A Study Break | Learn German in English

About This Lesson

Use A Study Break to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Ich lerne schon lange.

ikh LAIR-nuh shohn LAHNG-uh. I've been studying for a long time.

Leg deine Arbeit beiseite.

layk DYE-nuh AR-bite bye-ZY-tuh. Put your work aside.

Ruh dich einen Moment aus.

roo dikh EYE-nen moh-MENT ows. Rest for a moment.

Es ist jetzt schwer, sich zu konzentrieren.

ess ist yetst shvair, zikh tsoo kon-tsen-TREE-ren. It's hard to concentrate now.

Das bedeutet normalerweise, dass dein Gehirn eine Pause braucht.

dahs beh-DOYT-et nor-mah-LAIR-vy-zuh, dahs DINE guh-HEERN EYE-nuh POW-zuh browkht. That usually means your brain needs a break.

Soll ich später Vokabeln wiederholen?

zohl ikh SHPEH-ter voh-kah-BAYLN VEE-der-HOH-len? Should I review vocabulary later?

Fang mit den einfacheren Wörtern an, wenn du zurückkommst.

fahng mit dane EYE-nfakh-uh-run VUR-tun ahn, venn doo tsoo-RUEK-kohmst. Start with the easier words when you come back.

Ich schließe das Heft, während ich mich ausruhe.

ikh SHLEE-suh dahs heft, VAIR-ent ikh mikh ows-ROO-uh. I'll close the notebook while I rest.

Dann können wir ruhiger weitermachen.

dahn KURN-en veer ROO-ee-guh VY-tuh-MAKH-en. Then we can continue more calmly.

Word by Word

Ich Ich means “I” and is the subject of the sentence. It is the first-person singular subject pronoun, and its lowercase form appears in Ich schließe. Use Ich as the subject when describing your own action or state.

lerne Lerne means “study” or “learn” here: Ich lerne schon lange. It is the first-person singular form of lernen, with Ich as its subject. A useful pattern is Ich lerne ... when saying what you are studying.

schon Schon adds the sense of “already” or “by now” to the ongoing situation in Ich lerne schon lange. It helps emphasize that the studying has continued for a considerable time. It commonly appears with a time expression such as schon lange.

lange Lange means “for a long time” in Ich lerne schon lange. It describes the duration of the studying, together with schon. Use lange after a verb when describing an extended duration.

Leg Leg means “put” or “lay” in the informal command Leg deine Arbeit beiseite. It is the informal singular imperative of legen. The reusable command pattern is Leg ... beiseite for telling one person to set something aside.

deine Deine means “your” and identifies the work as belonging to the person being addressed: deine Arbeit. It is the possessive form used before the feminine noun Arbeit in this phrase. Use deine before a feminine noun when addressing one person informally.

Arbeit Arbeit means “work” in Leg deine Arbeit beiseite. It is the thing that the listener is told to put aside. A useful pattern is deine Arbeit when referring to someone’s work in an informal conversation.

beiseite Beiseite means “aside” in Leg deine Arbeit beiseite, so the work is moved away from the current activity. It works with legen in the expression Leg ... beiseite. Use this expression when asking someone to set an object or task aside temporarily.

Ruh Ruh means “rest” in the informal command Ruh dich einen Moment aus. It is the informal singular imperative of ausruhen, used with the reflexive pronoun dich and the particle aus. This command is useful when telling one person to take a short rest.

dich Dich means “yourself” in Ruh dich einen Moment aus. It is the reflexive object pronoun referring back to the person addressed, and it is required by the verb ausruhen here. The pattern Ruh dich ... aus tells one informal listener to rest.

einen Einen means “a” before Moment in Ruh dich einen Moment aus. It is the masculine accusative determiner used for the time expression einen Moment. Use einen before Moment when referring to a short, unspecified period.

Moment Moment means “moment” in Ruh dich einen Moment aus. It specifies the short duration of the requested rest. A useful pattern is einen Moment for “for a moment” in a brief instruction.

aus Aus is the separable verb particle in Ruh dich einen Moment aus. Together with Ruh ... dich, it completes the meaning “rest”; the particle appears at the end of this command. Use the full pattern Ruh dich ... aus when giving this informal instruction.

