Learn Hardcore German: Die Kinder sind ungeduldig, doch wir bleiben gelassen. - The children are impatient, but we remain calm.

doch is a coordinating conjunction meaning roughly “yet/however/but” with a slightly stronger “despite that” feel. Compared to aber, which is the neutral, most common “but,” doch can sound a bit more concessive or emphatic, and a touch more formal in writing. Here both would work: “The children are impatient, yet/but we remain calm.”

Why is there a comma before doch?

Because doch links two independent main clauses. In German, you must place a comma before coordinating conjunctions like aber, doch, sondern, denn. (With und/oder between main clauses, the comma is usually optional, but with doch it’s required.)

Is doch here a conjunction or a modal particle? What difference would the modal particle make?

Here it’s a coordinating conjunction. As a modal particle, doch appears inside a clause to add nuance like insistence, softening, or “after all.” For example: Wir bleiben doch gelassen. = “We’re staying calm, after all / Come on, we’re staying calm.” That’s a different function from connecting two clauses.

Can I replace doch with aber, jedoch, or trotzdem? What changes in word order or tone?

aber: Die Kinder sind ungeduldig, aber wir bleiben gelassen. Same word order; tone is slightly more neutral/common.
jedoch (sentence adverb): Die Kinder sind ungeduldig; wir bleiben jedoch gelassen. or Die Kinder sind ungeduldig, jedoch bleiben wir gelassen. With jedoch in first position, the verb follows (V2): bleiben wir.
trotzdem (“nevertheless”): Die Kinder sind ungeduldig; trotzdem bleiben wir gelassen. Also triggers inversion (bleiben wir). trotzdem makes the concession explicit.

Why is ungeduldig after sind and not inflected?

It’s a predicative adjective after sein. Predicative adjectives in German are not inflected: Die Kinder sind ungeduldig. Contrast with attributive use before a noun, which takes endings: die ungeduldigen Kinder.

What does gelassen mean, and why use bleiben with it?

gelassen = “calm, composed, unflustered.” bleiben = “to remain/stay,” so wir bleiben gelassen emphasizes maintaining that state (“we stay calm”). Alternatives:

sein gelassen: a static description (“are calm”).
ruhig: “quiet/calm” (often about noise/agitation).
entspannt: “relaxed” (comfortably at ease, not necessarily stoic).

Is gelassen here the same form as the past participle of lassen?

They look identical, but here it’s the adjective gelassen (“calm”). The participle gelassen of lassen means “left/let”: Ich habe ihn gelassen.

Predicate adjective after sein/werden/bleiben: wir bleiben gelassen = “we remain calm.”
Participle in the perfect with haben: wir haben ihn gelassen = “we left/let him.”

What are the subjects and verbs? Does the verb-second rule apply?

Clause 1: Subject Die Kinder, verb sind, complement ungeduldig. Verb is in second position (V2).
Clause 2: After the coordinating doch, subject wir, verb bleiben, complement gelassen. Again V2 word order.

Can I start a new sentence with Doch? How does that affect word order?

Yes.

As a conjunction continuing the thought: Die Kinder sind ungeduldig. Doch wir bleiben gelassen. (Subject–Verb order remains.)
As a sentence adverb meaning “however”: Die Kinder sind ungeduldig. Doch bleiben wir gelassen. Here doch occupies first position; the verb bleiben comes next (V2), then wir.

Why is wir lowercase after the comma?

Personal pronouns are lowercase inside a sentence, except the formal Sie/Ihnen. Wir is only capitalized at the start of a sentence (or in stylistic ALL CAPS). So …, doch wir … is correct.

What case and number are Die Kinder and wir? Why not Kindern?

Both are nominative plural subjects.

Die Kinder: nominative plural (article die is used for all nominative plurals).
wir: nominative plural pronoun. Kindern is dative plural; there’s no dative role here.

Could I drop the article and say Kinder sind ungeduldig? Would that change the meaning?

Yes. Kinder sind ungeduldig makes a general statement (“Children are impatient” in general). Die Kinder sind ungeduldig refers to specific children known from context.

Where does nicht go if I want to negate either clause?

Negating the predicate adjective: Die Kinder sind nicht ungeduldig … (“The children are not impatient.”). More idiomatic would be Die Kinder sind geduldig.
Negating the second clause: …, doch wir bleiben nicht gelassen. In both, nicht directly precedes the predicate adjective it negates.

How do you pronounce the tricky parts?

Die Kinder: [diː ˈkɪndɐ]
sind: [zɪnt]
ungeduldig: [ˌʊnɡəˈdʊldɪç] (stress on -dul-; final -ig as [ç])
doch: [dɔx] (back-of-the-throat , like Scottish “loch”)
wir: [viːɐ̯]
bleiben: [ˈblaɪ̯bən]
gelassen: [ɡəˈlasən]

Why sind and not seid or ist? And is bleiben correctly conjugated?

Agreement:

Die Kinder sind: 3rd person plural → sind.
wir bleiben: 1st person plural → bleiben. Recall: ich bin/bleibe, du bist/bleibst, er/sie/es ist/bleibt, wir sind/bleiben, ihr seid/bleibt, sie sind/bleiben.

Could I use a semicolon instead of the comma?

Yes: Die Kinder sind ungeduldig; wir bleiben gelassen. A semicolon cleanly separates two related main clauses. With doch, keep the comma: …, doch …. A bare comma without a conjunction is mostly avoided in standard prose; use a conjunction or a semicolon.