Learn Hardcore German: Es war stürmisch am See, trotzdem blieb die Trainerin ruhig. - It was stormy at the lake, nevertheless the female coach stayed calm.

In main clauses, German is verb-second (V2). Trotzdem is a sentence adverb placed in the first position, so the finite verb must come second: Trotzdem blieb …. The subject (die Trainerin) then follows the verb. So: first position = trotzdem, second = blieb, third = subject.

Is the comma before trotzdem mandatory?

Yes. There are two independent main clauses, so German requires a comma between them: Es war stürmisch am See, trotzdem blieb …. You could also write two sentences (Es war stürmisch am See. Trotzdem blieb …) or use a semicolon (… See; trotzdem …). The comma isn’t “because of” trotzdem, but because you’re separating two main clauses.

Can I use aber instead of trotzdem? What changes?

Yes: Es war stürmisch am See, aber die Trainerin blieb ruhig. With aber (a coordinating conjunction), you still have a main clause, but the verb doesn’t invert because the subject is first: aber die Trainerin blieb …. With trotzdem (a conjunctive adverb), if it starts the clause, the verb comes immediately after it: trotzdem blieb …. Both mean “nevertheless/however,” but aber is more neutral “but.”

How is trotzdem different from obwohl?

trotzdem is an adverb starting a main clause and triggers V2: … , trotzdem blieb sie ruhig.
obwohl is a subordinating conjunction and sends the verb to the end of its clause: Obwohl es am See stürmisch war, blieb die Trainerin ruhig. Meaning is similar, but the syntax is different.

Why is it Es war stürmisch instead of using a verb like Es stürmte?

German commonly describes weather with impersonal es + sein + adjective: Es war stürmisch (It was stormy). Es stürmte also exists and is idiomatic, but Es war stürmisch is more neutral and common in descriptions. Both are fine here.

What kind of es is in Es war stürmisch?

It’s a dummy/expletive subject used for weather/impersonal statements. If you front a place phrase, you still keep es: Am See war es stürmisch. Omitting es here would be ungrammatical.

What exactly is am See? What case is used, and why?

am is the contraction of an dem (at/on the), dative case. Location with an takes the dative: am See = at the lake. Direction towards uses accusative: an den See = to the lake. Inside the lake is im See (in + dem), also dative for location.

Does See mean lake or sea here?

Here it means “lake.” der See (masculine) = lake; die See (feminine) = sea. am See = an dem See → masculine dative → lake. For the sea you’d typically say am Meer or name it (an der Nordsee).

Why is it die Trainerin? Could it be der Trainer?

Trainerin is the feminine form of Trainer (adding -in marks female). The definite article die agrees with feminine singular. If the coach were male, you’d say der Trainer. You could also use an indefinite article: … blieb eine Trainerin ruhig. As a subject noun like this, an article is normally required; you can drop it only in predicate-noun uses like Sie ist Trainerin.

Why the simple past blieb instead of the present perfect ist geblieben?

Written narrative German prefers the simple past (Präteritum): blieb. In conversation, you’d more often hear the present perfect: ist ruhig geblieben (note: bleiben forms its perfect with sein). Both are correct; it’s mainly a stylistic/register choice.

Why is ruhig uninflected? Why not ruhige?

After linking verbs like sein, werden, bleiben, adjectives used predicatively are not declined: blieb ruhig. You only add endings in attributive position before a noun: die ruhige Trainerin.

Can I change the position of am See?

Yes. All are grammatical with slight differences in emphasis/rhythm:

Es war stürmisch am See.
Es war am See stürmisch.
Am See war es stürmisch. (fronted location → verb still in second position)

Where else can I place trotzdem?

You can start the clause for emphasis: Trotzdem blieb die Trainerin ruhig. Or keep the subject first: Die Trainerin blieb trotzdem ruhig. Clause-final … ruhig trotzdem is not idiomatic. When trotzdem is clause-initial, remember V2: trotzdem blieb …

What’s the nuance of ruhig bleiben vs words like gelassen, still, or leise?

ruhig bleiben = remain calm/composed (about mood/behavior).
gelassen (bleiben) = stay unflappable, cool-headed (often even stronger composure).
still (bleiben) = stay still/quiet (lack of movement or sound).
leise = quietly/softly (low volume). Here, ruhig is about composure, not silence.

Any spelling or morphology pitfalls? Why blieb with ie?

The verb is bleiben (to stay). Its simple past is blieb (stem vowel change ei → ie), past participle geblieben. Don’t confuse with blieb vs the imperative bleib! (singular).

How do I pronounce the tricky words?

trotzdem: [TROTS-daym] (German: [ˈtʁɔtsdeːm])
See: long vowel [ZAY] (German: [zeː])
ruhig: either [ROO-ich] (German: [ˈʁuːɪç]) or [ROO-ik] ([ˈʁuːɪk]); both common
Trainerin: [TRAY-neh-rin] (German: [ˈtʁeːnəʁɪn])

Can I replace trotzdem with other connectors like dennoch or jedoch?

Yes:

dennoch is a near-synonym: … , dennoch blieb … (very similar register to trotzdem).
jedoch is slightly more formal/literary: … , jedoch blieb …. All are conjunctive adverbs and follow the same V2 behavior when clause-initial.