Learn Hardcore German: In einer Demokratie dürfen alle Bewohner frei sprechen und respektvoll miteinander abstimmen. - In a democracy all residents may speak freely and vote with respect for one another.

Case after “in”
- The preposition in can take either dative (location: where?) or accusative (direction: where to?).
- Here we are talking about a state/condition (“in a democracy” = within a democratic system, not moving into a democracy), so we use the dative.
- Therefore: in
  - dative → in einer Demokratie.
Why einer and not der?
- Demokratie is feminine: die Demokratie.
- Dative singular of die Demokratie with indefinite article (a democracy) is einer Demokratie.
- If you wanted to say “in the democracy”, you’d say in der Demokratie (definite article, dative feminine).

So:

in einer Demokratie = in a democracy (general, indefinite, dative)
in der Demokratie = in the democracy (specific, definite, dative)
in eine Demokratie would be accusative (into a democracy), which would suggest movement into it, so it doesn’t fit the meaning here.

What grammatical form is “einer” in “In einer Demokratie”, and what does it tell me?

“einer” here is:

Dative singular
Feminine
Indefinite article form of eine

Pattern:

Nominative: eine Demokratie (a democracy – subject)
Accusative: eine Demokratie (a democracy – direct object)
Dative: einer Demokratie (to/at/in a democracy)
Genitive: einer Demokratie (of a democracy)

Because Demokratie is feminine and we need the dative after in (for location), we get in einer Demokratie.

Why is the verb order “dürfen alle Bewohner …” and not “alle Bewohner dürfen …”?

German main clauses follow the Verb-Second (V2) rule:

The conjugated verb must be in second position in the sentence, no matter what comes first.

Here the first “slot” is taken by the prepositional phrase:

In einer Demokratie – first element (counts as one unit)
dürfen – conjugated verb (must be second)
alle Bewohner – subject
rest of the clause

If you started with the subject instead, you could say:

Alle Bewohner dürfen in einer Demokratie frei sprechen …

Both orders are correct; we just moved “In einer Demokratie” to the front for emphasis. The verb still has to stay in second position, so it becomes “dürfen alle Bewohner”.

Why is “dürfen” used here instead of “können” or another modal verb?

In German, modal verbs carry different nuances:

dürfen = to be allowed to, to have permission to
können = to be able to, to be capable of
sollen = should, supposed to
müssen = must, have to

The sentence talks about rights and freedoms in a democracy:

alle Bewohner dürfen frei sprechen
= all residents are allowed to speak freely / may speak freely

Using können (können frei sprechen) would sound more like ability (are able to speak freely), not a right or permission. So dürfen is the best choice here to express democratic freedoms.

Why are “sprechen” and “abstimmen” at the end of the sentence?

This is because of modal verbs and German word order.

The conjugated modal verb (dürfen) goes in second position.
The main verbs that it modifies (sprechen, abstimmen) go to the end of the clause in the infinitive form.
When there are two infinitives joined by und, both stay together at the end:

In einer Demokratie dürfen alle Bewohner
– frei sprechen
– und respektvoll miteinander abstimmen.

So the pattern is:
[First element] + [conjugated modal] + [subject] + … + [infinitive(s) at the end]

What exactly does “Bewohner” mean, and why not “Bürger”?

Bewohner literally means “inhabitants / residents” – people who live in a place, regardless of legal status.
Bürger means “citizens” – people who have citizenship.

So the nuance is:

alle Bewohner → everyone who lives there (residents)
alle Bürger → everyone who holds citizenship (citizens)

In a democracy-themed sentence, both are possible, but they are not identical:

If the focus is on everyone living in the country having these freedoms, Bewohner fits well.
If the focus is on legal citizens and their political rights, Bürger would be more precise.

Also note: Bewohner is grammatically masculine plural here (article is implied: alle Bewohner).

Why is there no article before “Bewohner”? Why is it “alle Bewohner” and not “alle die Bewohner”?

In German, with quantifiers like:

alle (all)
viele (many)
einige (some)
wenige (few)
mehrere (several)

you typically don’t use an extra definite article:

alle Bewohner (all residents) – correct
die Bewohner (the residents) – also correct, but without alle
alle die Bewohner – usually wrong or at least very unusual in this context

So the regular pattern is:

alle + plural noun → alle Bewohner, alle Kinder, alle Menschen.

What does “frei sprechen” mean here? Is it literally “to speak freely”, or is there an idiomatic nuance?

“frei sprechen” is quite close to English “to speak freely”:

It means to express one’s opinions openly, without fear of punishment or censorship.
It’s not just “to speak without a script”; it’s more about freedom of expression.

So in this sentence:

frei sprechen = to say what they think openly and without restriction.

It is both literal (free + speak) and idiomatic in the political / rights context.

What does “miteinander abstimmen” mean exactly, and is “miteinander” necessary?

abstimmen on its own means “to vote” (typically in some organized decision process).
miteinander means “with each other, together (with one another)”.

So:

miteinander abstimmen
= to vote together, to hold a vote with one another,
emphasizing the joint, cooperative process.

Is miteinander necessary?

Grammatically, you could say just abstimmen:
In einer Demokratie dürfen alle Bewohner respektvoll abstimmen.
But miteinander highlights the communal, interactive nature of voting in a democracy – it’s not just individual actions, it’s a shared process.

So it adds nuance about togetherness and mutual respect.

Where do “frei”, “respektvoll”, and “miteinander” fit in terms of word order? Could their position change?

In the sentence:

… frei sprechen und respektvoll miteinander abstimmen.

frei is an adverb modifying sprechen (how they speak).
respektvoll is an adverb/adjective used adverbially modifying abstimmen (how they vote).
miteinander is also an adverb modifying abstimmen (in relation to each other).

German adverbs are relatively flexible, but there are preferred patterns:

Right in front of the verb they modify is very common:
- frei sprechen
- respektvoll miteinander abstimmen
You could slightly reorder respektvoll and miteinander:
- miteinander respektvoll abstimmen – also understandable and acceptable.

The chosen order “respektvoll miteinander abstimmen” is natural; it groups the manner (respektvoll) and the relational aspect (miteinander) closely with the verb abstimmen.

Is “abstimmen” a separable verb? If so, why don’t we see it split here?

Yes, abstimmen is a separable verb:

Prefix: ab-
Stem: stimmen

In a normal main clause with a finite (conjugated) form, it would split:

Wir stimmen heute über das Gesetz ab.
(We are voting on the law today.)

However, in your sentence:

… dürfen alle Bewohner frei sprechen und respektvoll miteinander abstimmen.

dürfen is the conjugated modal verb.
abstimmen appears in the infinitive at the end, and separable verbs do not split in the infinitive.

So the rule:

Finite form in V2 position → separable prefix goes to the end.
Infinitive at the end (especially after a modal) → verb remains together: abstimmen.