Learn Hardcore German: Den Termin haben wir versäumt, aber wir holen das Gespräch morgen nach. - We missed the appointment, but we will make up the conversation tomorrow.

German allows fronting for emphasis. Putting the direct object Den Termin first highlights the missed appointment. Because German main clauses are verb-second (V2), the finite verb haben must still come second, then the subject wir, and the past participle versäumt goes to the end.

Neutral order: Wir haben den Termin versäumt, aber wir holen das Gespräch morgen nach.
Emphatic (object-fronting): Den Termin haben wir versäumt, ...

Why is it den Termin and not der/dem Termin?

Termin is masculine (der Termin). As a direct object, it’s in the accusative case. Masculine accusative takes den:

Nominative: der Termin
Accusative: den Termin By contrast, das Gespräch is neuter, and neuter accusative is also das.

Why do we use haben in haben ... versäumt and not sein?

The perfect in German uses:

sein with movement or change-of-state verbs (gehen, kommen, sterben).
haben with transitive and most other verbs. Versäumen is a transitive verb (“to miss/neglect”), so it takes haben: Wir haben den Termin versäumt.
Also, spoken German prefers the perfect over the preterite: Wir versäumten den Termin sounds formal/literary.

Is versäumen different from verpassen?

They overlap, but usage differs:

verpassen is the everyday, most common choice in Germany: Wir haben den Termin verpasst.
versäumen feels a bit more formal/old-fashioned in Germany but is common in Austria/southern regions. It’s also frequent in legal/official phrases: eine Frist versäumen (“miss a deadline”). For a bus/train: strongly prefer verpassen: den Bus verpassen.

What’s going on with aber here? Does it change word order?

Aber is a coordinating conjunction (“but”). It:

Requires a comma before it.
Keeps main-clause word order (V2) after it: aber wir holen ...
It does not send the verb to the end.

Could I use sondern instead of aber?

Only after a negation and to correct/contrast precisely:

Nicht X, sondern Y: Wir haben den Termin nicht versäumt, sondern verschoben. Without a prior negation, use aber.

How does nachholen work?

It’s a separable verb: nachholen → holen ... nach in main clauses.

Present: Wir holen das Gespräch morgen nach.
Perfect: Wir haben das Gespräch nachgeholt. Meaning: to “make up” or “do later” something you missed or didn’t manage to do earlier.

Why is present tense used for a future plan (morgen)?

German commonly uses the present with a future time adverb to express the future:

Wir holen das Gespräch morgen nach. = We’ll make up the conversation tomorrow. Future with werden is possible but not necessary: Wir werden das Gespräch morgen nachholen.

Where can morgen go in the sentence?

Several positions are natural, with slight differences in emphasis:

Wir holen das Gespräch morgen nach. (very common)
Wir holen morgen das Gespräch nach. (also common; puts time earlier)
Morgen holen wir das Gespräch nach. (strong emphasis on “tomorrow”) German likes Time–Manner–Place for adverbials, but objects and adverbs can be rearranged for focus.

Why das Gespräch (not den Gespräch)?

Gespräch is neuter (das Gespräch). Neuter accusative stays das, so das Gespräch is correct as the object of nachholen.

Can I replace das Gespräch with a pronoun?

Yes, use es (neuter):

Den Termin haben wir versäumt, aber wir holen es morgen nach. You can also front the time: … aber morgen holen wir es nach.

Is nach here a preposition that needs the dative?

No. In nachholen, nach- is a separable prefix, not the preposition nach. It doesn’t govern a case by itself. The object of nachholen is just a normal direct object in the accusative (das Gespräch).

What’s the difference between nachholen, wiederholen, aufholen, and verschieben?

nachholen: do later what you missed: Wir holen das Gespräch nach.
wiederholen: repeat something already done: Wir wiederholen das Gespräch (implies it already happened once).
aufholen: catch up on a deficit: den Rückstand aufholen.
verschieben: postpone/reschedule (before it happens): Wir verschieben das Gespräch auf morgen.

What’s the nuance between Termin, Verabredung, Treffen, and Gespräch?

Termin: an appointment (doctor, business); scheduled time slot.
Verabredung: an arrangement/appointment, often private or social; can also mean a date depending on context.
Treffen: a meeting/get-together (the event of meeting).
Gespräch: the conversation/talk itself (content of the meeting), not the time slot.

Is the comma before aber mandatory?

Yes. German requires a comma between two independent clauses connected by coordinating conjunctions like aber, und, oder, doch. After aber, keep normal main-clause V2 word order: aber wir holen …

Can I use doch instead of aber?

Yes, doch can serve as a coordinating “however/but,” often slightly more formal or literary:

Den Termin haben wir versäumt, doch wir holen das Gespräch morgen nach. (Be aware doch has other uses as a modal particle; here it’s the conjunction.)

Could I just make it two sentences and drop aber?

Absolutely:

Den Termin haben wir versäumt. Wir holen das Gespräch morgen nach. This is clear and natural; aber merely makes the contrast explicit in one sentence.