Learn Hardcore German: Beim Essen sprechen wir über viel Neues, das im Kurs passiert. - While eating we talk about a lot of new things that happen in the course.

Beim is the contraction of bei dem (“at the/while the”). Bei takes the dative case, so you get bei dem Essen → beim Essen. It expresses “during/while the meal” or “while eating.”

Why is Essen capitalized?

Because it’s a verb turned into a noun (a nominalized verb). In German, all nouns are capitalized, including nominalized verbs and adjectives. Here Essen means “the act of eating” or “the meal.”

Could I also say während des Essens? Is there a difference?

Yes. Während des Essens is fully correct and a bit more formal. Während governs the genitive in standard German, hence des Essens. Colloquial speech may use dative (während dem Essen), but stick to genitive in writing. Meaning-wise, it’s the same as beim Essen.

Why is sprechen in second position after Beim Essen?

German main clauses are verb-second. When you front an element like Beim Essen (an adverbial), it counts as position 1, so the finite verb (sprechen) must be in position 2: Beim Essen sprechen wir … You can also say: Wir sprechen beim Essen …

Why use über and not von with sprechen?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:

über + Accusative = talk about a topic in some detail (the default for “about”).
von + Dative = talk of/mention; often a bit looser or from the perspective of source. Here, sprechen über viel Neues is the most natural. With von, you’d need dative: wir sprechen von viel Neuem.

Why is it über viel Neues and not über viele Neues?

Because viel is used with mass/uncountable or collective ideas, and Neues here means “new stuff/things” as a lump sum. Viele is for countable plural nouns:

Mass: über viel Neues
Countable plural: über viele neue Dinge

Why does Neues end in -es and start with a capital N?

Neues is a nominalized adjective (from neu), referring to “new things.” Nominalized adjectives are capitalized and take adjective endings. With no article and neuter singular accusative (after über), the strong ending is -es: viel Neues.

Can I say vieles Neue instead of viel Neues? Does it change the meaning?

Yes. Both are correct but carry a slight nuance:

viel Neues = a lot of new stuff (mass-like).
vieles Neue = many new items (more itemized, a bit more formal). Grammar-wise, vieles acts like a determiner, so the following nominalized adjective takes a different ending: vieles Neue.

Why is it das im Kurs passiert and not was im Kurs passiert?

After a specific neuter noun like das Neue/Neues, standard German uses the relative pronoun das. Use was after indefinite pronouns like alles, etwas, nichts (e.g., alles, was …). Colloquial German sometimes uses was after Neues, but das is the standard choice here.

Why does the verb passiert go to the end in the relative clause?

Relative clauses are subordinate clauses in German, and the finite verb goes to the end: … das im Kurs passiert.

Why present tense passiert and not ist passiert?

German present can express English “is happening/are happening.” … das im Kurs passiert = “that is happening in the course.” … ist passiert would mean “has happened” (completed in the past), which changes the meaning.

What case is im Kurs, and why im rather than in den?

Im is in dem (dative). In takes dative for location (where?) and accusative for direction (into where?). Here it’s location within the course context, so in dem Kurs → im Kurs. In den Kurs would imply movement into the course.

If I change it to a plural, how does the relative clause change? For example: viele neue Dinge.

The relative pronoun and verb agree with the antecedent:

Singular: viel Neues, das … passiert
Plural: viele neue Dinge, die … passieren So you’d say: Beim Essen sprechen wir über viele neue Dinge, die im Kurs passieren.

Is the comma before das required?

Yes. German requires a comma before relative clauses: …, das im Kurs passiert.

Can I rearrange parts of the sentence?

Yes, word order is flexible for emphasis, while keeping verb-second in the main clause and the verb-last in the relative clause:

Wir sprechen beim Essen über viel Neues, das im Kurs passiert.
Über viel Neues, das im Kurs passiert, sprechen wir beim Essen.
Beim Essen sprechen wir über viel Neues, das im Kurs passiert.

Can I use reden instead of sprechen?

Yes. Reden (über) is a common synonym and a bit more colloquial: Beim Essen reden wir über viel Neues, das im Kurs passiert.

Should it be Kurs or Unterricht?

Kurs = the course as a program (overall context). im Kurs is fine here.
Unterricht = instruction/lesson time. im Unterricht would emphasize happenings during class sessions. Use whichever matches your intended nuance.