German Phrase
Beeil dich, damit du keine Fristen verpasst.
Meaning
‘Hurry up, so that you don’t miss any deadlines.’ The speaker urges the listener to act quickly in order to avoid the negative consequence of missing important dates.
When to use
Use this sentence in work, school or project settings when a deadline is approaching and you want to motivate a colleague, teammate, or classmate to speed up.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Beeildich,damitdukeineFristenverpasst.
Imperative (du) with reflexive pronoun
‘Beeil dich’ is the informal singular imperative of ‘sich beeilen’, using the reflexive pronoun ‘dich’.
Purpose clause with ‘damit’
‘damit’ introduces a purpose clause, equivalent to ‘so that’ in English.
Accusative object after ‘verpassen’
‘verpassen’ takes a direct object in the accusative; ‘keine Fristen’ is the plural accusative form.
Verb placement in subordinate clause
In the ‘damit’-clause the finite verb ‘verpasst’ moves to the end.
🗨In Conversation
Beeil dich, damit du keine Fristen verpasst.
Hurry up, so you don’t miss any deadlines.
Okay, ich lege sofort los.
Okay, I’ll start right away.
✕Common Mistakes
verpasst du keinen Frist
‘verpassen’ requires the accusative; ‘Frist’ must be plural ‘Fristen’ and the negation is ‘keine’, not ‘keinen’.
Beeil du, damit du keine Fristen verpasst.
The reflexive pronoun is mandatory in the imperative of ‘sich beeilen’.
damit du keine Frist verpasst
‘Frist’ is singular; the sentence talks about multiple deadlines, so ‘Fristen’ is correct.
↔Alternatives
Mach schnell, sonst verpasst du die Fristen.
Move fast, otherwise you’ll miss the deadlines.
Beeil dich, sonst kommen die Termine zu kurz.
Hurry up, or the appointments will slip by.
Eile, damit du keine Termine verpasst.
Rush, so you don’t miss any appointments.
Cultural Tip
German culture places a high value on punctuality and meeting deadlines. Using ‘Beeil dich’ is informal; in a formal setting you would say ‘Beeilen Sie sich, damit Sie keine Fristen verpassen.’ Also, note that ‘Frist’ is a legal/administrative term, while ‘Termin’ is more everyday.