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Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank.

Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank.
Many books are in the cupboard.
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Questions & Answers about Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank.

Why is it viele Bücher and not vielen Büchern?

Bücher is the subject of the sentence, so it must be in the nominative case.

  • viele Bücher = nominative plural (subject) → Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank.
  • vielen Büchern = dative plural (indirect object) → e.g. Ich gebe vielen Büchern neue Umschläge. (I give many books new covers.)

Because the books are doing the action (they stehen), they are nominative, not dative.

Why is stehen used instead of sein (sind)?

German often uses specific “position verbs” instead of sein:

  • stehen – to stand (upright, vertical position)
  • liegen – to lie (flat, horizontal position)
  • sitzen – to sit

So:

  • Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank. = Many books are standing (upright) in the cupboard.
  • Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. = The book is lying on the table.

Using stehen gives a more precise description than sind here. Viele Bücher sind im Schrank is understandable but less natural.

What exactly is im? Why not in dem Schrank?

im is a standard contraction of in dem:

  • in (in) + dem (dative singular of der) → im

So im Schrank literally means in dem Schrank = in the cupboard/wardrobe.

This contraction is very common and usually preferred in speech and writing:

  • im Haus (in dem Haus)
  • im Auto (in dem Auto)
  • im Schrank (in dem Schrank)
Why is dem Schrank (→ im Schrank) dative and not accusative?

German preposition in can take:

  • dative → for a location (where something is)
  • accusative → for a direction/motion (where something is going)

Here we describe a location (the books are already in the cupboard), so we use dative:

  • Location: Viele Bücher stehen im (in dem) Schrank.
  • Direction: Ich stelle die Bücher in den Schrank. (I put the books into the cupboard.)

So im must be dative (in dem), not accusative (in den).

Why is there no article before viele Bücher?

In German, indefinite plural nouns often appear without an article, just like in English:

  • English: Books are expensive. (no article)
  • German: Bücher sind teuer.

Here viele is a quantifier (many), similar to many books in English:

  • Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank. = Many books are in the cupboard.

You could add a definite article if you mean specific books:

  • Die vielen Bücher stehen im Schrank. = Those many books (that we’re talking about) are in the cupboard.
How is Bücher formed from Buch?

Buch has an irregular plural:

  • Singular: das Buch
  • Plural: die Bücher

Two things happen:

  1. An Umlaut: u → ü
  2. The plural ending -er is added.

This Umlaut + -er pattern appears in many neuter nouns:

  • das Kind → die Kinder
  • das Wort → die Wörter
  • das Buch → die Bücher
What gender is Schrank, and how do its forms change?

Schrank is masculine:

  • Nominative singular: der Schrank
  • Accusative singular: den Schrank
  • Dative singular: dem Schrank
  • Genitive singular: des Schranks

In our sentence we need dative singular (because of in + location), so it’s dem Schrank, which contracts with in to im Schrank.

What’s the difference between Schrank and Regal?

Both can store books, but they’re different types of furniture:

  • der Schrank: a cupboard/wardrobe/bookcase that usually has doors and is at least partly closed.
  • das Regal: an open shelf or set of shelves (no doors).

So:

  • Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank. → in a closed piece of furniture.
  • Viele Bücher stehen im Regal. → on open shelves / a bookcase without doors.
Why is the verb in second position: Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank and not Viele Bücher im Schrank stehen?

German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the conjugated verb must be in second position in the sentence structure.

Here:

  1. Viele Bücher = first element
  2. stehen = second element (verb)
  3. im Schrank = rest

So: Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank.

Viele Bücher im Schrank stehen would sound wrong in standard German in this context. (You could move im Schrank to the front: Im Schrank stehen viele Bücher. The verb still stays second.)

Why is stehen written as stehen and not something like steht here?

stehen is conjugated according to the subject:

  • ich stehe
  • du stehst
  • er/sie/es steht
  • wir stehen
  • ihr steht
  • sie/Sie stehen

The subject is viele Bücher = they (third person plural), so we need sie stehen → Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank.

If the subject were singular, it would change:

  • Ein Buch steht im Schrank.
Why are Bücher and Schrank capitalized, but im and stehen are not?

German capitalization rules:

  • All nouns are capitalized: Buch, Bücher, Schrank.
  • Verbs, adjectives, prepositions, articles are normally not capitalized: stehen, im, etc.
  • The first word of a sentence is capitalized, so Viele starts with a capital V; inside a sentence it would be viele.

So in the middle of a sentence you would write:
… weil viele Bücher im Schrank stehen.

Could I also say Es stehen viele Bücher im Schrank? Is that different?

Yes, that’s also correct; it just changes the emphasis and word order:

  • Viele Bücher stehen im Schrank.
    → Emphasis on viele Bücher (the number/amount of books).

  • Es stehen viele Bücher im Schrank.
    → Starts with a dummy es; feels more neutral, like “There are many books in the cupboard.”

Both follow the V2 rule:

  • Viele Bücher (1) stehen (2) …
  • Es (1) stehen (2) …