Questions & Answers about Bitte kommen Sie in fünfzig Minuten zurück.
Why is Sie capitalized?
Because Sie with a capital S is the formal word for you in German.
- Sie = formal you
- sie = she or they
So the capital letter is important. In this sentence, the speaker is addressing someone politely or professionally.
Is kommen Sie a command? Why isn’t it komm?
Yes. This is a polite command/request, also called the formal imperative.
German uses different imperative forms depending on who you are talking to:
- Komm zurück! = to one person you know well
- Kommt zurück! = to several people you know well
- Kommen Sie zurück! = formal singular or formal plural
So kommen Sie is the correct form when speaking politely.
Why is zurück at the end of the sentence?
Because zurückkommen is a separable verb.
Its dictionary form is zurückkommen = to come back / return.
But in a normal main clause, the prefix zurück- separates and moves to the end:
- Sie kommen zurück.
- Bitte kommen Sie ... zurück.
When the verb is not split, it stays together:
- zurückkommen (infinitive)
- zurückgekommen (past participle)