Learn Hardcore German: Vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch beschreibt sie ihren Tagesablauf noch einmal. - Before the job interview she describes her daily routine once again.

Bewerbungsgespräch is a neuter noun (das Bewerbungsgespräch in the nominative).
However, the preposition vor (in the temporal sense: before) always takes the dative case.

Nominative: das Bewerbungsgespräch
Dative: dem Bewerbungsgespräch

Because of vor, the noun must be in the dative, so the article changes from das to dem:
vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch = before the job interview.

Why does vor take the dative here? I learned that vor can also take the accusative.

Vor is one of the so‑called two-way prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen) that can govern either dative or accusative:

Dative → static situation (where? / when?)
Accusative → direction / movement (where to?)

In this sentence, vor is used temporally (= in time), not with movement:

vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch → a time before the interview (static point in time) → dative

If it were spatial with movement, you might see accusative, e.g.:

Er tritt vor das Gebäude. – He steps in front of the building. (direction → accusative)

What exactly does Bewerbungsgespräch mean, and why is it one long word?

Bewerbungsgespräch is a compound noun:

die Bewerbung – job application
das Gespräch – conversation, talk

Together: das Bewerbungsgespräch – literally application conversation, i.e. a job interview.

German very productively combines nouns into one long compound word instead of using separate words like English does. So instead of saying Gespräch für eine Bewerbung (conversation for an application), German usually prefers the single compound noun Bewerbungsgespräch.

Why does the sentence start with Vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch instead of the subject sie?

German main clauses follow the verb‑second rule:

The finite verb (here: beschreibt) must be in second position.
Position 1 can be filled by any element: subject, time phrase, place phrase, object, etc.

So both of these are correct:

Vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch beschreibt sie ihren Tagesablauf noch einmal.
Sie beschreibt vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch ihren Tagesablauf noch einmal.

In (1), the time phrase Vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch is moved to the Vorfeld (first field) to emphasize when this happens. The verb beschreibt must then come second, and the subject sie has to move after the verb.

Could I say Bevor das Bewerbungsgespräch beginnt, beschreibt sie ihren Tagesablauf noch einmal instead of Vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch …? Is there a difference?

Yes, that is possible, and it’s very natural:

Bevor das Bewerbungsgespräch beginnt, beschreibt sie ihren Tagesablauf noch einmal.

Differences:

vor + Dativ (vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch)
- Preposition + noun phrase
- Slightly more compact
- Neutral, very common
bevor
- Subordinating conjunction that introduces a full clause with a verb at the end:
  bevor das Bewerbungsgespräch beginnt
- Emphasizes the event (“before the interview begins”) a bit more explicitly.

In everyday usage, both variants express almost the same idea: the description happens at some point in time before the actual interview starts.

What does beschreibt mean here, and how is it different from erzählt or erklärt?

beschreiben = to describe, to give a description of something (mention details, characteristics, sequence, etc.).

Comparison:

beschreiben – describe
- Sie beschreibt ihren Tagesablauf.
- She goes through her routine, step by step, saying what she does.
erzählen – tell, narrate (more story‑like)
- Sie erzählt von ihrem Tagesablauf.
- She talks about it more freely, like a narrative.
erklären – explain (clarify how/why something works)
- Sie erklärt ihren Tagesablauf.
- She explains it to make someone understand, maybe focusing on reasons and structure.

In the context of a job interview, beschreiben fits well because she is probably listing or outlining her daily routine in a structured way.

Why is it ihren Tagesablauf and not ihr Tagesablauf?

The possessive ihr‑ must agree in case, gender, and number with the noun it modifies.

Tagesablauf is masculine singular (der Tagesablauf).
In this sentence, Tagesablauf is the direct object of beschreibt → accusative case.

So we need the masculine accusative form of ihr:

Masculine nominative: ihr Tagesablauf (e.g. Ihr Tagesablauf ist anstrengend.)
Masculine accusative: ihren Tagesablauf (e.g. Sie beschreibt ihren Tagesablauf.)

That’s why the form changes to ihren here.

What does Tagesablauf mean exactly, and how is it different from Alltag?

Both are related to daily life, but they focus on different aspects:

der Tagesablauf – daily routine, the sequence of activities in a day
- Emphasis on structure and order: what happens first, second, third, etc.
- Example: Mein Tagesablauf: Aufstehen um 7, Frühstück, Arbeit, Sport, Abendessen.
der Alltag – everyday life, day‑to‑day life
- More about the general everyday situation/lifestyle, not necessarily ordered steps.
- Example: Ihr Alltag ist sehr stressig. – Her everyday life is very stressful.

In the sentence, ihren Tagesablauf fits well because she is presumably outlining the order of what she does during a typical day.

Why is Tagesablauf in the accusative case?

In the sentence, ihren Tagesablauf is the direct object of the verb beschreibt (she describes what? → her daily routine).

In German:

The subject is usually nominative → sie
The direct object is usually accusative → ihren Tagesablauf

So:

Nominative: der Tagesablauf
Accusative: den Tagesablauf → with possessive: ihren Tagesablauf

What does noch einmal mean here, and how is it different from wieder?

noch einmal literally = one more time / once more.

Nuance:

noch einmal – repeating something one more time, often with a sense of “again, additionally”
- Sie beschreibt ihren Tagesablauf noch einmal.
  → She describes her daily routine one more time (perhaps for reassurance, practice, or review).
wieder – again in general (something that happens repeatedly or has happened before)
- Sie beschreibt wieder ihren Tagesablauf.
  → She is describing her daily routine again (maybe she does this often/regularly).

In this context (preparing for an interview), noch einmal suggests a deliberate repetition, like going through it once more for practice.

Could I move noch einmal earlier in the sentence, for example: … beschreibt sie noch einmal ihren Tagesablauf? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, that word order is also correct:

Vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch beschreibt sie ihren Tagesablauf noch einmal.
Vor dem Bewerbungsgespräch beschreibt sie noch einmal ihren Tagesablauf.

Both mean essentially the same.

Subtle nuance:

… ihren Tagesablauf noch einmal. – slight focus on the routine being repeated.
… noch einmal ihren Tagesablauf. – slight focus on the fact that she is doing this action once more now.

In everyday conversation, native speakers use both freely; the difference is very small.

Who is sie here? Could it also mean they or you (formal)?

The pronoun sie is ambiguous in German; it can mean:

she (3rd person singular, feminine)
they (3rd person plural)
you (formal, singular or plural, capitalized as Sie)

In this sentence, sie is written with a lowercase s and used with beschreibt (3rd person singular). So it can only mean she:

sie beschreibt → she describes

If it meant they, the verb would be plural:

sie beschreiben → they describe

If it meant formal you, it would normally be capitalized:

Sie beschreiben → you (formal) describe