Breakdown of Heute müssen wir im Kurs ein Referat halten.
Questions & Answers about Heute müssen wir im Kurs ein Referat halten.
German modal verbs (like müssen, können, wollen, sollen, dürfen, mögen) push the main verb to the end of the clause in the infinitive form.
Here, müssen is the modal verb, and halten is the main verb.
Basic pattern:
- Subject + conjugated modal + … + infinitive at the end
So:
- Wir müssen heute im Kurs ein Referat halten.
not - Wir müssen heute im Kurs ein Referat. halten or
- Wir müssen halten ein Referat im Kurs heute.
With modal verbs in German, you do not use zu before the infinitive.
Correct:
- Wir müssen ein Referat halten.
Zu is used with infinitives in other constructions, for example:
- Es ist schwierig, ein Referat zu halten. – It is difficult to give a presentation.
So:
Modal verb + infinitive (without zu) is the rule.
Müssen generally expresses a necessity or obligation and can be translated as either must or have to, depending on context and style in English.
In this sentence:
- Heute müssen wir im Kurs ein Referat halten.
can be: - Today we *must give a presentation in class.*
or - Today we *have to give a presentation in class.*
The German does not distinguish between a strong internal obligation (I must) and an external requirement (I have to) as clearly as some English speakers do; müssen covers both.
In Heute müssen wir im Kurs ein Referat halten., müssen is the 1st person plural form (wir = we).
Present tense of müssen:
- ich muss
- du musst
- er/sie/es muss
- wir müssen
- ihr müsst
- sie/Sie müssen
So wir müssen = we must / we have to.
Im is a contraction of in dem:
- in + dem = im
Kurs is masculine (der Kurs). After the preposition in with a static location (where something happens), German uses the dative case:
- masculine dative singular of der Kurs is dem Kurs
So:
- in dem Kurs → contracted → im Kurs
In den Kurs would be accusative and usually express movement into the course/room, e.g. in den Kurs gehen – to go into the class.
Ein Referat is in the accusative case; it is the direct object of the verb phrase ein Referat halten.
Pattern:
- Wer/was (who/what) is doing something? → wir (nominative subject)
- Wen/was (whom/what) are we holding/giving? → ein Referat (accusative object)
Neuter article ein is the same in nominative and accusative:
- das Referat (nominative)
- ein Referat (nominative)
- das Referat (accusative)
- ein Referat (accusative)
Literally, ein Referat halten is to hold a report/presentation, but idiomatically it means to give a presentation (usually spoken, in class, at university, at a conference, etc.).
In German, certain verbs just naturally go with certain nouns (collocations).
Common ones:
- eine Rede halten – to give a speech
- einen Vortrag halten – to give a lecture/talk
- ein Referat halten – to give a presentation/oral report
You can hear ein Referat machen, but for a formal or standard expression, ein Referat halten is the normal and preferred phrase.
Rough tendencies (there is overlap):
ein Referat
Often used in school or university for a student’s prepared talk about a topic. Usually somewhat academic, often assigned by a teacher.ein Vortrag
More like a lecture or formal talk, often by an expert, at a conference, public event, or university.eine Präsentation
Very close to English presentation; often used in business/office contexts, PowerPoint talks, marketing, projects, etc.
In school/university contexts, Referat is particularly common for student presentations.
In this sentence, im Kurs means in the class / on the course (the lesson or course you are attending).
Rough distinctions:
- der Kurs – a course or class, usually organized as a unit you enroll in: ein Deutschkurs, ein Yogakurs.
- der Unterricht – instruction/teaching in general, or a specific lesson: Deutschunterricht, Der Unterricht beginnt um 8 Uhr.
- die Klasse – the group of pupils (a class), or the school grade: die 5. Klasse; also sometimes used loosely for a lesson.
So im Kurs = in (this) course / in (this) class.
Yes. All of these are grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:
- Heute müssen wir im Kurs ein Referat halten.
Emphasis on today – contrasting with other days. - Wir müssen heute im Kurs ein Referat halten.
Neutral, very natural: subject first, then the time. - Im Kurs müssen wir heute ein Referat halten.
Emphasis on in class (maybe contrasting with at home, online, etc.). - Ein Referat müssen wir heute im Kurs halten.
Emphasizes a presentation (maybe contrasting with an exam, homework, etc.).
In main clauses the conjugated verb (müssen) must always be in position 2 (the “second element”), but many other parts (time, place, object) can move around after that.
German main clauses follow a Verb-second rule, not a Subject-first rule.
That means:
- Something (any element) can be in first position,
- The conjugated verb must be second,
- The subject can come after the verb.
So:
- Heute (time) – 1st position
- müssen (verb) – 2nd position
- wir (subject) – then the rest
This is a common way to emphasize the time Heute (Today, we have to …).
No. Halten by itself is not separable.
There are many verbs with prefixes that can be separable or non-separable (e.g. anhalten, behalten), but halten alone stays together:
- Wir halten ein Referat.
- Wir müssen ein Referat halten.
There is no prefix here, so nothing separates in this sentence.
German very often uses the present tense for future events, especially if there is a time expression like heute, morgen, nächste Woche, etc.
So:
- Heute müssen wir im Kurs ein Referat halten.
already clearly means Today we will have to / are going to give a presentation in class.
You could say:
- Heute werden wir im Kurs ein Referat halten müssen.
but that sounds heavier and is usually unnecessary. The simple present is natural and normal here.