Breakdown of Warten Sie einen Moment!
ein
a, an (eine)
Sie
you (formal)
warten
to wait
der Moment
the moment
Questions & Answers about Warten Sie einen Moment!
Why do we say Warten Sie instead of just Warten to mean 'Wait'?
When giving a command formally in German, you use the formal word for 'you', which is Sie. For formal commands, you always put the verb first and keep the Sie right after it, like Warten Sie! (Wait!).
Why is it einen Moment and not just ein Moment?
Moment is a masculine noun (der Moment). In German, when you are talking about a specific duration of time (like waiting for a moment), you use the accusative case. For masculine nouns, the word for 'a' changes from ein to einen.
How would I say this to a close friend?
If you are talking to someone you call du (the informal 'you'), the command form changes. You drop the Sie and the -en ending from the verb. For the verb warten, you add an 'e' back for easier pronunciation, making it Warte einen Moment!
Does Moment relate to reading a clock like the other time words in this lesson?
While you won't use Moment to tell the exact time like you do with Uhr or Viertel, it is an essential time-related word. Just like in English, it refers to a short, unspecified amount of time. You will often hear Germans simply say Einen Moment, bitte! (One moment, please!) when asking you to wait.
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