Speaking: Ordering for four at a Berlin Imbiss with allergies and a cash limit
You are in Berlin with three classmates. At 18:30 you go to an Imbiss near the hostel. The group has 20 € in cash and no card. One classmate, Ravi, is vegetarian; another, Sophie, has a nut allergy. The menu board says: Currywurst 3,50 €; Falafel 4,00 €; Pommes 2,50 €; Wasser 1,50 €. The server says, „Was darf’s sein?“, and there is a queue behind you. You are the only one who speaks German well enough to order. You need four main items and four waters, and you must stay within 20 €. Ravi says, ‘Just ask if the falafel is safe.’ Sophie says, ‘Don’t make a fuss.’ You have practised Ich hätte gern but not Ich will.
1. Write the opening two or three sentences you would say to order for the group, including one polite request and one clarification question. Explain why **Ich hätte gern** is safer here than **Ich will**.
Read the worked answer
A suitable opening: Guten Tag. Ich hätte gern zweimal die Currywurst, einmal die Falafel und einmal die Pommes, bitte. Könnten Sie mir sagen, ob die Falafel Nüsse enthält? Then add Und viermal Wasser, bitte.
Ich hätte gern is a polite formula using the subjunctive; it presents the order as a wish, not a demand. Ich will sounds blunt and can come across as childish or aggressive, especially with a queue behind you. Könnten Sie is the formal polite form of können and matches Sie with an adult server. The clarification question is not optional: Sophie’s allergy is a safety issue, and Enthält ... Nüsse? is a direct yes/no question. The word bitte appears twice, but that is normal in service German; it softens both the order and the request.
2. Ravi is vegetarian. How do you check that he has a safe main item, and what do you do if the server says the falafel contains nuts?
Read the worked answer
Check two things separately: vegetarian status and nut content. Ask Ist die Falafel vegetarisch? and Enthält die Falafel Nüsse? Do not assume that ‘vegetarian’ means ‘nut-free’. If the server says the falafel contains nuts, Ravi cannot eat it, and Sophie should avoid it too because of cross-contamination. Ask Sind die Pommes ohne Nüsse? and Gibt es etwas Vegetarisches ohne Nüsse? If the answer is unclear, choose the safest option and say Dann nehme ich die Pommes für Ravi, bitte.
The judgement call is not to translate ‘vegetarian’ as ‘safe for everyone’. Sophie’s allergy and Ravi’s vegetarianism are different constraints. A good answer shows you can ask a follow-up rather than simply repeating the first question louder.
3. The total comes to 19,50 €. What do you say to pay together and leave the remaining 0,50 €? Explain **zusammen** and **Stimmt so**.
Read the worked answer
Say Zusammen, bitte and hand over the 20 € note. When the server gives you the change, say Stimmt so - ‘keep the change’. The 0,50 € is a small tip.
Zusammen means one bill for the whole group; getrennt would mean separate bills. In a busy Imbiss, zusammen is quicker and matches the fact that you ordered as one group. Stimmt so is a conventional phrase: literally ‘it’s correct like that’, but in payment situations it means the change is for the server. It is appropriate for 0,50 €; a larger amount would need a clearer Das ist für Sie. The key is not just knowing the phrase but matching it to the cash limit and the social situation.