Learn Hardcore German: Die Fleißigen unterstützen die Erschöpften im Garten. - The diligent ones support the exhausted ones in the garden.

Fleißigen is originally an adjective (fleißig = diligent, hard‑working).
In this sentence, it is used as a noun: it stands alone, without a following noun like Leute or Menschen.
In German, when an adjective is used as a noun (a nominalised adjective), it is:
- capitalised (like a noun),
- and takes adjective endings as usual.

So Die Fleißigen = “the ones who are hard‑working,” understood as “the hard‑working people.”

2. Are Fleißigen and Erschöpften adjectives or nouns in this sentence?

They are adjectives used as nouns (nominalised adjectives).

die Fleißigen = the hard‑working (ones/people)
die Erschöpften = the exhausted (ones/people)

Both words:

come from adjectives (fleißig, erschöpft),
are capitalised,
keep adjective endings (-en),
but function as nouns (they are the subject and direct object of the sentence).

You could also say the longer version:

Die fleißigen Leute unterstützen die erschöpften Leute im Garten.

Same grammar, but now fleißigen and erschöpften are ordinary adjectives before a noun (Leute). In the original sentence, that noun is simply omitted and “understood.”

3. Why do both Die Fleißigen and die Erschöpften use die? How can I tell which one is the subject and which one is the object?

Both phrases are plural and use the definite article die:

Nominative plural: die
Accusative plural: die

So die Fleißigen (subject) and die Erschöpften (object) look the same in terms of the article.

You know which is which mainly from:

Word order
The usual pattern is Subject – Verb – Object:
- Die Fleißigen (subject)
- unterstützen (verb)
- die Erschöpften (object)
Verb meaning
unterstützen (“to support”) typically takes a person/group as subject who does the supporting and another as object who receives support.
It is more natural that “the hard‑working” support “the exhausted,” not the other way around.

So grammar + meaning + typical word order tell you that:

Die Fleißigen = subject (nominative plural)
die Erschöpften = direct object (accusative plural)

Even though both phrases use die.

4. Why do both Fleißigen and Erschöpften end in -en?

The -en endings come from adjective declension after a definite article in the plural.

Pattern (for adjectives after die in plural):

Nominative plural: die fleißigen
Accusative plural: die fleißigen

This is called weak declension (after der/die/das or their plural die).

So we get:

die Fleißigen (nom. pl.) – the hard‑working ones
die Erschöpften (acc. pl.) – the exhausted ones

Both cases (nominative and accusative) take -en in the plural when there is a definite article in front.

5. What tense and person is unterstützen here, and why does it look like the infinitive?

unterstützen in this sentence is:

present tense
3rd person plural (sie unterstützen = they support)

The present tense conjugation of unterstützen is:

ich unterstütze
du unterstützt
er/sie/es unterstützt
wir unterstützen
sie unterstützen (they)
Sie unterstützen (formal you)

The 3rd person plural form happens to be identical to the infinitive. You recognise it from the subject:

Die Fleißigen unterstützen … → “The hard‑working (they) support …”

6. What exactly does im Garten mean, and why not in dem Garten?

im is a contraction of:

in
- dem

So:

im Garten = in dem Garten = “in the garden”

Garten is masculine:

Dative singular masculine: dem Garten
Therefore in + dem → im.

Using the contraction im is completely standard and very common in everyday German. In dem Garten would be grammatical too, just more emphatic or formal in most contexts.

7. Does im Garten describe where the hard‑working people are, where the exhausted people are, or where the supporting happens?

Grammatically, im Garten is somewhat ambiguous and could be understood as:

The place where the action happens:
- The hard‑working support the exhausted in the garden (the act of supporting takes place there).
The place where the exhausted ones are:
- The hard‑working support the exhausted people who are in the garden.
Less likely but possible in context:
- The hard‑working in the garden support the exhausted (who might be somewhere else).

In normal reading, with no special context, most people would understand it as the place of the action: the support is happening in the garden. Context around the sentence would usually make it clear if something more specific is meant.

8. Could I move im Garten to another position in the sentence, and would the meaning change?

Yes, you can move im Garten without changing the core meaning; it just slightly changes the emphasis:

Die Fleißigen unterstützen die Erschöpften im Garten.
Neutral; focus on the action, then mention the location.
Im Garten unterstützen die Fleißigen die Erschöpften.
Emphasis on where it happens (in the garden).
Die Fleißigen im Garten unterstützen die Erschöpften.
Now im Garten clearly belongs to die Fleißigen:
“The hard‑working ones in the garden support the exhausted (ones).”

So changing the position can:

shift the focus, and sometimes
make it clearer which group the location phrase is attached to.

9. How would the sentence look in the singular, like “The hard‑working one supports the exhausted one in the garden”?

Singular forms could be:

Der Fleißige unterstützt den Erschöpften im Garten.
→ masculine: “The hard‑working (man) supports the exhausted (man) in the garden.”
Die Fleißige unterstützt die Erschöpfte im Garten.
→ feminine: “The hard‑working (woman) supports the exhausted (woman) in the garden.”

Key points:

Definite articles change with gender and case:
- Nominative masc.: der Fleißige
- Accusative masc.: den Erschöpften
- Nominative fem.: die Fleißige
- Accusative fem.: die Erschöpfte
The adjective endings change according to gender, number, and case.

In the original plural sentence, die is the same for both nominative and accusative, and both adjectives just use -en.

10. What is the difference between Die Fleißigen unterstützen die Erschöpften and Die fleißigen Leute unterstützen die erschöpften Leute?

The meaning is essentially the same, but:

Die Fleißigen … die Erschöpften
- shorter, more compact,
- sounds a bit more abstract or stylistic,
- focuses on the qualities (their being hard‑working or exhausted).
Die fleißigen Leute … die erschöpften Leute
- more explicit (you name Leute),
- sounds more neutral and everyday,
- a bit more concrete, like you’re clearly talking about “people.”

In many contexts, German speakers prefer the shorter nominalised form if the group is already clear from context.