Prüfe deinen Resturlaub bei der Personalabteilung.

Prüfe is the informal singular imperative of prüfen (to check, to verify).

So the basic pattern is:

• prüfen = infinitive
• du prüfst = you check
• Prüfe! = Check!

In this sentence, the speaker is telling one person informally to do something.

A very common point for learners: German imperatives often leave out the subject pronoun. So instead of saying Du prüfe ..., German just says Prüfe ...

You may also see Prüf! in some contexts. Prüfe! is the more standard textbook form.

Because this is an imperative sentence, and in German the subject is usually not stated in commands.

So:

• Du prüfst deinen Resturlaub. = You check your remaining leave.
• Prüfe deinen Resturlaub! = Check your remaining leave!

That omission of du is completely normal in German commands.

Because Resturlaub is the direct object of the verb prüfen, so it must be in the accusative case.

Resturlaub is a masculine noun: der Resturlaub

For a masculine noun in the accusative, dein changes to deinen:

• nominative: dein Resturlaub
• accusative: deinen Resturlaub

That is why the sentence says:

• Prüfe deinen Resturlaub.

A useful mini-pattern:

• der Urlaub → deinen Urlaub
• der Resturlaub → deinen Resturlaub

Resturlaub is a common workplace word. It means the part of your vacation entitlement that is still left, unused, or remaining.

It is built from:

• Rest = remainder / leftover amount
• Urlaub = vacation / leave

So Resturlaub is something like:

• remaining vacation days
• unused leave
• remaining annual leave

The exact English translation depends on context, but the core idea is vacation time you still have left.

Because bei here means something like with, at, or through in the sense of contacting or consulting a person or department.

So bei der Personalabteilung suggests:

• check it with HR
• check it at the HR department

This is a very common use of bei when talking about offices, authorities, companies, or people you deal with.

Examples:

• Frag bei der Bank nach. = Ask at / check with the bank.
• Melde dich bei deinem Arzt. = Get in touch with your doctor.
• Prüfe das bei der Personalabteilung. = Check that with HR.

Because the preposition bei always takes the dative case.

The noun is:

• nominative: die Personalabteilung (feminine)

After bei, it becomes dative:

• bei der Personalabteilung

So the change is:

• die → der in the feminine dative

A small case table for this noun:

• nominative: die Personalabteilung
• accusative: die Personalabteilung
• dative: der Personalabteilung

Yes, basically. Die Personalabteilung is the human resources department.

In everyday English, you would usually just say HR. In German, people often say:

• die Personalabteilung
• sometimes simply Personal
• in some companies also HR

So in a workplace context, Personalabteilung is the department that handles things like contracts, leave balances, payroll issues, and employee records.

The word order is very normal for a command:

• Prüfe = verb first, because it is an imperative
• deinen Resturlaub = direct object
• bei der Personalabteilung = prepositional phrase

So the structure is:

Verb + object + place/person/department phrase

German often puts the direct object before a prepositional phrase like this, especially when the object is short and straightforward.

You could think of it as:

• Check [what?] your remaining leave [where/with whom?] with HR.

Yes, it can. The imperative Prüfe ... is a direct command. Whether that sounds fine or too strong depends on context and tone.

It could sound:

• perfectly normal in instructions
• a bit direct in conversation
• appropriate in workplace guidance or a checklist

Softer alternatives might be:

• Prüf bitte deinen Resturlaub bei der Personalabteilung.
• Frag bitte bei der Personalabteilung nach deinem Resturlaub.
• Du solltest deinen Resturlaub bei der Personalabteilung prüfen.

Adding bitte often makes it sound friendlier.

The sentence is understandable and grammatical, but many speakers might choose a phrasing that sounds more naturally tied to asking HR or checking with HR.

Very natural alternatives include:

• Frag bei der Personalabteilung nach deinem Resturlaub.
• Erkundige dich bei der Personalabteilung nach deinem Resturlaub.
• Prüfe bei der Personalabteilung deinen Resturlaub.
• Lass dir von der Personalabteilung deinen Resturlaub bestätigen.
  (if the idea is to have HR confirm it)

Why? Because Resturlaub is often information held by HR, so German frequently uses verbs like:

• nachfragen = ask
• sich erkundigen = inquire
• bestätigen lassen = have confirmed

Still, your original sentence is absolutely understandable.

Yes. In German, Resturlaub is often treated as a mass or collective concept, not as a countable plural item.

So even if you have several days left, German can still say:

• dein Resturlaub
• mein Resturlaub

This is similar to how English might say:

• your remaining leave
• your vacation balance

If you want to be more explicit about the number of days, German might say:

• deine restlichen Urlaubstage = your remaining vacation days

Because in German, all nouns are capitalized.

So here:

• Resturlaub is a noun
• Personalabteilung is a noun

That is why they begin with capital letters.

This is one of the most visible spelling differences between German and English.

You would use the Sie-imperative:

• Prüfen Sie Ihren Resturlaub bei der Personalabteilung.

Changes:

• Prüfe → Prüfen Sie
• deinen → Ihren

So:

• informal singular: Prüfe deinen Resturlaub ...
• formal singular/plural: Prüfen Sie Ihren Resturlaub ...

This is the version you would use with someone you address as Sie rather than du.