Breakdown of Ich trainiere im Verein, obwohl ich erkältet bin.
ich
I
sein
to be
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
obwohl
although
erkältet
having a cold
trainieren
to train
der Verein
the club
Questions & Answers about Ich trainiere im Verein, obwohl ich erkältet bin.
Why is bin at the very end of the sentence?
Because of the word obwohl (although). Obwohl is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and forces the conjugated verb (in this case, bin) to move to the very end of that clause.
The English translation says 'I have a cold', but the German uses ich ... bin. Why use the verb 'to be' here?
In English, we use a noun ('a cold') with the verb 'to have'. In German, erkältet is an adjective describing how you feel, similar to saying 'I am sick'. So you literally say 'I am en-colded' (ich bin erkältet).
Why does the sentence use im Verein instead of just in Verein?
im is a short way of saying in dem. When you answer the question 'where?' (a fixed location with no movement), the preposition in requires the dative case. Since Verein (club) is a masculine noun, it becomes in dem Verein, which shrinks down to im Verein.
Is the comma before obwohl required?
Yes! Unlike in English, German punctuation rules are very strict about this. You must always separate a main clause from a subordinate clause with a comma. Whenever you use obwohl in the middle of a sentence, a comma must go right before it.
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