Learn Hardcore German: Im Unterricht bekommen die Stillen extra Zeit, damit sie ihre Meinung sagen können. - In class the quiet ones get extra time so that they can say their opinion.

in + dem = im
You could say In dem Unterricht bekommen …, but in normal speech and writing, Germans almost always use the contraction im here.

Also, in with a static location (where something happens) takes the dative, so dem Unterricht (dative masculine) is required.

Why does the sentence start with Im Unterricht instead of the subject die Stillen?

German main clauses follow the verb‑second (V2) rule, not “subject‑first.” One constituent comes first, and then the conjugated verb must be in second position.

In this sentence:

Im Unterricht – first element (a time/place phrase)
bekommen – conjugated verb in second position
die Stillen – subject
extra Zeit, damit … – rest of the sentence

You could also say:

Die Stillen bekommen im Unterricht extra Zeit, …

Both are correct. Putting Im Unterricht first emphasizes the setting (“in class”) more strongly.

What exactly does die Stillen mean, and why is Stillen capitalized?

die Stillen literally means “the quiet ones” – quiet people, usually “the quiet students” here.

Grammar points:

still is an adjective: “quiet”.
In die Stillen, the adjective is used as a noun to refer to a group of people with that quality.
Adjectives used as nouns in German are capitalized:
- die Reichen – the rich
- die Alten – the old (people)
- die Kleinen – the little ones / small children
- die Stillen – the quiet ones

So die Stillen is not a regular plural noun; it’s a substantiviertes Adjektiv (nominalized adjective).

Is die Stillen always about quiet people, or could it be confused with the verb stillen (to breastfeed)?

In this exact form and context, die Stillen will be understood as “the quiet ones” (people who are quiet).

There is a verb stillen (“to breastfeed” or “to satisfy [a need, hunger]”), but its forms look different in sentences:

Sie stillt das Baby. – She breastfeeds the baby.
Die Mutter ist beim Stillen. – The mother is breastfeeding. (Here Stillen is a gerund-like noun.)

Because your sentence clearly talks about Unterricht (class) and Meinung sagen (expressing an opinion), native speakers will automatically interpret die Stillen as the quiet students, not anything to do with breastfeeding. Context resolves the ambiguity.

Why is there no article in extra Zeit? Why not eine extra Zeit?

Zeit is an uncountable noun here, and German often drops the article when talking about an unspecified amount of time, work, etc.:

Wir haben heute Zeit. – We have time today.
Ich brauche mehr Zeit. – I need more time.
Sie bekommen extra Zeit. – They get extra time.

Using eine Zeit is possible in other meanings (a period or era: eine schöne Zeit, eine lange Zeit), but for the idea of “some more time to do something,” you typically use Zeit without an article or with a quantifier like mehr:

Sie bekommen mehr Zeit.
Sie bekommen zusätzliche Zeit.

Does bekommen mean “to become” here, like English become?

No. bekommen is a classic false friend for English speakers.

In this sentence, bekommen means “to get / to receive.”

Sie bekommen extra Zeit. – They get / receive extra time.

Some contrasts:

English to become = German werden
- Er wird Lehrer. – He becomes a teacher.
German bekommen ≈ English to get / to receive
- Ich bekomme ein Geschenk. – I get/receive a present.

In everyday speech, bekommen is very common. Colloquially, people also use kriegen (“to get”):

Im Unterricht kriegen die Stillen extra Zeit. (more informal)

Why is the subject die Stillen after bekommen? Isn’t the subject supposed to come right after the beginning?

In German main clauses, the strict rule is conjugated verb in second position (V2), not “subject second.”

Your sentence:

Im Unterricht – first slot (adverbial phrase)
bekommen – second slot (conjugated verb; required by V2)
die Stillen – subject
extra Zeit, damit … – rest

The subject can appear in position 1 or after the verb, as long as the conjugated verb is second overall:

Die Stillen bekommen im Unterricht extra Zeit … (subject first)
Im Unterricht bekommen die Stillen extra Zeit … (adverb first)

Both are correct; the choice is about emphasis and flow, not correctness.

What does damit do here, and how is it different from so dass or um … zu?

damit introduces a purpose clause: “so that / in order that.”

…, damit sie ihre Meinung sagen können.
– “… so that they can say their opinion.”

Differences:

damit vs so dass (sodass):
- damit = intended purpose or goal
- so dass often = result/consequence (planned or unplanned)
Example:
- Er spricht langsam, damit alle ihn verstehen.
  – He speaks slowly so that everyone can understand him. (his intention)
- Er spricht schnell, so dass niemand ihn versteht.
  – He speaks quickly, so nobody understands him. (result)
damit vs um … zu:
- um … zu is also purpose, but it can only be used when the subject of both clauses is the same:
  - Ich lerne Deutsch, um in Deutschland zu studieren.
- If the subject is different (or if you want to highlight the other participants), you use damit:
  - Ich gebe den Stillen extra Zeit, damit sie ihre Meinung sagen können.
    (Main clause subject: ich; subordinate clause subject: sie)

In your original sentence, using damit is natural and idiomatic to express the purpose of giving them extra time.

Why does the verb können come at the very end of damit sie ihre Meinung sagen können?

damit introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses the conjugated verb goes to the end.

Structure:

damit
- sie (subject) + ihre Meinung (object) + sagen (infinitive) + können (conjugated modal)

For verb clusters with a modal verb in a subordinate clause, the usual order is:

Main verb in infinitive: sagen
Modal verb (finite form) at the very end: können

So:

…, damit sie ihre Meinung sagen können.

In a main clause, you’d have:

Sie können ihre Meinung sagen. (modal is in second position)

Subordinate clauses invert this and move the conjugated verb to the end.

Why is sie lowercase here, and what exactly does it refer to?

Lowercase sie here is the pronoun “they.” It refers back to die Stillen.

die Stillen – plural noun phrase
sie – 3rd person plural pronoun (“they”)

If it were capitalized (Sie), it would normally mean you (formal singular or plural).

Because sie stands for a plural noun (die Stillen) and is not at the start of the sentence, we know it’s “they” here, not polite “you.”

Why is it ihre Meinung and not something like seine Meinung or deren Meinung?

ihre Meinung here means “their opinion.”

ihre can mean “her” (singular) or “their” (plural), depending on context.
The reference comes from context: sie = “they” (the Stillen) → ihre = “their”.

Grammar details:

Possessive pronoun for 3rd person plural is ihr‑.
It must agree in gender, number, and case with the possessed noun, not with the owner.
Meinung is feminine singular, accusative here → the correct form is ihre Meinung.

Other examples:

Sie äußern ihre Meinung. – They express their opinion.
Er äußert seine Meinung. – He expresses his opinion.
Sie (sg., fem.) äußert ihre Meinung. – She expresses her opinion.

Could you say …, damit sie ihre Meinung sagen without können? What difference would that make?

Yes, grammatically you could say:

Im Unterricht bekommen die Stillen extra Zeit, damit sie ihre Meinung sagen.

But there is a nuance difference:

damit sie ihre Meinung sagen können
– focuses on giving them the possibility / ability to say their opinion. (They can say it.)
damit sie ihre Meinung sagen
– sounds more like the purpose is that they (actually) say it (it’s expected they will do it).

In real usage, mit Modalverb (können) feels more natural here, because the idea is usually “so that even the quiet ones have the chance / are able to speak.”