Learn Hardcore German: Die Verantwortung für den Kurs teilen wir uns zu zweit. - We share the responsibility for the course between the two of us.

German main clauses follow the verb‑second rule: the conjugated verb must be in second position, but any one element can be in first position (subject, object, time phrase, etc.).

Here, the object phrase Die Verantwortung für den Kurs is put in first position for emphasis, something like:

The responsibility for the course – we share that between the two of us.

So the structure is:

Die Verantwortung für den Kurs (first position: object)
teilen (second position: finite verb)
wir (subject)
uns zu zweit (rest of the sentence)

Starting with Wir would also be correct:
Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs zu zweit.
That is just a different emphasis (neutral focus on we rather than on the responsibility).

If the verb comes before the subject (teilen wir), isn’t that normally a question in German?

Not necessarily. In German:

Yes/no questions: the finite verb is in first position.
- Teilen wir uns die Verantwortung? – Do we share the responsibility?
Statements with an element other than the subject in first position: the finite verb is in second position, and the subject comes right after it.
- Die Verantwortung für den Kurs (1st) teilen (2nd) wir (3rd) uns zu zweit.

So teilen wir in this sentence is still part of a statement, not a question. What makes the sentence a question would be verb-first word order plus question intonation and a question mark, e.g. Teilen wir uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs zu zweit?

What exactly is the role of uns in teilen wir uns? Why is it needed?

Uns is a reflexive pronoun referring back to wir. The pattern here is:

sich etwas teilen – to share/divide something between oneself/ourselves/etc.

So:

Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung literally: We share the responsibility among ourselves.

The reflexive pronoun uns makes it clear that the people who have the responsibility are the same people who are sharing it out. It adds a sense of distributing the responsibility between us.

Compare:

Wir teilen die Verantwortung.
→ We share the responsibility. (grammatically fine, more neutral)
Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung.
→ We share the responsibility between us / among ourselves. (highlights the distribution among the group)

In practice, both are used, but uns emphasizes that the responsibility is being divided among the members of the group.

Is uns accusative or dative here, and why?

Here uns is dative.

The structure is:

wir – subject (nominative)
teilen – verb
uns – reflexive indirect object (dative)
die Verantwortung – direct object (accusative)

A common pattern in German is:

If a reflexive verb has another normal direct object, the reflexive pronoun is usually dative, e.g.
- Wir waschen uns die Hände.
  - uns = dative
  - die Hände = accusative direct object
- Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung.
  - uns = dative
  - die Verantwortung = accusative direct object

So uns here is the dative form of the reflexive pronoun for wir.

Could I also say Wir teilen die Verantwortung für den Kurs without uns? Would that be correct, and does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Wir teilen die Verantwortung für den Kurs.

This is grammatically correct and would usually be understood as We share the responsibility for the course.

Nuance:

Wir teilen die Verantwortung …
→ States that the responsibility is shared by us (plural subject). The “between us” idea is implied by the plural subject.
Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung …
→ Explicitly emphasizes that the responsibility is divided among us (reflexive, more strongly “between us / among ourselves”).

In everyday speech, many speakers wouldn’t feel a big difference, but uns does make the “between us” idea more explicit and slightly more personal.

What exactly does zu zweit mean, and how is it different from saying wir beide?

Zu zweit is an adverbial phrase meaning something like:

as a pair / as two people together / the two of us (acting together).

It focuses on the group size and on doing something together as that group.

Example uses:

Wir sind zu zweit. – There are two of us.
Wir fahren zu zweit in den Urlaub. – We’re going on holiday as a pair.

Wir beide means both of us, emphasising that both, not just one, are involved:

Wir beide übernehmen die Verantwortung. – Both of us take the responsibility.

In your sentence:

Die Verantwortung für den Kurs teilen wir uns zu zweit.
→ emphasizes that the responsibility is shared as a pair.

