Learn Hardcore German: Wir wollen morgen im Park spielen. - We want to play in the park tomorrow.

In German, when you use a modal verb like wollen (to want), the infinitive (spielen, to play) moves to the end of the clause. The finite verb (wollen) occupies the second position, and the non-finite verb goes all the way to the end.

Why is im Park in the dative case?

The preposition in can take either accusative (movement into somewhere) or dative (location in somewhere). Here it expresses location (“in the park”), so it requires the dative. in + dem Park contracts to im Park.

What’s the difference between wollen and möchten?

wollen expresses a strong desire or intention (“to want to”). möchten is the subjunctive of mögen and is more polite, meaning “would like to.” Saying Wir wollen … is more forceful than Wir möchten ….

Can I move morgen (tomorrow) to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. German allows you to front adverbials. If you put morgen first, you get:
Morgen wollen wir im Park spielen.
The finite verb (wollen) remains in second position, and the subject comes after it.

Why is morgen not capitalized here?

morgen meaning “tomorrow” is an adverb and adverbs are not capitalized in German. There is a noun der Morgen (“morning”) which is capitalized, but that’s a different word.

What’s the order of the adverbials in this sentence?

German generally follows the Time-Manner-Place rule for adverbials. In our sentence we have:
• morgen (Time)
• im Park (Place)
Since there’s no Manner adverb, it’s simply Time → Place.

Why isn’t there a separate article before Park?

The article dem (dative masculine/neuter) is still there — it’s just contracted with in to form im. So you aren’t omitting the article; im = in dem.

How do you pronounce wollen, and why does it have a short “o”?

wollen is pronounced [ˈvɔlən]. In German, a double consonant (like “ll”) indicates that the preceding vowel is short. The “o” is pronounced like the “o” in English “not,” followed by a light “l” sound.