Es Es means “it” in Es ist jetzt schwer, sich zu konzentrieren. Here it is an impersonal subject introducing the statement that concentrating is difficult. Use Es ist ... when describing a general situation or condition.

ist Ist means “is” in Es ist jetzt schwer, sich zu konzentrieren. It is the third-person singular form of sein and links the subject Es with the description schwer. The pattern Es ist ... is useful for stating how a situation is.

jetzt Jetzt means “now” and places the difficulty in the present situation: Es ist jetzt schwer. It modifies the statement about concentrating. Use jetzt when referring to the current moment.

schwer Schwer means “hard” or “difficult” in Es ist jetzt schwer, sich zu konzentrieren. It describes concentrating as difficult at this moment. A useful pattern is Es ist schwer, ... for saying that an activity is difficult.

sich Sich means “oneself” in sich zu konzentrieren. It is the reflexive pronoun used with konzentrieren, referring to the person who is trying to focus. The pattern sich zu konzentrieren means “to concentrate” in the construction Es ist ... schwer.

zu Zu marks the infinitive in sich zu konzentrieren. It connects the activity of concentrating with the description Es ist jetzt schwer. A useful pattern is Es ist schwer, zu ... when describing an action as difficult.

konzentrieren Konzentrieren means “concentrate” in sich zu konzentrieren. It is the infinitive used with the reflexive pronoun sich and zu. Use sich zu konzentrieren when describing the activity of focusing.

Das Das means “that” in Das bedeutet normalerweise, dass dein Gehirn eine Pause braucht. It refers back to the difficulty of concentrating mentioned in the previous line. Use Das bedeutet ... to explain what a situation indicates.

bedeutet Bedeutet means “means” in Das bedeutet normalerweise, dass dein Gehirn eine Pause braucht. It is the third-person singular form of bedeuten, with Das as its subject. A useful pattern is Das bedeutet, dass ... when explaining the meaning or implication of something.

normalerweise Normalerweise means “usually” and shows that the explanation is generally true rather than certain in every case. It modifies bedeutet in Das bedeutet normalerweise, dass dein Gehirn eine Pause braucht. Use normalerweise when describing what commonly happens.

dass Dass means “that” and introduces the content of what the situation means: dass dein Gehirn eine Pause braucht. It connects bedeutet with a subordinate clause. A useful pattern is Das bedeutet ..., dass ... for explaining a conclusion.

dein Dein means “your” in dein Gehirn. It identifies the brain as belonging to the person being addressed informally. Use dein before a neuter noun such as Gehirn when speaking to one person informally.

Gehirn Gehirn means “brain” in dein Gehirn. It is the subject of the subordinate clause and is described as needing a break. A useful pattern is dein Gehirn braucht ... when talking about the listener’s need for rest.

eine Eine means “a” in eine Pause. It is the feminine determiner used before the noun Pause. Use eine before Pause when referring to one unspecified break.

Pause Pause means “break” in dein Gehirn eine Pause braucht. It is the thing that the brain needs after the difficult study period. A useful expression is eine Pause brauchen for saying that someone needs a break.

braucht Braucht means “needs” in dein Gehirn eine Pause braucht. It is the third-person singular form of brauchen, with dein Gehirn as the subject. The pattern etwas braucht eine Pause expresses that something needs a break.

Soll Soll means “should” in Soll ich später Vokabeln wiederholen? It is used to ask whether the speaker ought to do something or whether that would be advisable. The pattern Soll ich ...? is useful when asking someone for advice.

später Später means “later” in Soll ich später Vokabeln wiederholen? It places the reviewing after the current break. It modifies the action wiederholen. Use später when referring to a time after now without specifying exactly when.

Vokabeln Vokabeln means “vocabulary words” in Soll ich später Vokabeln wiederholen? It is the object of the action wiederholen. A useful pattern is Vokabeln wiederholen when talking about reviewing language vocabulary.

wiederholen Wiederholen means “review” or “repeat” in Soll ich später Vokabeln wiederholen? It is the infinitive after the modal verb Soll. Use the pattern Soll ich ... wiederholen? when asking whether you should review or repeat something.

Fang Fang means “start” in the informal command Fang mit den einfacheren Wörtern an. It is the informal singular imperative of anfangen. The pattern Fang mit ... an is useful when telling one person what to start with.

mit Mit means “with” in Fang mit den einfacheren Wörtern an. It introduces the material that should be used first. The preposition mit takes the dative, as shown by den einfacheren Wörtern.

den Den is the determiner meaning “the” in den einfacheren Wörtern. Here it marks the plural dative phrase after mit. It belongs with einfacheren Wörtern in the pattern Fang mit den ... an.

einfacheren Einfacheren means “easier” in den einfacheren Wörtern. It describes which words should be reviewed first and takes the form required by the plural dative phrase after mit. The useful phrase is mit den einfacheren Wörtern.

