Heute probiere ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

Today I am trying a small concentration exercise.

Breakdown of Heute probiere ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

• ich: I
• heute: today
• klein: small
• ausprobieren: to try out
• eine: a; (feminine, accusative)
• die Konzentrationsübung: the concentration exercise

Questions & Answers about Heute probiere ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

Why is the verb split into probiere ... aus instead of just one word like in English?

In German, ausprobieren is a separable verb. Many verbs begin with a separable prefix (like aus-, an-, mit-, auf-, ein-, etc.).

• The full verb in the dictionary is ausprobieren (= to try out).
• In a main clause in the present tense, the prefix goes to the end of the sentence:
  • Ich probiere die Übung aus. – I try the exercise out.

So your sentence:

• Heute probiere ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

literally has: probiere (verb) in second position, and the separable prefix aus at the very end. This is completely normal for separable verbs in main clauses.

What’s the difference between probieren and ausprobieren?

Both are related to “trying,” but there’s a nuance:

• probieren = to try, to taste
  
  • Often used with food or drink:
    • Ich probiere den Kuchen. – I’ll taste/try the cake.
• ausprobieren = to try out, to test something (usually to see if it works for you, or what it’s like)
  • Often used with methods, exercises, devices, styles, etc.:
    • Ich probiere eine neue Methode aus. – I’m trying out a new method.

In your sentence:

• eine kleine Konzentrationsübung ausprobieren = to try out a little concentration exercise (test it, see how it works).

Why does the sentence start with Heute and not Ich? Is that word order special?

German main clauses are verb-second (V2): the conjugated verb must be in second position, but any element can come first.

Two possibilities:

1. Heute probiere ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

   • First element: Heute
   • Second element: probiere (verb)
   • Then the subject: ich

2. Ich probiere heute eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

   • First: Ich
   • Second: probiere

Both are correct. Starting with Heute just emphasizes “today” more strongly and sounds very natural in spoken German, especially at the beginning of a story or description of what you’re doing today.

Could I say Am heute like “on today”?

No. In German, heute already includes the idea of “today/this day”; you don’t add a preposition.

• Correct: Heute probiere ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.
• Incorrect: Am heute probiere ich...

You’d use am with days of the week or parts of the day:

• Am Montag probiere ich... – On Monday I’ll try…
• Am Morgen probiere ich... – In the morning I try…

But for “today,” it’s heute without a preposition.

Why is it eine kleine Konzentrationsübung and not something like ein klein Konzentrationsübung?

Three things are happening here: gender, case, and adjective endings.

1. Gender
   Übung (exercise) is a feminine noun: die Übung.

2. Case
   It’s the direct object of the verb (the thing you are trying out), so it’s in the accusative case:

   • feminine accusative singular → eine Übung

3. Adjective ending
   You have an adjective (klein) in front of a feminine accusative noun with the indefinite article eine.
   The correct ending for the adjective here is -e:

   • eine kleine Übung

So:

• eine (feminine accusative)
• kleine (feminine accusative adjective form)
• Konzentrationsübung (feminine noun)

→ eine kleine Konzentrationsübung

What exactly does Konzentrationsübung mean? Is it two words?

Konzentrationsübung is a compound noun:

• die Konzentration – concentration
• die Übung – exercise, practice

German loves to glue nouns together. So:

• Konzentrationsübung = a concentration exercise, i.e. an exercise to improve or train your concentration.

Written German normally joins such words into one long word, not two separate words.

Why is kleine before Konzentrationsübung and not after, like in some other languages?

In German, almost all adjectives that describe a noun come before that noun:

• eine neue Übung – a new exercise
• eine schwierige Konzentrationsübung – a difficult concentration exercise
• eine kleine Konzentrationsübung – a small/little concentration exercise

Adjectives after the noun are rare and usually have a special, more literary or fixed-phrase feel.
For standard descriptions in everyday language, use adjective + noun, just like in English (“little concentration exercise”).

Is kleine here about physical size, or can it mean “short” or “not very serious”?

klein often means “small” in a literal sense, but in contexts like this it’s usually more figurative:

• eine kleine Konzentrationsübung can suggest:
  • a short or simple exercise
  • nothing too big or demanding
  • maybe something you just try casually

Similar to English “a little concentration exercise” or “a short concentration exercise,” rather than “a physically small exercise.” The exact nuance depends on context, but here it likely softens it: it sounds modest and not intimidating.

Where would aus go if I turn this into a subordinate clause, like “because today I am trying out a small concentration exercise”?

In subordinate clauses, German pushes the finite verb to the end, and the parts of separable verbs come back together.

Main clause:

• Heute probiere ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

Subordinate clause with weil (because):

• ..., weil ich heute eine kleine Konzentrationsübung ausprobiere.

Notice:

• ausprobieren is no longer split
• The conjugated form ausprobiere is now at the end of the clause.

Why is the verb form probiere and not probieren here?

probiere is the 1st person singular present tense of probieren.

Conjugation (present):

• ich probiere – I try
• du probierst – you try
• er/sie/es probiert – he/she/it tries
• wir probieren – we try
• ihr probiert – you (pl.) try
• sie/Sie probieren – they / you (formal) try

Because your subject is ich (I), you need probiere:

• Ich probiere ... aus. – I am trying ... out.

Is there a difference between Heute probiere ich ... aus and Ich probiere heute ... aus?

They’re both correct and have the same basic meaning, but the emphasis shifts slightly:

• Heute probiere ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

  • Emphasis on heute: Today (as opposed to some other day), I’m trying out…

• Ich probiere heute eine kleine Konzentrationsübung aus.

  • More neutral; the focus is a bit more on what I am doing (and mentioning that it’s today).

In everyday speech, both sound natural. Starting with Heute is especially common when you begin a narrative:
Heute probiere ich ... – “Today I’m going to try ...”

Could I also say Heute mache ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you could say:

• Heute mache ich eine kleine Konzentrationsübung. – Today I’m doing a small concentration exercise.

Difference in nuance:

• probieren ... aus = to try out something that is (for you) new or experimental; you’re testing it.
• machen = to do something; it doesn’t necessarily sound new or experimental; it could be part of your normal routine.

So:

• If it’s something you’re testing for the first time, ausprobieren fits better.
• If it’s just an exercise you are doing (maybe you do it regularly), machen is fine.