A roughly equivalent variant with beide would be:

Wir beide teilen uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs.

Both are natural, but:

zu zweit: underlines the idea of “as a team of two / in a group of two”.
wir beide: underlines “both of us (and not someone else)”.

Where in the sentence can I put zu zweit? Does it always go at the end?

Zu zweit is a relatively flexible adverbial phrase. In this sentence, several positions are possible:

Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs zu zweit.
Wir teilen uns zu zweit die Verantwortung für den Kurs.
Zu zweit teilen wir uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs.

All three are grammatically correct and natural. Differences:

End position (version 1) is very common for adverbials and sounds neutral.
Directly after the verb/subject (version 2) slightly emphasises the “as a pair” aspect.
Sentence-initial (version 3) strongly emphasises the fact that there are two of you; it’s like saying As a pair, we share the responsibility…

The original order:

Die Verantwortung für den Kurs teilen wir uns zu zweit.

puts strong emphasis on die Verantwortung für den Kurs and places zu zweit in a typical, natural end position.

Why is it für den Kurs and not something else? Which case is den Kurs, and is that always used after für?

Den Kurs is accusative singular masculine.

Kurs is masculine:
- nominative: der Kurs
- accusative: den Kurs

The preposition für (for) in German always takes the accusative case. That’s a fixed rule:

für den Kurs – for the course
für die Lehrerin – for the (female) teacher
für ein Jahr – for a year

So den Kurs is in the accusative because of für, not because it is the subject (it isn’t the subject here).

Is Die Verantwortung the subject here, or is wir the subject? How can I tell?

The subject is wir, not die Verantwortung.

The underlying straightforward order is:

Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs zu zweit.

Here the roles are easier to see:

wir – subject (nominative; who is doing the action?)
teilen – verb
uns – reflexive pronoun (dative, indirect object)
die Verantwortung – direct object (accusative; what is being shared?)
für den Kurs – prepositional phrase (for what?)
zu zweit – adverbial (as a pair)

In the original sentence, Die Verantwortung für den Kurs is moved to the front for emphasis, but it stays the direct object. German allows the object to come first; the subject doesn’t have to be in first position.

Also note: Verantwortung is a feminine noun (most -ung nouns are feminine), so the article in both nominative and accusative singular is die. That’s why you see die Verantwortung even though it’s an accusative object here.

Could I say Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs zu zweit instead? Is that more natural?

Yes, absolutely.

Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs zu zweit.

is a very natural, slightly more neutral word order. Many speakers would probably prefer it in everyday conversation because it follows the common pattern “subject – verb – objects – adverbials.”

So you have two main variants:

Die Verantwortung für den Kurs teilen wir uns zu zweit.
– Emphasis on die Verantwortung für den Kurs.
Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs zu zweit.
– More neutral emphasis on wir and the general action.

Both are correct and idiomatic; the choice is about what you want to highlight.

What’s the difference between Verantwortung teilen and Verantwortung übernehmen or Verantwortung haben?

These expressions all involve Verantwortung (responsibility), but they focus on different aspects:

Verantwortung teilen / sich Verantwortung teilen
- to share responsibility (among several people)
- Focus: distribution of responsibility.
- Wir teilen uns die Verantwortung für den Kurs.
  – We share the responsibility for the course between us.
Verantwortung übernehmen
- to take on / assume responsibility.
- Focus: taking over responsibility (often as a conscious decision).
- Ich übernehme die Verantwortung für den Kurs.
  – I’ll take responsibility for the course.
Verantwortung haben / Verantwortung tragen
- to have / bear responsibility.
- Focus: being responsible, not how it got that way or whether it’s shared.
- Er hat die Verantwortung für den Kurs.
  – He has responsibility for the course.
- Sie trägt die Verantwortung.
  – She bears the responsibility.

So your sentence with teilen specifically highlights that the responsibility is shared (and, with uns and zu zweit, that it’s shared between the two of us).