” means “with” in “mit den trockenen Lebensmitteln”. Here it connects the aisle with the food items found there, giving the aisle’s contents; use it to name what is associated with or contained in a place.

den In “den trockenen Lebensmitteln”, “den” means “the” and accompanies the plural noun phrase after “mit”. It is part of the phrase describing which food items are in the aisle; keep it with “trockenen Lebensmitteln” in this construction.

trockenen “trockenen” means “dry” in “den trockenen Lebensmitteln”. It describes the kind of food items found in the aisle; use it before a food noun when specifying that the food is dry rather than fresh.

Lebensmitteln “Lebensmitteln” means “food items” or “groceries” in “den trockenen Lebensmitteln”. It names the contents associated with the aisle and appears after “mit” in this location description; use it when referring to food supplies in general.

Das “Das” means “this” in “Das sind die Nudeln, die wir letztes Mal gekauft haben”. It points out or identifies the pasta being discussed; use “Das sind ...” to identify items, followed by the noun phrase that names them.

letztes “letztes” means “last” in “letztes Mal”. Together, “letztes Mal” refers to the previous occasion, here the previous shopping occasion; use this expression when referring to something that happened on the previous occasion.

Mal “Mal” means “time” or “occasion” in “letztes Mal”. The phrase “letztes Mal” means “last time” and is used here to locate the earlier purchase; use it with a modifier when referring to a particular occasion.

gekauft “gekauft” means “bought” in “die wir letztes Mal gekauft haben”. It describes the earlier purchase of the pasta and appears with “haben” in this past-time construction; use it with the object bought, such as “die Nudeln gekauft haben”.

haben “haben” is the helping verb in “die wir letztes Mal gekauft haben”, completing the expression for having bought something. It appears at the end of this clause with “gekauft”; use this pattern to describe a completed purchase.

Legen In “Legen wir eine Packung in den Einkaufswagen”, “Legen” proposes that we put or place something somewhere. It is used with the object “eine Packung” and the destination “in den Einkaufswagen”; use this form when suggesting a shared placing action.

eine “eine” means “a” or “one” in “eine Packung”. It introduces the single pack being placed in the cart; use it before a singular feminine noun when naming one item.

Packung “Packung” means “pack” or “package” in “eine Packung”. It identifies the unit of pasta to put into the cart; use it when buying or referring to goods sold in packages.

in In “in den Einkaufswagen”, “in” means “into” because it introduces the destination of the placing action. Use “in” with a place or container when something is moved into it; here the destination is the shopping cart.

Einkaufswagen “Einkaufswagen” means “shopping cart” in “den Einkaufswagen”. It is the container into which the pack is placed; use it in grocery-shopping sentences about putting items into or taking them from a cart.

Danach “Danach” means “after that” in “Danach brauchen wir nur noch Milch”. It refers to the action of putting the pack in the cart and introduces the next step; use it to sequence one action after another.

brauchen “brauchen” means “need” in “brauchen wir nur noch Milch”. With “wir”, it states what the shoppers still require; use it with the needed item, as in “wir brauchen Milch” in a new sentence.

nur In “nur noch Milch”, “nur” means “only” and limits what is still needed to milk. The complete phrase “nur noch Milch” is useful when saying that one remaining item is all that is required.

noch In “nur noch Milch”, “noch” shows that milk remains to be obtained or is additionally still needed. Together with “nur”, the phrase means that milk is the only remaining item; use it when describing what is left to do or obtain.

Milch “Milch” means “milk” in “nur noch Milch”. It is the final grocery item still needed before checkout; use it when naming milk as a shopping item or ingredient.

Dann “Dann” means “then” in “Dann können wir direkt zur Kasse gehen”. It introduces the next action after getting the milk; use it to show what can happen next in a sequence.

können “können” means “can” or “be able to” in “können wir direkt zur Kasse gehen”. It expresses that the shoppers are able or free to go to checkout once the shopping is finished; use it with an infinitive such as “gehen”.

direkt “direkt” means “straight” or “directly” in “direkt zur Kasse gehen”. It shows that they will go straight to checkout without another shopping stop; use it to describe a direct route or action.

zur “zur” means “to the” in “zur Kasse”. It is the contracted form of “zu der” and marks the destination of going; use the phrase “zur Kasse gehen” when saying that someone is going to checkout.

Kasse “Kasse” means “checkout” or “cash desk” in “zur Kasse”. It names the place where the shopping will be paid for; use it with “zur” in the common destination phrase “zur Kasse gehen”.

gehen “gehen” means “go” in “zur Kasse gehen”. It is the action that follows “können” and takes “zur Kasse” as its destination; use the pattern “zu einem Ort gehen” when saying where someone is going.

Grammar Points

Halten wir uns an + Akkusativ

Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste.

HAL-ten veer oons an dee EYN-kowfs-LISS-tuh.

Let’s stick to the grocery list.

German uses the verb first with wir to make a suggestion meaning “let’s …”. The reflexive phrase takes the accusative.

German Vocabulary

Einkaufsliste noun

EYN-kowfs-LISS-tuh grocery list

Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste.

Gang noun

GAHNG aisle

Sie sind im Gang mit den trockenen Lebensmitteln.

gekauft verb

geh-KOWFT bought

Das sind die Nudeln, die wir letztes Mal gekauft haben.

hoffentlich adv

HOFF-ent-likh hopefully

So kaufen wir hoffentlich nicht zu viel.

kaufen verb

KOW-fen to buy

So kaufen wir hoffentlich nicht zu viel.

Lebensmittel noun

LAY-bens-mit-tel food Lebensmitteln

Sie sind im Gang mit den trockenen Lebensmitteln.

letztes Mal phrase

LETS-tes MAHL last time

Das sind die Nudeln, die wir letztes Mal gekauft haben.

Nudeln noun

NOO-deln pasta

Wo sind die Nudeln und der Reis?

Reis noun

RICE rice

Wo sind die Nudeln und der Reis?

sich an etwas halten verb

zikh an ET-vahs HAL-ten to stick to something Halten wir uns an

Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste.

trocken adj

TROHK-en dry trockenen

Sie sind im Gang mit den trockenen Lebensmitteln.

zu viel phrase

tsoo FEEL too much

So kaufen wir hoffentlich nicht zu viel.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Let's stick to the grocery list.

Show Answer

Halten wir uns an die Einkaufsliste.

After that, we only need milk.

Show Answer

Danach brauchen wir nur noch Milch.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

pasta

Show Answer

Nudeln

to buy

Show Answer

kaufen

rice

Show Answer

Reis

dry

Show Answer

trockenen