Learn Hardcore German: Die Studentin macht ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus. - The female student is doing an internship in the hospital.

Studentin is the specifically female form of Student.
- der Student = (male) student
- die Studentin = (female) student
The article changes with gender in the nominative singular:
- der Student (masculine)
- die Studentin (feminine)

So die Studentin tells you the student is female (or at least grammatically feminine).

Why is it macht ein Praktikum and not something like tut ein Praktikum or just ist im Praktikum?

In German, the set phrase for "to do an internship" is ein Praktikum machen.

machen is a very common verb used in fixed expressions:
- Hausaufgaben machen (to do homework)
- Fehler machen (to make mistakes)
- Urlaub machen (to go on holiday)
- ein Praktikum machen (to do an internship)

Using tun here (ein Praktikum tun) is not idiomatic.
im Praktikum sein is possible, but it emphasizes being in the phase of an internship, not the action of doing it. The most natural everyday expression is ein Praktikum machen.

Why is it ein Praktikum and not eine Praktikum?

Because Praktikum is a neuter noun in German.

Gender of Praktikum: das Praktikum (neuter)
Indefinite article in the singular:
- ein Mann (masculine)
- eine Frau (feminine)
- ein Kind (neuter)

So with das Praktikum, the correct indefinite article is ein, not eine.

What case is ein Praktikum in, and why?

ein Praktikum is in the accusative case.

Rule: The direct object of most verbs is in the accusative.
In the sentence Die Studentin macht ein Praktikum, we can ask:
- What does the student do? → ein Praktikum.
  This answer is the direct object → accusative.

For neuter nouns like das Praktikum, nominative and accusative both use ein, so the form doesn’t change, but the function in the sentence is accusative.

What case is im Krankenhaus in, and why?

im Krankenhaus is in the dative case.

im is a contraction of in dem:
- in (preposition) + dem (dative, neuter, singular) → im.
After in, if you talk about location (where something is), you use dative:
- Wo ist sie? – Im Krankenhaus. (dative)
- Wohin geht sie? – Ins Krankenhaus. (= in das, accusative)

Here it means “in the hospital” as a place where the internship takes place → that’s a location, so dative is correct: im (in dem) Krankenhaus.

Why is it im Krankenhaus and not in dem Krankenhaus? Are they different?

im and in dem mean the same thing here; im is just the normal contracted form.

im = in dem (in the)
- im Krankenhaus = in dem Krankenhaus
In spoken and written German, people almost always use im, not the full in dem, unless they want to emphasize the article for some reason.

So Die Studentin macht ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus and
Die Studentin macht ein Praktikum in dem Krankenhaus are grammatically both correct; the first is more natural.

Why are Studentin, Praktikum, and Krankenhaus capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence.

Studentin – a person → noun → capitalized
Praktikum – a thing/abstract → noun → capitalized
Krankenhaus – a place → noun → capitalized

Verbs, adjectives, and most other word types are not capitalized in the middle of a sentence; only nouns (and words turned into nouns) are.

What is the literal meaning or structure of Krankenhaus?

Krankenhaus is a compound noun:

krank = sick, ill
Haus = house

So literally, Krankenhaus is a "house for the sick" → hospital.

German very often forms new words by combining existing ones, and these compounds are written as one word.

What does the -in ending in Studentin tell me?

The suffix -in on a noun usually marks the female form of a profession, role, or nationality.

der Student → die Studentin (female student)
der Lehrer → die Lehrerin (female teacher)
der Arzt → die Ärztin (female doctor)
der Deutsche → die Deutsche (German woman)

Plural feminine often adds -nen:
die Studentinnen, die Lehrerinnen, die Ärztinnen.

How would the sentence change if I talk about a male student?

For a male student, you change Studentin to Student and adjust the article:

Die Studentin macht ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.
→ female student
Der Student macht ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.
→ male student

Verb and everything else remains the same.

How do I make this sentence plural: “The students are doing an internship in the hospital”?

Plural of the nouns and verb:

die Studentin → die Studentinnen (female students)
der Student → die Studenten (male/mixed group)
das Praktikum → plural: die Praktika or die Praktiken (both are used)

Examples:

Die Studentinnen machen ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.
(some female students, each one is doing an internship)
Die Studenten machen ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.
(some students – all male or mixed group – doing an internship)

If you want clearly more than one internship, you can say:

Die Studenten machen Praktika im Krankenhaus.

What tense is macht, and can it also refer to the near future?

macht is present tense (3rd person singular of machen).

sie macht = she does / she is doing

German present tense is flexible. It can mean:

something happening right now:
Die Studentin macht gerade ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.
a general or current situation:
Die Studentin macht ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.
sometimes a near-future event (if context is clear):
Nächsten Monat macht die Studentin ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.

So similar to English “she is doing / she does / she is going to do”, depending on context and time expressions.

Is there a more formal or different verb I can use instead of macht ein Praktikum?

Yes, you can use verbs like absolvieren or leisten, which sound more formal:

Die Studentin absolviert ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.
Die Studentin leistet ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.

However, in everyday language, ein Praktikum machen is the most common and natural expression.

Why is the word order Die Studentin macht ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus and not, for example, Im Krankenhaus die Studentin macht ein Praktikum?

The neutral word order in a main clause is:

Subject – Verb – (Objects / Adverbials)

Here:

Subject: Die Studentin
Verb: macht
Object: ein Praktikum
Adverbial of place: im Krankenhaus

→ Die Studentin macht ein Praktikum im Krankenhaus.

You can move im Krankenhaus to the front for emphasis on the place, but then the verb must still be in second position:

Im Krankenhaus macht die Studentin ein Praktikum. ✔
Im Krankenhaus die Studentin macht ein Praktikum. ✘ (verb is not in 2nd position)

German main clauses require the finite verb in 2nd position, no matter what comes first.

Why not use an before “internship” like in English (“an internship”)? Why is it just ein Praktikum?

English uses a / an based on sound (consonant vs vowel sound).
German uses ein / eine based on grammatical gender, not sound.

ein for masculine & neuter: ein Tisch, ein Praktikum
eine for feminine: eine Studentin, eine Lampe

So there is no special form like “an” in German. Praktikum is neuter → ein Praktikum.