Breakdown of Im Großraumbüro lässt sich die neue Software nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
Questions & Answers about Im Großraumbüro lässt sich die neue Software nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
In German main clauses, the finite verb must be in second position (the V2 rule).
- Position 1 is not “the first word” but the first complete element (often called the Vorfeld): here that is the whole phrase Im Großraumbüro.
- Position 2 must then be the conjugated verb: lässt.
So the structure is:
- Im Großraumbüro (prepositional phrase = element 1)
- lässt (finite verb = element 2)
- sich die neue Software nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installieren (rest of the clause)
You could also say:
- Die neue Software lässt sich im Großraumbüro nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
Here Die neue Software is in position 1, so lässt still appears in position 2. The subject does not have to be first; the finite verb just has to be second.
Im is a contraction of in dem:
- in = “in”
- dem = dative singular article “the” for a neuter noun (das Großraumbüro → dative dem Großraumbüro)
So:
- in dem Großraumbüro → im Großraumbüro
The case is dative, because:
- in
- location / where? → dative
(At a location: Wo? Im Großraumbüro.)
- location / where? → dative
- in
- direction / where to? → accusative
(Movement to a place: Wohin? Ins Großraumbüro. = in + das)
- direction / where to? → accusative
Here we are describing where the software can be installed (in the open-plan office), not movement into it, so dative is used: im (in dem) Großraumbüro.
German loves compound nouns. Großraumbüro is made from:
- der Großraum – literally “large area / big space”
- das Büro – “office”
Together: das Großraumbüro = “open-plan office” (a big office space without many walls).
Two key points:
Compounds in German are normally written as one word:
- Großraumbüro, Haustür, Kühlschrank, Handtasche, etc.
All nouns are capitalized in German, including compound nouns. Since Büro is a noun and the whole compound functions as a noun, Großraumbüro is capitalized.
Lässt sich installieren is a very common structure in German. Here’s what is going on:
- The verb is lassen (“to let / to have something done”)
- sich is a reflexive pronoun
- Then an infinitive: installieren
In this pattern, lassen + sich + infinitive expresses something like:
- “is installable”
- “can be installed”
- “is easy/possible to install”
So:
- Die neue Software lässt sich installieren.
≈ “The new software can be installed.”
≈ “The new software is installable.”
Compared to other options:
Die neue Software kann installiert werden.
Neutral, pure ability/possibility (“can be installed”).Die neue Software lässt sich installieren.
Often sounds a bit more like “it works,” “it’s manageable,” “it’s not a problem to install it.” It can subtly suggest practical feasibility or relative ease.
In the full sentence:
- Im Großraumbüro lässt sich die neue Software nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
the lässt sich … installieren construction nicely fits the nuance “after a few attempts, installing it is no big problem.”
Here sich is not reflexive in the sense of “the subject does something to itself” (like Er wäscht sich – “He washes himself”).
Instead, sich is part of a “middle voice” or reflexive-passive-like construction:
- etwas lässt sich machen
= “something is doable / can be done / is do-able”
Grammatically:
- sich is the accusative object of lassen.
- It doesn’t refer to a specific person; it’s more of a fixed pattern that turns the verb into a kind of impersonal passive.
So you shouldn’t translate sich literally here. The whole unit lässt sich installieren is best understood and learned as:
- lässt sich installieren = “can be installed / is installable”
German marks the subject mainly by case, not by position in the sentence.
- die neue Software has the article die and the adjective ending -e, which here indicate nominative feminine singular (subject form).
- sich is the accusative (object form) reflexive pronoun.
So even though the subject does not come first after the verb, its form tells you it is the subject.
Word order:
- Im Großraumbüro (fronted prepositional phrase)
- lässt (finite verb)
- sich (object pronoun)
- die neue Software (subject, nominative)
- …
German allows quite flexible word order in the middle field of a sentence (between the finite verb and the final verb). Case endings and articles tell you who is doing what, even if the subject is not directly after the verb.
The preposition nach in this sense (“after”) always takes the dative case.
Base form:
- der Versuch (singular)
- die Versuche (plural nominative/accusative)
- den Versuchen (plural dative)
So:
- nach
- dative plural → nach den Versuchen
- With ein paar (“a few”), the noun still gets the dative plural ending:
nach ein paar Versuchen
It is not nach ein paar Versuche because Versuche would be nominative/accusative plural, not dative. The preposition nach forces dative plural, which has the -n ending on most nouns: Versuchen.
Two separate points:
Form and grammar of “ein paar”
- ein paar (lowercase p) is an indefinite quantifier meaning “a few / several / some”.
