Learn Hardcore German: Leuchtende Laternen hängen im Park.

Because German often omits the article when speaking about things in a general or indefinite sense. Here, Leuchtende Laternen simply means “glowing lanterns” without specifying which ones. If you wanted to talk about specific lanterns you could say Die leuchtenden Laternen hängen im Park (“The glowing lanterns hang in the park”).

What part of speech is leuchtende and why does it end in -e?

Leuchtende is the present participle of leuchten used as an adjective (a participle adjective). It takes the ending -e because of “strong” adjective declension for a plural noun in the nominative case when there is no article. The rule is:
• Plural, nominative, no article → adjective ending -e

Why is Laternen plural, and how do you form its singular?

Laternen is the plural of Laterne. It’s a feminine noun:
• Singular: die Laterne
• Plural: die Laternen (add -n to the stem)

Since we’re talking about more than one lantern, the plural form is used.

What does hängen mean here, and why is it not hängen or hängele?

Hängen means “to hang” intransitively (to be suspended). German has two verbs:
• hängen (intransitive – something hangs)
• hängen (transitive – you hang something)
In this sentence, the lanterns hang by themselves, so we use the intransitive hängen in the present tense.

Why is im Park used instead of in dem Park, and what case is it?

Im is the contraction of in dem. The preposition in with the dative case indicates location. Since Park is masculine (der Park), in dem Park becomes im Park. So it’s dative case (location):
• in + dem Park → im Park

Why does the verb hängen come in second position, even though the sentence starts with the subject Leuchtende Laternen?

German main clauses follow the “V2” (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must be the second element. Here the first element is the subject (Leuchtende Laternen), so hängen comes next. The rest of the sentence (prepositional phrase im Park) follows after the verb.

Could I say Leuchtende Laternen hängen im dem Park if I wanted to be extra formal?

No. Even in formal or written German, im is the standard contraction of in dem. Using in dem Park instead of im Park would sound stilted or incorrect. Always use im Park for “in the park.”