Log inSign up

Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig, obwohl der Patient nervös ist.

Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig, obwohl der Patient nervös ist.
The emergency doctor (female) remains calm, although the patient is nervous.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning German now

Questions & Answers about Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig, obwohl der Patient nervös ist.

What exactly does Notärztin mean, and how is it formed?

Notärztin means female emergency doctor.

  • Not = emergency
  • Arzt = doctor (male or generic form)
  • Ärztin = female doctor
  • Notarzt = (male / generic) emergency doctor
  • Notärztin = female emergency doctor

German often adds -in to create a specifically female form of a job or role:

  • Lehrer → Lehrerin (teacher, male → female)
  • Arzt → Ärztin (doctor, male → female)

So Die Notärztin clearly tells you the doctor is a woman.

Why is there a comma before obwohl?

In German, obwohl introduces a subordinate clause (Nebensatz).
Subordinate clauses must be separated from the main clause by a comma.

  • Main clause: Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig
  • Subordinate clause: obwohl der Patient nervös ist

German comma rules for these are stricter than English. Even if English might not use a comma, German normally does before obwohl.

Why is the verb ist at the very end of obwohl der Patient nervös ist?

In German, subordinate clauses introduced by words like obwohl, weil, dass, wenn put the finite verb at the end of the clause.

Pattern:

  • obwohl
    • subject + other stuff + verb (conjugated) at the end

So:

  • obwohl der Patient nervös ist
    • der Patient = subject
    • nervös = adjective
    • ist = verb, sent to the end because of obwohl

Another example:

  • weil er müde ist – because he is tired
  • wenn sie Zeit hat – if/when she has time
Could the obwohl-clause go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. You can say:

  • Obwohl der Patient nervös ist, bleibt die Notärztin ruhig.

This is just a different emphasis:

  • Original: Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig, obwohl der Patient nervös ist.
    → Focus: She stays calm (despite his nervousness).
  • Fronted: Obwohl der Patient nervös ist, bleibt die Notärztin ruhig.
    → Focus: Even though he is nervous, she stays calm.

Word order rule stays the same:

  • In the obwohl-clause, the verb (ist) remains at the end.
  • In the main clause that follows, the conjugated verb (bleibt) must be in second position:
    [Obwohl der Patient nervös ist], bleibt die Notärztin ruhig.
Why do we say bleibt ruhig and not just ist ruhig?

Both are possible, but they don’t feel exactly the same:

  • bleibt ruhig = stays / remains calm

    • There is some kind of pressure or situation, but she continues to be calm.
    • It implies a contrast or challenge (here: the patient is nervous).

  • ist ruhig = is calm (simple description)

    • Just states her current state without emphasizing the contrast or continuity.

In this context, bleibt ruhig fits well because the next clause introduces a difficulty (obwohl der Patient nervös ist).

Why is it der Patient and not something like den Patienten?

Here, der Patient is the subject of the subordinate clause obwohl der Patient nervös ist.

  • The verb sein (to be) takes the nominative case for both subject and complement.
  • So we use der Patient (nominative singular, masculine).

Important detail:
Patient is an n-noun (weak masculine noun). That means:

  • Nominative singular: der Patient
  • All other singular cases: den/des/dem Patienten

Examples:

  • Der Patient ist nervös. (subject, nominative)
  • Ich sehe den Patienten. (object, accusative)
  • mit dem Patienten (dative)

In our sentence, because Patient is the subject of ist, it stays der Patient.

Why doesn’t nervös have an ending like nervöse or nervösen?

Here, nervös is used predicatively – after the verb sein (to be):

  • Der Patient ist nervös.

In this position (after sein, werden, bleiben, etc.), adjectives do not get endings in German:

  • Er ist krank.
  • Sie bleibt ruhig.
  • Das Essen ist kalt.

Adjective endings like -e, -en appear when the adjective directly comes before a noun:

  • ein nervöser Patient
  • der nervöse Patient
  • mit einem nervösen Patienten

But in Der Patient ist nervös, there is no noun after nervös, so no ending.

Is nervös exactly the same as English nervous?

Most of the time, yes: nervös ≈ nervous, on edge, anxious.

Typical uses:

  • Der Patient ist nervös vor der Operation.
    → The patient is nervous before the operation.

One difference: English “nervous” can sometimes mean a bit shy or socially awkward; nervös is more about inner tension, anxiety, restlessness, often in a specific situation (exam, operation, performance, etc.).

What is the difference between ruhig and still?

Both are related to quietness, but they are used differently:

  • ruhig

    • calm, composed, not agitated
    • also: quiet (no noise), peaceful atmosphere
    • Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig. → She remains calm, not panicking.

  • still

    • very quiet, often almost no sound
    • often about sound level, not emotional state
    • Es ist still im Zimmer. → It is silent in the room.

So:

  • For a person’s emotional state: ruhig is the normal choice.
  • For silence / no noise: still is typical.
Why is it die Notärztin but der Patient? Could the patient be female too?

Yes, the patient could be female too; the sentence just doesn’t say that.

  • die Notärztin = explicitly female emergency doctor (-in ending).
  • der Patient = grammatically masculine form of patient.

For a female patient, you could say:

  • die Patientin = female patient.

So you could also have:

  • Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig, obwohl die Patientin nervös ist.
    (The female emergency doctor stays calm, although the female patient is nervous.)
How does German express “is being calm / is staying calm” without a separate progressive tense?

German normally uses the simple present tense where English might use present continuous.

  • Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig.
    → She stays / is staying calm (right now, in this situation).

German has no standard form like “is staying” with sein + -ing. Context usually makes it clear whether it’s a general habit or a situation right now.

Another example:

  • Er arbeitet im Krankenhaus.
    → He works / He is working in the hospital.
Could I replace obwohl with trotzdem? What would change?

You can express a similar idea with trotzdem, but the structure changes:

  • Original:

    • Die Notärztin bleibt ruhig, obwohl der Patient nervös ist.

  • With trotzdem:

    • Der Patient ist nervös. Trotzdem bleibt die Notärztin ruhig.
      (The patient is nervous. Nevertheless, the emergency doctor stays calm.)

Differences:

  • obwohl introduces a subordinate clause and pushes the verb to the end.
  • trotzdem is an adverb in the main clause; the verb stays in normal position 2:
    • Trotzdem bleibt die Notärztin ruhig.

Meaning is similar (contrast / concession), but the grammar and rhythm are different.

How do I pronounce Notärztin and nervös, especially the ä and ö?

Approximate pronunciation:

  • Notärztin:

    • Not: like note (without the diphthong, a clean “o”)
    • ärz: the ä sounds like the e in bed,
      and rz is like rts.
    • -tin: like tin in English.
      → NOHT-ärts-tin

  • nervös:

    • ner: like “nair” in English “narrow” but shorter,
    • v pronounced like English f,
    • ös: ö is like the vowel in British “bird” or French eu in peur.
      → roughly ner-FOES (with a rounded ö sound, lips rounded).

Umlauts:

  • ä ≈ like short English e in bed
  • ö ≈ like French eu, or English bird (but with lip rounding)
What is a more literal, word-for-word breakdown of the sentence?
  • Die – the (feminine, nominative)
  • Notärztin – emergency-doctor-female
  • bleibt – stays / remains
  • ruhig – calm
  • , – comma (before subordinate clause)
  • obwohl – although / even though
  • der – the (masculine, nominative)
  • Patient – patient
  • nervös – nervous
  • ist – is

So, very literally:

  • The emergency-doctor-(female) stays calm, although the patient nervous is.

The last part sounds strange in English, but that’s how German subordinate clause word order works.