Learn Hardcore German: Im Pausenraum hängt eine Liste, die die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses zeigt. - In the break room there is a list that shows the target group of each course.

You use the dative case after in when you’re talking about a location (answering “where?”), not a direction of movement.
So im Pausenraum literally means “in the break room” and is fully grammatical and more natural than saying the full in dem Pausenraum in everyday speech.

Why does the sentence start with “Im Pausenraum” but the verb “hängt” still comes right after it?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb must be in the second position, no matter what comes first.

In this sentence:

Im Pausenraum – first element (a prepositional phrase, moved to the front for emphasis or context)
hängt – verb (must be in position 2)
eine Liste – the subject
… – rest of the sentence

So even though the subject “eine Liste” isn’t in the first slot, the finite verb “hängt” still has to be second.

Is “eine Liste” really the subject? It doesn’t come first.

Yes, “eine Liste” is the subject, even though it appears third in the word order.

You can see that because:

It agrees with the verb: eine Liste hängt (singular).
It is in the nominative case (as the subject).

The fronted phrase “Im Pausenraum” is just a location adverbial (a prepositional phrase), not the subject. German allows you to move elements around for emphasis, but case and verb agreement tell you what the subject is.

Why do we use “hängt” here and not “ist”?

In German, hängen is often used for objects that are hanging from something (a wall, a pinboard, a hook, etc.).

Die Liste hängt an der Wand. – The list is hanging on the wall.
Im Pausenraum hängt eine Liste. – A list is (hanging) in the break room.

You could say “Im Pausenraum ist eine Liste.”, but that only tells you that a list is there, not how it is there.
Using hängt is more specific and sounds more natural if the list is literally hanging on a wall or board.

Why is there a comma before “die die Zielgruppe … zeigt”?

The comma introduces a relative clause:

Hauptsatz (main clause): Im Pausenraum hängt eine Liste,…
Relativsatz (relative clause): die die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses zeigt.

In German, relative clauses are always separated by commas.
The relative clause gives additional information about the noun that comes right before it—in this case, “eine Liste”.

In “die die Zielgruppe…” why do we see “die” twice? Isn’t that wrong?

It looks strange, but it’s completely correct, and each die has a different function:

die (1st) is a relative pronoun, referring back to “eine Liste”.
die Zielgruppe: here die is just the definite article (“the”) in front of Zielgruppe.

You could label it like this:

…eine Liste, [die] [die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses] zeigt.
- 1st die = relative pronoun: which
- 2nd die = article: the target group

So in English you’d have something like:
“…a list which shows the target group of each course.”

Why is the relative pronoun “die” and not “der” or “die Liste, welche …”?

The relative pronoun must match the noun it refers to in gender and number, and it must show its case inside the relative clause.

Noun it refers to: Liste (feminine, singular)
Function of that noun in the relative clause: subject of zeigt

So we need: nominative, feminine, singular → die.

Using welche would also be grammatically possible:

…eine Liste, welche die Zielgruppe zeigt.

However, die is far more common and sounds more natural in everyday German. Welche in relative clauses often sounds more formal or bookish.

In the relative clause “die die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses zeigt”, why does “zeigt” come at the end?

This is a core rule of German word order: in subordinate clauses (including relative clauses), the finite verb goes to the end.

Main clause: Im Pausenraum hängt eine Liste. → verb in 2nd position.
Relative clause: …, die die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses zeigt. → zeigt at the end.

So the structure is:

Relative pronoun (die)
Object phrase (die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses)
Verb at the end (zeigt)

What case is “die Zielgruppe”, and why?

Die Zielgruppe is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb zeigt (zeigt was? → die Zielgruppe).

zeigt – “shows”
wen/was zeigt sie? – “whom/what does it show?” → die Zielgruppe

Since Zielgruppe is feminine singular, its nominative and accusative forms are identical:

Nom./Acc. feminine singular: die Zielgruppe

So the form doesn’t change, but its function in the clause is accusative object.

What’s happening with “jedes Kurses”? Why that form and word order?

“jedes Kurses” is a genitive construction meaning “of each course”.

jeder / jedes / jede = each, every
Kurs is masculine:
- Genitive singular: des Kurses
- Insert jedes in front of it → jedes Kurses

So:

die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses = “the target group of each course”

Grammatically:

Zielgruppe is the head noun (accusative).
jedes Kurses is a genitive modifier describing whose target group it is.

Word order: in German, the genitive modifier normally follows the noun:

die Teilnehmerzahl des Kurses
die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses

How do I know that “jedes” goes with “Kurses” and not with “Zielgruppe”?

You can see it from gender and endings:

Zielgruppe is feminine. If jedes belonged to it, you’d need the feminine form: jeder Zielgruppe (genitive) or jede Zielgruppe (nominative/accusative).
Kurs is masculine. The genitive of jeder for masculine/neuter is jedes, and Kurses is the genitive of Kurs.

So:

die Zielgruppe [jedes Kurses]
→ Zielgruppe (fem.) is the head;
→ jedes Kurses (masc. gen.) is the modifier.

This matches the meaning: “the target group of each course,” not “each target group of the course.”

What exactly does “Zielgruppe” mean, and how is it formed?

Zielgruppe is a compound noun:

Ziel = goal, target, aim
Gruppe = group

Together: Zielgruppe ≈ “target group”, the group of people that something (a course, an advertisement, etc.) is intended for.

It’s:

Gender: feminine → die Zielgruppe
Plural: die Zielgruppen

In the sentence, it’s singular: die Zielgruppe jedes Kurses.