- It is usually invariable: it does not change for gender, case, or number.
- So you say:
- ein paar Leute (a few people)
- mit ein paar Freunden (with a few friends)
- nach ein paar Versuchen (after a few attempts)
You can occasionally see forms like einem Paar when Paar is treated as a regular noun, but then the meaning shifts (see point 2).
Difference between “ein paar” and “ein Paar”
- ein paar: two words, paar lowercase, means “a few / some”.
- ein Paar: P capitalized (a noun), means “a pair / a couple (of something)” in the literal sense of two things.
Compare:
- Ich habe ein paar Versuche gemacht.
“I made a few attempts.” (maybe 3, 4, 5 … not precise) - Ich habe ein Paar Schuhe gekauft.
“I bought a (one) pair of shoes.” (exactly two shoes)
In your sentence, ein paar is the “a few” quantifier, therefore usually undeclined:
- nach ein paar Versuchen = “after a few attempts”
Breakdown:
- Preposition: ohne
- Noun: das Hindernis (neuter)
- Adjective: groß
Case:
ohne always takes the accusative:- ohne
- accusative → ohne ein großes Hindernis / ohne großes Hindernis
- ohne
Gender and number:
- Hindernis is neuter singular: das Hindernis
- Accusative neuter singular is the same as nominative neuter singular in the article: das or ein or no article.
Adjective ending:
In the form ohne großes Hindernis there is no article in front of the adjective, so the adjective takes a strong ending:- Neuter accusative singular, strong ending → -es
- So: großes Hindernis
If you included an indefinite article, it would be:
- ohne ein großes Hindernis
(indefinite article → adjective uses a weak ending -es because neuter acc sg after ein)
“Großen” would be used for:
- masculine accusative singular with an article: ohne einen großen Fehler
- or dative plural: mit großen Hindernissen, etc.
But here we have neuter accusative singular, so großes Hindernis is correct.
German loves to put non-finite verb forms (infinitives, participles) at the end of the clause. In your sentence, the verb phrase is:
- lässt (finite verb) … installieren (infinitive)
This creates the typical German “sentence bracket” (Satzklammer):
- Left bracket (position 2): lässt
- …middle of the sentence…
- Right bracket (final position): installieren
So:
- Im Großraumbüro (1)
- lässt (2, left bracket)
- sich die neue Software nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis (middle field)
- installieren (final, right bracket)
Any additional objects, adverbials, etc., typically go between those two parts of the verb.
Yes, you can. Common alternatives:
Im Großraumbüro kann die neue Software nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installiert werden.
- Pure passive with kann … werden.
- Very similar meaning: “can be installed”.
Im Großraumbüro kann man die neue Software nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
- “One can install the new software …” / “People can install the new software …”
- Uses man as a generic subject.
Nuance:
lässt sich installieren
often sounds a bit more natural and idiomatic, especially when talking about usability, manageability, practicality. It can carry an implication of “it works fine / it’s not difficult to do”.kann installiert werden
is more neutral, slightly more formal/technical.
In everyday language, all versions are possible. The original lässt sich installieren is very typical in user-friendly descriptions of software or devices.
Yes, German allows quite a bit of freedom inside the “middle field” (between the finite verb and the final verb), as long as:
- the finite verb stays in second position, and
- the infinitive (installieren) stays at the end.
All of these are grammatically fine and mean essentially the same:
- Im Großraumbüro lässt sich die neue Software nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
- Im Großraumbüro lässt sich nach ein paar Versuchen die neue Software ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
- Im Großraumbüro lässt sich die neue Software ohne großes Hindernis nach ein paar Versuchen installieren.
You can also front different elements:
- Die neue Software lässt sich im Großraumbüro nach ein paar Versuchen ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
- Nach ein paar Versuchen lässt sich die neue Software im Großraumbüro ohne großes Hindernis installieren.
What must not change:
- lässt must remain the second element in the main clause (after exactly one element like Im Großraumbüro or Die neue Software or Nach ein paar Versuchen).
- installieren must stay at the end of the clause.
Lässt is the present tense of lassen (3rd person singular):
- er/sie/es lässt
So strictly speaking, the sentence is in the present tense:
- Im Großraumbüro lässt sich die neue Software … installieren.
= “In the open-plan office, the new software can be installed …”
However, in German, the present tense is very often used with future meaning, especially when context or time expressions make that clear.
With nach ein paar Versuchen (“after a few attempts”), it can naturally be understood as:
- “After a few attempts, it will be possible to install the new software in the open-plan office without major difficulty.”
So grammatically the tense is present, but pragmatically it can express a general fact, current possibility, or near future depending on context.