Learn Hardcore German: Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen und dann im Büro weiterarbeiten. - We want to sit briefly in the garden after the break and then continue working in the office.

Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen...
literally: We want to sit in the garden for a bit after the break...
but in context it means: We’re going to sit in the garden for a bit after the break...

Using wollen emphasizes the intention / desire of the speakers: this is what they plan or want to do.

If you use werden:

Wir werden nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen...

this sounds more neutral and predictive: “We will sit in the garden...”, without the same focus on wanting or planning it. In many everyday contexts, wollen (or just the plain present without any extra verb) feels more natural for talking about concrete plans.

What is the difference between Wir wollen... and Wir möchten... here? Is Wir möchten nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen... also correct?

Yes, Wir möchten nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen und dann im Büro weiterarbeiten is grammatically correct, but the nuance changes:

wollen = to want (fairly direct, stronger intention)
möchten = would like to (more polite / tentative / softer)

Nuance:

Wir wollen...
→ “We want to...” / “We intend to...”
Sounds more decisive, like a firm plan.
Wir möchten...
→ “We would like to...”
Sounds a bit more polite or tentative, like a wish or preference, less like a fixed schedule.

In a neutral context of describing your own plan, wollen is very common and not rude. möchten appears more often in polite requests (restaurants, shops, invitations, etc.).

Why is it nach der Pause and not nach die Pause or nach der Pausen?

The preposition nach in German always takes the dative case when it means “after (time)”.

die Pause (nominative singular, feminine)
der Pause (dative singular, feminine)

So the correct form after nach is:

nach der Pause = after the break

Not:

✗ nach die Pause (wrong case)
✗ nach der Pausen (wrong number / form)

More examples:

nach der Schule – after school
nach dem Essen – after the meal
nach der Arbeit – after work

Why is it im Garten and im Büro instead of in den Garten or ins Büro?

The choice between in + dative and in + accusative depends on whether you are talking about location (where?) or movement toward something (where to?).

Here we have location:

im Garten sitzen = sit in the garden (where?)
im Büro weiterarbeiten = continue working in the office (where?)

For location, in + dative is used:

in dem Garten → im Garten
in dem Büro → im Büro

If it were movement into the garden or office, you would use in + accusative:

in den Garten gehen = go into the garden
ins Büro gehen = go to / into the office

So in this sentence, they’re already in those places (or focusing on being there), not on the movement to them, hence dative (im).

What exactly does im stand for in im Garten and im Büro?

im is a contraction of in dem:

in dem Garten → im Garten
in dem Büro → im Büro

You use this contraction almost all the time in speech and writing; in dem Garten is grammatically correct but sounds overly formal or emphatic in most contexts.

Similarly:

in das → ins (for accusative):
in das Büro gehen → ins Büro gehen

What does kurz mean in kurz im Garten sitzen? Does it mean “short” like “short person”?

In this sentence, kurz is an adverb, and it means “for a short time / briefly”, not “short” in the sense of low height.

Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen...
≈ We want to sit in the garden for a bit / for a short while after the break...

Some nuances of kurz as an adverb:

kurz warten – wait briefly
kurz reden – talk briefly
Kann ich Sie kurz sprechen? – Can I talk to you for a moment?

As an adjective, kurz can also mean “short” (length, duration, height in some contexts):

ein kurzes Meeting – a short meeting
eine kurze Pause – a short break

But in the sentence you gave, it’s clearly about duration, not physical shortness.

Can the position of kurz change? For example, is Wir wollen nach der Pause im Garten kurz sitzen... also correct?

Yes, kurz is fairly flexible in position, and word order here is mostly about rhythm and emphasis, not grammar.

All of these are grammatically possible:

Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen.
– Neutral and very natural. The focus is “briefly in the garden”.
Wir wollen nach der Pause im Garten kurz sitzen.
– Also correct; a bit more emphasis on the act of sitting being brief.
Wir wollen kurz nach der Pause im Garten sitzen.
– Now kurz attaches more strongly to nach der Pause:
We want to sit in the garden shortly after the break (i.e. soon after, not long after).

So be careful: moving kurz in front of nach der Pause slightly changes the meaning from “sit briefly” to “soon after the break”.

