Learn Hardcore German: Die Mehrheit findet, dass der Hügel nicht zu hoch ist, doch die Minderheit bleibt aus Vorsicht im Tal bei den Alten. - The majority thinks that the hill is not too high, but the minority prudently stays in the valley with the elderly.

Even though Mehrheit refers to many people, German follows grammatical number (singular noun → singular verb), not logical number. Same with die Minderheit:

die Minderheit bleibt (not bleiben)

This is similar to American English “the team wins” vs. British English sometimes saying “the team win”. German sticks to the singular form here.

Why do we need dass and why is the verb at the end in dass der Hügel nicht zu hoch ist?

dass introduces a subordinate clause (a “that”-clause) that functions as the object of findet:

Die Mehrheit findet, dass ... = “The majority thinks/fnds that ...”

In German subordinate clauses introduced by dass, the finite verb goes to the very end:

dass der Hügel nicht zu hoch ist
subject: der Hügel
rest: nicht zu hoch
verb (at the end): ist

You cannot say: ✗ dass der Hügel ist nicht zu hoch – that is ungrammatical in standard German.

What’s the difference between nicht zu hoch and something like nicht sehr hoch?

nicht zu hoch = “not too high” (i.e. acceptable, within a limit)
→ suggests there could be a problematic height, but this hill is not beyond that.
nicht sehr hoch = “not very high” (i.e. rather low)
→ plays down the height more directly.

So:

Der Hügel ist nicht zu hoch. – It isn’t too high (it’s fine to climb).
Der Hügel ist nicht sehr hoch. – It isn’t very high (probably quite small).

What does doch do here, and how is it different from aber or jedoch?

In this sentence:

..., doch die Minderheit bleibt ...
doch is a coordinating conjunction similar to aber (“but”).

Rough nuances:

aber – neutral “but”, the default contrast.
doch – “but/however” with a slightly stronger, sometimes more literary tone; it often emphasises the contrast.
jedoch – “however”, a bit more formal/written.

All three could work here:

..., aber die Minderheit bleibt ... – perfectly fine, very common.
..., doch die Minderheit bleibt ... – slightly more stylistic/contrasty.
..., jedoch bleibt die Minderheit ... – sounds more formal or written.

What does aus Vorsicht mean literally, and why is it aus + dative?

aus Vorsicht literally means “out of caution”. It expresses the reason/motive for the action:

bleibt aus Vorsicht – “stays (there) out of caution”

The preposition aus always takes the dative case:

die Vorsicht (nominative)
aus der Vorsicht → usually we drop the article here: aus Vorsicht

Like:

aus Liebe – out of love
aus Angst – out of fear
aus Interesse – out of interest

Why is it im Tal and not ins Tal?

The difference is static location vs. movement:

im Tal = in dem Tal – “in the valley” (location, where?)
ins Tal = in das Tal – “into the valley” (movement, where to?)

In the sentence, the minority stays in the valley, so it’s a fixed location:

bleibt im Tal – they remain there.

If they were going down into the valley, you’d use:

geht ins Tal – goes into the valley.

Who are die Alten, and why is it bei den Alten (with -en)?

die Alten means “the old people” (literally “the old ones”). This is a nominalized adjective: an adjective used as a noun.

The base word is alt. With the definite article in plural dative, adjectives take -en:

nominative plural: die Alten – the old (people)
dative plural: bei den Alten – with the old (people)

So:

bei (+ dative) → bei den Alten

Semantically, die Alten could be “the elders”, “the older people”, possibly parents, grandparents, or older villagers, depending on context.

Is die Alten rude or disrespectful?

It can be, depending on tone and context.

Neutrally or affectionately, die Alten can mean “the old folks”, “the elders”, sometimes “the parents” in colloquial speech.
In other contexts it can sound dismissive, like “the old people” in a slightly derogatory way.

In more respectful or neutral wording, you might say:

die älteren Leute – the older people
die Älteren – the older ones / elders

Why is it der Hügel but im Tal (from das Tal)?

This is just vocabulary:

der Hügel – masculine noun: “the hill”
- nominative singular: der Hügel
- accusative singular: den Hügel
das Tal – neuter noun: “the valley”
- nominative singular: das Tal
- dative singular: dem Tal → im Tal = in dem Tal

German noun genders are largely arbitrary and must be learned with the article:

der Hügel (m.)
das Tal (n.)

Why is dass der Hügel nicht zu hoch ist after findet and not before it?

It could grammatically come before, but the normal and most natural order is:

main clause first: Die Mehrheit findet,
then the dass-clause: dass der Hügel nicht zu hoch ist.

German could also be:

Dass der Hügel nicht zu hoch ist, findet die Mehrheit.

This is possible but sounds more marked or stylistic, emphasizing the fact itself (dass der Hügel nicht zu hoch ist) and then saying the majority thinks that. The given order is the standard “someone thinks that...” pattern.

Why is nicht placed before zu hoch and not somewhere else, like at the very end?

nicht usually comes before the phrase it negates. Here it negates the adjective phrase zu hoch:

nicht zu hoch – “not too high”

Word order inside the subordinate clause:

dass – conjunction
der Hügel – subject
nicht zu hoch – predicate (with negation)
ist – finite verb at the end

You cannot just move nicht to the very end:

✗ dass der Hügel zu hoch ist nicht – ungrammatical
✓ dass der Hügel nicht zu hoch ist – correct

What’s the difference between aus Vorsicht and vorsichtshalber here?

Both express doing something out of caution:

aus Vorsicht – literally “out of caution”, a prepositional phrase.
vorsichtshalber – an adverb meaning “as a precaution”, “to be on the safe side”.

You could say:

..., doch die Minderheit bleibt aus Vorsicht im Tal ...
..., doch die Minderheit bleibt vorsichtshalber im Tal ...

Both are fine. vorsichtshalber sounds a bit more colloquial/idiomatic; aus Vorsicht is slightly more neutral or formal in tone.

Could we say die Minderheit bleibt im Tal zurück? Does zurück change the meaning?

Yes, you could say:

die Minderheit bleibt aus Vorsicht im Tal zurück

Here zurückbleiben (split as bleibt ... zurück) emphasizes that they “stay behind” while others move on. The nuance:

bleibt im Tal – they stay in the valley (fact of staying)
bleibt im Tal zurück – they stay behind in the valley, highlighting the contrast with those who go up the hill.

Both are correct; zurück just makes the contrast more explicit.

Why do we use die Mehrheit and die Minderheit with the definite article die here, and could we use eine Mehrheit / eine Minderheit instead?

With die Mehrheit / die Minderheit you are talking about the specific majority/minority in this situation (the group under discussion), so the definite article makes sense:

Die Mehrheit findet ... – the majority (of this group) thinks...
doch die Minderheit bleibt ... – the minority stays...

You could say:

Eine Mehrheit findet, dass ... – “A majority thinks that ...”
Eine Minderheit bleibt ... – “A minority stays ...”

This would sound more like a statistical or abstract statement, as if you’re reporting survey results. Die Mehrheit / die Minderheit here sounds more like you are describing the two sides within a known group.