Die Kinder rufen durcheinander im Pausenhof.

The children are all shouting at the same time in the schoolyard.

Breakdown of Die Kinder rufen durcheinander im Pausenhof.

• das Kind: the child
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• der Pausenhof: the schoolyard
• durcheinander rufen: to shout all over the place

Questions & Answers about Die Kinder rufen durcheinander im Pausenhof.

Why is it die Kinder and not den Kindern in this sentence?

Die Kinder is in the nominative plural, because it is the subject of the sentence (the ones doing the calling).

• die Kinder = nominative plural (subject)
• den Kindern = dative plural (usually an indirect object: “to/for the children”)

Here we are not saying “to the children” but “the children (are) calling”, so nominative is required: Die Kinder rufen …

Why is the verb rufen and not ruft?

The verb must agree with the subject Kinder:

• ich rufe
• du rufst
• er/sie/es ruft
• wir rufen
• ihr ruft
• sie / Sie rufen

Die Kinder = sie (3rd person plural), so you need the plural form: rufen.
Die Kinder ruft would be grammatically wrong.

What is the difference between rufen and schreien here?

Both can describe loud sounds from children, but the nuance is different:

• rufen = to call, to shout words or names (often with some communicative intent)
  
  • Die Kinder rufen durcheinander. – They are all calling/talking loudly at once.
• schreien = to scream, yell (often more emotional or just loud noise)
  
  • Die Kinder schreien im Pausenhof. – They are screaming/yelling (could be from excitement, anger, etc.).

In this context, rufen durcheinander suggests they are talking/calling over each other, not just making random screams.

What exactly does durcheinander mean here?

Literally, durcheinander = “through one another / mixed up”.

In this sentence, it means they are all calling at the same time, over one another, so that it is chaotic and hard to distinguish who is saying what.

So rufen durcheinander ≈ “to talk/shout all at once, in a confused jumble”.

Is durcheinander here an adverb or part of the verb?

You can think of it in two useful ways:

1. As an adverb/particle modifying rufen:

   • rufen = to call
   • durcheinander rufen = to call in a mixed-up/overlapping way

2. As a separable verb durcheinanderrufen (“to shout all at once”):

   • Infinitive: durcheinanderrufen
   • Present: Die Kinder rufen durcheinander. (the particle moves away from the verb)

Both analyses lead to the same surface sentence: Die Kinder rufen durcheinander.
In learner grammar, it’s usually easiest to remember it as a verb + adverb combination.

Why is the word order rufen durcheinander im Pausenhof and not rufen im Pausenhof durcheinander?

German word order for the middle/end of the sentence is quite flexible. All of these are possible and grammatical:

• Die Kinder rufen durcheinander im Pausenhof.
• Die Kinder rufen im Pausenhof durcheinander.

Subtle tendencies:

• The “manner” word (durcheinander, how they call) often comes before the place (im Pausenhof, where they do it).
• Placing durcheinander directly after the verb also reinforces its connection to the verb.

In everyday speech you will often hear Die Kinder rufen im Pausenhof durcheinander, but the original sentence is fine too.

What does im mean, and why not in dem?

im is simply the contraction of in dem:

• in dem Pausenhof → im Pausenhof

This kind of contraction is very common and almost always preferred in spoken and written German:

• in dem → im
• an dem → am
• zu dem → zum
• bei dem → beim, etc.

So im Pausenhof and in dem Pausenhof mean the same, but im Pausenhof sounds natural.

Why is Pausenhof in the dative case after im?

im = in + dem. The preposition in can take accusative or dative:

• Wohin? (where to?) → accusative
• Wo? (where?) → dative

Here we are answering Wo rufen die Kinder? – im Pausenhof. That is a location, not a direction, so we use the dative:

• der Pausenhof (nominative)
• dem Pausenhof (dative) → contracted in im Pausenhof

Why is it Pausenhof and not two words like Pausen Hof?

German very often forms compound nouns:

• Pause (break, recess) + Hof (yard, courtyard)
  → der Pausenhof (the schoolyard / playground used during break)

Writing it as two words Pausen Hof would be incorrect in standard German.
The meaning changes when written apart vs. together, and Pausenhof is a fixed compound noun.

Should it be im Pausenhof or auf dem Pausenhof?

Both forms exist, but auf dem Pausenhof is more common in many regions for “in the schoolyard / on the playground”.

Typical patterns:

• auf dem Pausenhof – very common, especially when the yard is open like a playground.
• im Pausenhof – also possible, and might be used if you think of the yard more as an enclosed space.

If you want the most neutral, widely used version, auf dem Pausenhof is usually preferred:

• Die Kinder rufen durcheinander auf dem Pausenhof.

Why is Pausenhof capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence.

Since Pausenhof is a noun (a place), it must be written with a capital letter:

• der Pausenhof
• im Pausenhof

Could I say Die Kinder reden durcheinander im Pausenhof instead of rufen?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly:

• rufen durcheinander – they are calling/shouting over each other (loud).
• reden durcheinander – they are talking over each other (could be loud or just confused).

Both are grammatically correct; you choose depending on whether you want to emphasize loud calling (rufen) or just overlapping speech (reden).

Where is the main verb in this sentence according to the German “verb-second” rule?

German main clauses usually have the finite verb in second position.

• Die Kinder – first element (subject)
• rufen – second element (finite verb, correctly in 2nd position)
• durcheinander im Pausenhof – rest of the sentence

So the sentence respects the Verb-zweit (V2) rule:
[Die Kinder] [rufen] [durcheinander im Pausenhof].