Wörtern Wörtern means “words” in mit den einfacheren Wörtern. It is the plural dative form used after mit and identifies the starting material. The phrase mit den einfacheren Wörtern means to start with the easier words.

an An is the separable particle in Fang mit den einfacheren Wörtern an. Together with Fang, it forms the command anfangen, meaning “start”; the particle moves to the end of the command. Use the full pattern Fang mit ... an when giving this instruction.

wenn Wenn means “when” in wenn du zurückkommst. It introduces the condition or time at which the listener should start with the easier words. Use wenn to connect an action with a situation that is expected to occur.

du Du means “you” and is the subject of zurückkommst in wenn du zurückkommst. It addresses one person informally. Use du as the subject when speaking directly to one familiar person.

zurückkommst Zurückkommst means “come back” in wenn du zurückkommst. It is the second-person singular form of zurückkommen, with du as its subject, and appears in the wenn-clause. The pattern wenn du zurückkommst is useful for referring to the listener’s return.

schließe Schließe means “close” in Ich schließe das Heft. It is the first-person singular form of schließen, with Ich as its subject, and the context shows an intention to close the notebook while resting. A useful pattern is Ich schließe ... when saying that you close something.

Heft Heft means “notebook” in Ich schließe das Heft. It is the object being closed before the speaker rests. A useful pattern is das Heft schließen when talking about closing the notebook.

während Während means “while” in während ich mich ausruhe. It introduces the activity happening at the same time as closing the notebook. Use während to connect two actions that occur simultaneously.

ausruhe Ausruhe means “rest” in während ich mich ausruhe. It is the first-person singular form of ausruhen, used with the reflexive pronoun mich; in this subordinate clause, the separable verb appears as one form. The pattern während ich mich ausruhe describes what happens while the speaker is resting.

Dann Dann means “then” in Dann können wir ruhiger weitermachen. It marks the result or next step after taking the break. Use Dann at the beginning of a sentence to connect a next action with what has just happened.

können Können means “can” or “be able to” in Dann können wir ruhiger weitermachen. It is the modal verb used with the infinitive weitermachen and expresses the possibility of continuing. A useful pattern is Wir können ... when saying what we are able to do.

wir Wir means “we” and is the subject of können in Dann können wir ruhiger weitermachen. It refers to the speaker and the other person together. Use wir when describing a shared action or possibility.

ruhiger Ruhiger means “more calmly” in ruhiger weitermachen. It compares the manner of continuing with the earlier situation and shows that the activity can proceed in a calmer way after the break. The pattern ruhiger weitermachen means to continue more calmly.

weitermachen Weitermachen means “continue” in Dann können wir ruhiger weitermachen. It is the infinitive after können and describes resuming the study activity. Use the pattern Wir können ... weitermachen when saying that a group can continue an activity.

Grammar Points

Trennbare Verben im Imperativ: Das Präfix steht am Satzende.

Ruh dich aus.

roo dikh ows.

Rest.

Bei trennbaren Verben steht der abgetrennte Teil im Imperativ am Satzende: ausruhen → Ruh dich aus.

zu + Infinitiv

sich zu konzentrieren

zikh tsoo kon-tsen-TREE-ren

to concentrate

Nach bestimmten Ausdrücken steht zu vor dem Infinitiv. Bei reflexiven Verben bleibt sich beim Infinitiv.

German Vocabulary

Arbeit noun

AR-bite work

bedeuten verb

beh-DOYT-en to mean bedeutet

beiseite adv

bye-ZY-tuh aside

jetzt adv

yetst now

lange adv

LAHNG-uh a long time

legen verb

LAY-gen to put; to lay Leg

lernen verb

LAIR-nen to study; to learn lerne

Moment noun

moh-MENT moment

schon adv

SHOHN already; for some time

schwer adj

shvair difficult; hard

sich ausruhen verb

zikh OWS-roo-en to rest Ruh dich ... aus

sich konzentrieren verb

zikh kon-tsen-TREE-ren to concentrate sich zu konzentrieren

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I've been studying for a long time.

Show Answer

Ich lerne schon lange.

Put your work aside.

Show Answer

Leg deine Arbeit beiseite.

Rest for a moment.

Show Answer

Ruh dich einen Moment aus.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to study; to learn

Show Answer

lerne

work

Show Answer

Arbeit

moment

Show Answer

Moment

difficult; hard

Show Answer

schwer