Breakdown of Wir sprechen darüber, dass ich in der Dunkelheit oft Panik bekomme.
ich
I
oft
often
in
in
wir
we
dass
that
sprechen über
to talk about
darüber
about it, over it
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
bekommen
to receive / to get (be given)
die Panik
the panic
die Dunkelheit
the darkness
Questions & Answers about Wir sprechen darüber, dass ich in der Dunkelheit oft Panik bekomme.
Why do we need darüber here? Why not just Wir sprechen über, dass...?
In German, you cannot put a subordinate clause (like a dass-clause) directly after a preposition like über. Because the verb sprechen requires über to mean "talk about", you combine über with da- to make the placeholder darüber (about it). This safely sits in the main clause and points ahead to the dass-clause, which explains exactly what "it" is.
The English translation says "about how I often panic", but the German uses dass (that). Why not use wie?
In English, we frequently use "about how" to talk about a general fact or situation. German distinguishes this more strictly: if you are talking about the fact that a situation happens, you use dass. If you used wie (how), it would specifically mean you are discussing the exact physical or psychological process of how the panic attacks unfold.
Why does the sentence use Panik bekomme instead of a single verb for "to panic"?
While German has the colloquial verb paniken, it is much more common and natural to use the phrase Panik bekommen (literally: to get panic). Notice that because this phrase is inside a dass-clause, the conjugated verb bekomme is pushed to the very end of the sentence.
Why is it in der Dunkelheit and not in die Dunkelheit?
The preposition in is a "two-way" preposition. Since experiencing panic in the dark describes a situation happening in a fixed state (answering "where?"), it takes the dative case. Dunkelheit is a feminine noun, so the dative article is der. If you were moving into the dark (answering "where to?"), you would use the accusative in die Dunkelheit.
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