Breakdown of Ich lese einen Artikel im Internet.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
ich
I
lesen
to read
Questions & Answers about Ich lese einen Artikel im Internet.
Why is it einen Artikel and not ein Artikel?
Because Artikel is masculine, and as a direct object it needs the accusative case. The indefinite article for masculine singular in nominative is ein, but in accusative it changes to einen, so you say ich lese einen Artikel.
What does im Internet mean, and why do we use im here?
im is a contraction of in dem. When in expresses location (“where?”) it takes the dative case. Internet is neuter (das Internet), so in dative it becomes dem Internet. Contracted, that’s im Internet, meaning “on/in the internet.”
Why is Internet capitalized in German?
All German nouns are capitalized regardless of origin. Internet is treated as a German noun, so it’s always capitalized and is neuter: das Internet.
Why is the word order Ich lese einen Artikel im Internet? Can I place im Internet elsewhere?
German main clauses generally follow Subject-Verb-Object-Place. So you get ich (S) + lese (V) + einen Artikel (O) + im Internet (place). You can move the place to the front for emphasis: Im Internet lese ich einen Artikel, but the verb still stays in second position and the subject shifts to third.