Learn Hardcore German: Die Apothekerin im Dorf fragt später freundlich, ob der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden hat. - The female pharmacist in the village later asks kindly whether the patient has gotten over the fall well.

Apotheker = male pharmacist (or sometimes generic “pharmacist” in older usage)
Apothekerin = specifically a female pharmacist
Article in the nominative singular:
- der Apotheker (masc.)
- die Apothekerin (fem.)

So Die Apothekerin im Dorf … clearly tells you the subject is a woman. The -in ending is the regular feminine ending for many professions: Lehrer → Lehrerin, Arzt → Ärztin, Student → Studentin, etc.

Why is it Die Apothekerin im Dorf and not Die Apothekerin in dem Dorf?

Im is simply the contracted form of in dem:

in (preposition) + dem (dative article, neuter singular)
→ im

So:

Die Apothekerin im Dorf = Die Apothekerin in dem Dorf

The contraction im is normal, neutral standard German. The longer in dem Dorf is also correct, but sounds a bit heavier and is usually only used if you want to stress dem in speech or for stylistic reasons.

Here im Dorf functions like a description: roughly “the village pharmacist” / “the pharmacist in the village.”

Which case is im Dorf, and why?

Im Dorf is dative case.

The preposition in can take dative (location, “where?”) or accusative (direction, “where to?”).
Here it describes a location: the pharmacist is in the village (not moving there), so it uses dative.

Declension:

das Dorf (nominative, neuter)
dem Dorf (dative, neuter)

Then:

in + dem Dorf → im Dorf (dative, location)

What does später add, and where can I put it in the sentence?

Später means later (at a later time).

In the example, the basic word order is:

Die Apothekerin im Dorf (subject)
fragt (verb in position 2)
später (time adverb)
freundlich (manner adverb)
,… (rest of the sentence)

German tends to prefer the order of adverbials Time – Manner – Place (often remembered as TeKaMoLo). Here:

später = time
freundlich = manner (how she asks)

So fragt später freundlich fits that pattern (time before manner).

Other positions for später are possible, but these are the most natural:

Später fragt die Apothekerin im Dorf freundlich, … (putting “later” at the start for emphasis)
Die Apothekerin im Dorf fragt später freundlich, … (neutral; what you have)

Is freundlich an adjective or an adverb here, and how is it used?

Here freundlich is used adverbially; it describes how she asks (in a friendly manner).

German doesn’t change the form between adjective and adverb as English does:

English: a friendly pharmacist vs she asks friendly / in a friendly way
German: eine freundliche Apothekerin (adjective, with ending)
but sie fragt freundlich (adverbial, no extra ending)

So in fragt … freundlich, it’s functioning like an adverb.

You could make it even more explicit with:

fragt sehr freundlich = asks very kindly
fragt ganz freundlich = asks quite kindly / nicely

What does ob mean here, and why not wenn or falls?

Here ob introduces an indirect yes/no question and means whether or if in English:

…fragt …, ob der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden hat.
→ she asks whether/if the patient has come through the fall well.

Use ob when you report a yes/no question like:

Direct: Hat der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden?
Indirect: Sie fragt, ob der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden hat.

Wenn and falls in this kind of context usually introduce conditions:

Wenn der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden hat, …
= If the patient has come through the fall well, … (condition)
Falls der Patient … = In case the patient …

So:

ob = whether/if (for indirect yes/no questions)
wenn / falls = if (conditionally)

Why is the verb split as überstanden hat at the end of the clause?

Because this is:

A subordinate clause introduced by ob
In the present perfect (Perfekt) tense.

In German:

In a main clause (Perfekt):
Der Patient hat den Sturz gut überstanden.
(finite verb hat in position 2, participle überstanden at the end)
In a subordinate clause (Perfekt):
…, ob der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden hat.
(both verbs move to the end, but:
- participle überstanden comes before
- finite verb hat is last)

So the cluster gut überstanden hat is just the normal subordinate-clause word order for the Perfekt.

Why is it hat überstanden and not ist überstanden?

The verb überstehen (to survive, get through, withstand) is transitive: it takes a direct object (den Sturz).

In the Perfekt, German uses:

haben with most transitive verbs (those that have a direct object)
sein mainly with:
- verbs of movement or change of state (gehen, kommen, sterben…)
- and that are intransitive (no direct object)

Here:

überstehen has a direct object (den Sturz)
→ it forms the Perfekt with haben: hat überstanden.

ist überstanden would be wrong for this verb in this meaning.

Why der Patient and den Sturz? Which case is which?

Inside the ob-clause we have:

der Patient = subject → nominative case
den Sturz = direct object → accusative case

Declension of masculine der in singular:

Nominative (subject): der Patient
Accusative (direct object): den Patienten (note: der Patient is a “n-noun”; in full paradigms you usually get den Patienten, but in many teaching examples you will see just the article change. Either way, the key thing is: subject = der, object = den.)
For Sturz:
- Nominative: der Sturz
- Accusative: den Sturz

So the structure is:

der Patient (NOM, subject)
hat …
den Sturz (ACC, object)
gut überstanden (verb phrase)

What does Sturz mean exactly, and when would you use it?

Sturz is a noun meaning a fall (usually a sudden, noticeable one, often causing injury or danger).

Typical uses:

einen Sturz haben = have a fall
einen schlimmen Sturz erleiden = suffer a bad fall
nach seinem Sturz vom Fahrrad = after his fall from his bike

Compared with other words:

das Fallen = the act of falling in general (gerund-like)
der Unfall = accident (more general, not only falls)

So den Sturz gut überstanden suggests “he came through the fall well / without serious consequences.”

What does überstehen mean, and is it a separable verb?

Überstehen here means roughly:

to get through (something difficult)
to survive, to withstand, to come through something safely

Examples:

eine Operation gut überstehen = to come through an operation well
die Prüfungszeit überstehen = to get through exam season

Grammatically, überstehen is an inseparable prefix verb:

Prefix über- in this meaning is not separated.
You always write and say it together: überstehen, überstand, hat überstanden.
Stress is on the prefix: Ü-ber-ste-hen.

So you do not say stehen … über or über … stehen in this sense.

Why is there a comma before ob?

Because ob der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden hat is a subordinate clause.

In standard written German, you put a comma before most subordinate clauses, which are introduced by conjunctions such as:

dass, weil, wenn, ob, obwohl, nachdem, als, etc.

So:

Die Apothekerin … fragt später freundlich, ob der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden hat.

The comma marks the boundary between the main clause and the subordinate ob-clause.

Could I also say … fragt später freundlich, wie es dem Patienten geht? Would that mean the same?

You could say:

Die Apothekerin im Dorf fragt später freundlich, wie es dem Patienten geht.

This is correct German, but the meaning is slightly different:

ob der Patient den Sturz gut überstanden hat
→ focuses specifically on whether he has come through that fall well (the outcome of that specific event).
wie es dem Patienten geht
→ more general: how the patient is doing / how he feels (not tied strictly to the fall, though context might still link it).

So both are natural, but:

Use the ob-clause when you want to highlight the result of the fall.
Use wie es dem Patienten geht when asking more generally about the patient’s current state.