Why is there no comma before und in this sentence?

The structure is:

Wir wollen
– nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen
– und dann im Büro weiterarbeiten.

Here, und connects two infinitive phrases that belong to the same verb (wollen) and the same subject (wir). In German, you do not put a comma before und in this type of simple coordination.

Compare:

Wir wollen essen und trinken.
Ich will schlafen und nichts tun.

A comma before und would be needed if und connected separate main clauses (each with its own finite verb), especially when the clauses are longer or more complex:

Wir machen eine Pause, und danach arbeiten wir weiter.

Here, machen and arbeiten are both finite verbs, so you have two main clauses, and a comma is standard.

What does weiterarbeiten mean, and why is it written as one word at the end?

weiterarbeiten is a separable verb made from:

weiter- (prefix meaning “further / continuing”)
arbeiten (to work)

Meaning: to continue working / to keep working.

In the infinitive or past participle, separable verbs are written as one word and appear at the end of the clause:

Wir wollen im Büro weiterarbeiten. (infinitive)
Wir haben im Büro weitergearbeitet. (past participle)

In the simple present or simple past with a finite verb form, they split:

Wir arbeiten im Büro weiter. – We continue working in the office.
(verb: arbeiten, prefix: weiter at the end)
Wir arbeiteten im Büro weiter.

So: in your sentence, because wollen is the finite modal verb, weiterarbeiten stays together in infinitive form at the end of the whole verb group.

Why do both sitzen and weiterarbeiten come at the end of the sentence? Is there a specific order?

In German, with a modal verb like wollen, the infinitive(s) go to the end of the clause. In your sentence, there are two infinitive phrases coordinated by und:

... nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen
und dann im Büro weiterarbeiten

Each phrase ends with its infinitive:

first phrase: sitzen
second phrase: weiterarbeiten

So the overall pattern is:

Wir wollen
- [first infinitive phrase ending in sitzen] + und
  - [second infinitive phrase ending in weiterarbeiten].

If you swapped them, the meaning would change:

Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten weiterarbeiten und dann im Büro sitzen.
→ We want to continue working briefly in the garden and then sit in the office.

So the order of the phrases reflects the order of actions: first sit in the garden, then continue working in the office.

Could I also say Wir werden nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen und dann im Büro weiterarbeiten? What’s the difference?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct.

Wir wollen ...
→ Focus on intention / desire / plan.
Wir werden ...
→ Neutral future form, more like “We will...”, often used for predictions or scheduled events.

Nuance:

Wir wollen... sounds like: “This is what we have planned / what we want to do.”
Wir werden... can sound a bit more formal or detached, like a statement about what will happen (could be plan or prediction).

In everyday speech, Germans often prefer the present tense (with or without wollen) over werden for near-future plans:

Wir sitzen nach der Pause kurz im Garten und arbeiten dann im Büro weiter.
Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen...

All are correct; choice depends on how much you want to stress intention versus simple future fact.

Is dann necessary in und dann im Büro weiterarbeiten? What changes if I leave it out?

dann is not grammatically required, but it adds a clear temporal sequence: after that / then.

With dann:
Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen und dann im Büro weiterarbeiten.
→ First: sit in the garden.
Then: continue working in the office.
Without dann:
Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten sitzen und im Büro weiterarbeiten.
→ The order is still understandable from context, but it’s less explicit. It could sound slightly more like two things that belong together as a general plan, without highlighting the “first this, then that” structure as strongly.

So dann is mainly there for clarity and emphasis of the order of events.

Could I use sein instead of sitzen, like im Garten sein? What difference would that make?

Yes, you can say:

Wir wollen nach der Pause kurz im Garten sein und dann im Büro weiterarbeiten.

This is grammatically fine, but the meaning shifts slightly:

im Garten sitzen
– focuses on the action / posture of actually sitting there, maybe relaxing on a bench or chair.
im Garten sein
– more general: simply to be in the garden, without specifying that you’re sitting. You could be walking, standing, talking, etc.

So:

Original: They specifically plan to sit in the garden for a while.
With sein: They plan to spend a short time in the garden, in a more general sense.