Vor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik.

Before the math exam I sometimes get really panicky.

Breakdown of Vor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik.

• ich: I
• manchmal: sometimes
• vor: before
• bekommen: to get
• die Matheprüfung: the math exam
• richtig: real
• die Panik: the panic

Questions & Answers about Vor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik.

Why is it Vor der Matheprüfung and not Bevor die Matheprüfung?

German makes a clear distinction between:

• vor = a preposition, followed by a noun phrase
  
  • Vor der Matheprüfung = Before the math exam (literally: in front of / prior to the exam)
• bevor = a subordinating conjunction, followed by a whole clause (with a verb)
  
  • Bevor ich die Matheprüfung schreibe, ... = Before I take the math exam, ...

In the given sentence, you only have a noun phrase (no verb), so you must use the preposition:

• ✅ Vor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik.
• ❌ Bevor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik. (wrong: bevor needs a full clause)

If you wanted to use bevor, you’d need something like:

• Bevor ich die Matheprüfung schreibe, bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik.

Why is it der Matheprüfung and not die Matheprüfung after vor?

The base form of the noun phrase is:

• die Matheprüfung (feminine, nominative singular)

But vor is a preposition that takes the dative case when it expresses time (and also usually when it expresses location).

For feminine nouns, the dative singular article is der, not die:

• Nominative: die Matheprüfung
• Dative: der Matheprüfung

So after vor you get:

• Vor der Matheprüfung = before the math exam

This is just the normal article change for feminine nouns in the dative.

Why does the sentence start with Vor der Matheprüfung and then the verb bekomme comes second?

German main clauses obey the V2 rule = the conjugated verb must be in 2nd position.

The first position can be practically anything: subject, object, time phrase, etc. Here it’s a time phrase:

1. First position: Vor der Matheprüfung
2. Second position (must be verb): bekomme
3. Then subject: ich
4. Rest of the sentence: manchmal richtige Panik

So:

• Vor der Matheprüfung (1) bekomme (2) ich manchmal richtige Panik.

You could also put ich first:

• Ich bekomme vor der Matheprüfung manchmal richtige Panik.

Both are correct; starting with the time phrase just emphasizes when this happens.

Could you also say Ich bekomme manchmal richtige Panik vor der Matheprüfung? Is that different?

Yes, that’s also correct:

• Ich bekomme manchmal richtige Panik vor der Matheprüfung.

The meaning is essentially the same. The differences are about emphasis and flow:

• Vor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik.
  
  • Emphasis on before the exam as the setting.
• Ich bekomme manchmal richtige Panik vor der Matheprüfung.
  
  • Emphasis more on me and the panic, with the vor der Matheprüfung added at the end as extra information.

All three variants are natural:

• Vor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik.
• Ich bekomme vor der Matheprüfung manchmal richtige Panik.
• Ich bekomme manchmal richtige Panik vor der Matheprüfung.

Why is it bekomme ich Panik and not habe ich Panik?

Both Panik bekommen and Panik haben exist, but they’re used slightly differently:

• Panik bekommen focuses on the onset: the moment the panic arises

  • to get / start to panic
  • Vor Prüfungen bekomme ich Panik. = Before exams, I start to panic.

• Panik haben talks about the state: already being in a panicked condition

  • to be panicking / to be in a state of panic
  • Während der Prüfung habe ich totale Panik. = During the exam, I am in total panic.

In your sentence, vor der Prüfung fits well with the idea of the panic starting, so bekommen is very natural.

What is the nuance of richtige Panik? Why not just Panik or große Panik?

richtige Panik here means something like:

• real panic, proper panic, serious panic

It emphasizes that it’s not just a little nervousness; it’s genuine, full-on panic.

Comparisons:

• Panik – neutral; could be strong or weak depending on context
• große Panik – big panic, emphasizes the intensity
• richtige Panik – real/proper panic, emphasizes that it’s not just mild anxiety, but the “real thing”

Colloquially, richtige Panik is very common and sounds natural and spoken.

Why is it manchmal richtige Panik and not manchmal richtige Paniken? Isn’t Panik countable?

In this context, Panik is used as an uncountable noun in German, referring to the general emotional state:

• Ich bekomme Panik. = I panic / I get panicky.

While Panik can have a plural (Panik(en)) in some contexts (e.g. specific panic events in a crowd), for personal feelings like this, German almost always uses it without plural:

• ✅ Ich bekomme manchmal richtige Panik.
• ❌ Ich bekomme manchmal richtige Paniken. (sounds wrong in this sense)

So think of it like English I get real panic (where you also don’t say panics about your mood).

What is Matheprüfung exactly? Why is it one word?

German loves compound nouns. Matheprüfung is made from:

• Mathe (short for Mathematik) = math
• Prüfung = exam, test

Put together: Matheprüfung = math exam.

In German, instead of writing math exam as two words, you typically form a single compound:

• Matheprüfung, Deutschprüfung, Führerscheinprüfung, etc.

Writing it as two separate nouns (Mathe Prüfung) would be wrong or at least look like a mistake. It needs to be one word.

Is Mathe formal enough, or should it be Mathematikprüfung?

Mathe is the colloquial / everyday form of Mathematik, similar to English math(s) instead of mathematics.

• Matheprüfung – very common in informal and neutral everyday language, perfectly fine in speech and informal writing
• Mathematikprüfung – more formal, more likely in official or written school/university contexts, exam titles, etc.

Your sentence sounds like everyday spoken German, so Matheprüfung is appropriate and natural.

Why is it manchmal in the middle? Could I say Ich bekomme richtige Panik manchmal?

Word order with adverbs like manchmal is somewhat flexible, but there are preferences.

Natural options:

• Ich bekomme manchmal richtige Panik.
• Manchmal bekomme ich richtige Panik.

Putting manchmal right before the main content word (richtige Panik) or right after the verb is very common.

Ich bekomme richtige Panik manchmal is not wrong, but it sounds less natural and more marked; adverbs of frequency (often, sometimes, always) are usually earlier in the clause.

So the original version bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik is the most idiomatic.

Why is the verb in the present tense (bekomme) even though it’s about the future (before the exam)?

German often uses the present tense to talk about:

• Scheduled future events
  
  • Morgen habe ich eine Prüfung. = I have an exam tomorrow.
• Regular or habitual events that will also happen in the future

Here, Vor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik describes a repeated pattern: whenever there is a math exam, this happens.

So the present tense is completely normal and usually preferred. You could use future:

• Vor der Matheprüfung werde ich manchmal richtige Panik bekommen.

…but this sounds more like a specific prediction; for a general habit, the present is better and much more natural.

What’s the difference between Angst and Panik in a sentence like this?

Both are about fear, but:

• Angst = fear, anxiety (more general, can be mild to strong)
  
  • Vor der Matheprüfung habe ich Angst. = I’m scared of the math exam.
• Panik = panic (strong, sudden, overwhelming fear)
  
  • Vor der Matheprüfung bekomme ich manchmal richtige Panik. = I sometimes really panic before the math exam.

So Panik is more intense than Angst. Using richtige Panik emphasizes that it’s not just normal exam nerves, but a strong emotional reaction.