Die Gruppe trifft sich im Park.

The group meets in the park.

Breakdown of Die Gruppe trifft sich im Park.

• sich: itself
• der Park: the park
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter)
• treffen: to meet

Questions & Answers about Die Gruppe trifft sich im Park.

Why is it trifft sich and not just trifft?

German typically uses the reflexive/reciprocal verb sich treffen to mean “meet (each other), meet up.” Without sich, treffen is usually transitive: Ich treffe ihn (I meet him) or it can mean “to hit”: Der Pfeil trifft (The arrow hits). With a group that meets internally, you say Die Gruppe trifft sich to show the members meet one another.

Is Die Gruppe singular or plural? Why not treffen?

Gruppe is grammatically singular (feminine), so the verb is 3rd person singular: trifft. Even though a group contains many people, German treats collective nouns as singular for agreement: Die Gruppe trifft sich … (not treffen). For plural groups: Die Gruppen treffen sich …

What exactly is im in im Park?

im is the contraction of in dem. Park is masculine (der Park), and because this is a static location (where the meeting takes place), German uses the dative: in dem Park → im Park.

When would it be in den Park instead of im Park?