Learn Hardcore German: In der Öffentlichkeit loben viele Gäste das Stück, aber es gibt auch Kritik. - In public many guests praise the play, but there is also criticism.

in
- accusative = movement into something (direction)
  - in die Öffentlichkeit gehen – to go into the public eye
in
- dative = location in or within something (no movement)
  - in der Öffentlichkeit sprechen – to speak in public

In the sentence, we describe where the guests praise the play (location, no movement), so in der Öffentlichkeit uses the dative: der Öffentlichkeit is dative singular feminine.

So in der Öffentlichkeit literally means “in (the) public / in public.”

Why does the sentence start with In der Öffentlichkeit instead of Viele Gäste?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb is always in second position. The first position can be any single element (subject, object, time phrase, place phrase, etc.).

Neutral order: Viele Gäste loben in der Öffentlichkeit das Stück, …
Emphasis on where: In der Öffentlichkeit loben viele Gäste das Stück, …

By putting In der Öffentlichkeit at the beginning, the sentence emphasizes the public setting: In public, many guests praise the play, but there is also criticism.

The word order is:

In der Öffentlichkeit (1st position)
loben (verb, 2nd position)
viele Gäste (subject)
das Stück (object)

Is viele Gäste the subject or the object, and how can I tell?

viele Gäste is the subject (nominative plural). You can tell by asking:

Who is doing the praising? → (Viele) Gäste are doing it.

The structure is:

viele Gäste (subject, nominative)
loben (verb)
das Stück (direct object, accusative)

If you turned it around:

Das Stück loben viele Gäste.

It still means “Many guests praise the play,” and viele Gäste remains the subject; das Stück is still what is being praised, so it’s the object.

Why is it viele Gäste and not viel Gäste?

viel vs. viele:

viel is used with uncountable nouns (like “much”):
- viel Wasser – much water
- viel Zeit – much time
viele is used with countable plural nouns (like “many”):
- viele Gäste – many guests
- viele Bücher – many books

Since Gäste (guests) are countable and plural, you must use viele, not viel.

What case is das Stück, and what does Stück mean here?

das Stück is accusative singular neuter.

Nominative/accusative neuter article is das:
- Nominative: Das Stück ist lang. – The play is long.
- Accusative: Ich mag das Stück. – I like the play.

In this sentence, das Stück is the direct object of loben (what is praised), so it is in the accusative case.

Meaning:

In a theatre context, das Stück usually means a (theatre) play or drama piece, not just “piece” in the general sense.

What is the role of aber, and does it change the word order in the second clause?

aber is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but.” It connects two main clauses:

In der Öffentlichkeit loben viele Gäste das Stück,
aber es gibt auch Kritik.

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn, sondern) do not send the verb to the end; the second clause still uses verb-second order:

es (1st position)
gibt (2nd position, conjugated verb)
auch Kritik (rest of the clause)

So aber simply adds a contrast (“but”), without changing the basic word order of the second clause.

How does es gibt work in German, and what case follows it?

es gibt is an existential construction, equivalent to English “there is / there are”.

Es gibt ein Problem. – There is a problem.
Es gibt viele Probleme. – There are many problems.

Key points:

es here is a dummy subject (like English “there” in “there is…”). It doesn’t refer to anything concrete.
The noun after es gibt is always in the accusative case:
- Es gibt eine Lösung. – accusative
- Es gibt Kritik. – accusative (no article, but still accusative)

So in es gibt auch Kritik, Kritik is in the accusative, even though you can’t see it from the form (feminine singular with no article looks the same in nominative and accusative).

Why is there no article before Kritik (why not es gibt eine Kritik or es gibt die Kritik)?

In German, Kritik often behaves like an uncountable (mass) noun, similar to English “criticism”:

Es gibt Kritik. – There is criticism. (in general)
Er steht in der Kritik. – He is under criticism.

Without an article, Kritik means some/unspecified criticism in general.

You can add an article in specific situations:

Es gibt die Kritik, dass … – There is the criticism that… (referring to a specific, known criticism)
Es gibt eine Kritik in der Zeitung. – There is a (single) review in the newspaper.
Es gibt viele Kritiken. – There are many reviews/critiques. (plural, countable “critiques/reviews”)

In the given sentence, the idea is simply “there is (also) criticism,” so no article is the most natural choice.

Why is auch placed before Kritik in es gibt auch Kritik? Could I say es gibt Kritik auch?

auch usually stands directly before the element it is adding/include (“also,” “too”):

Ich esse auch Kuchen. – I also eat cake / I eat cake too.
Viele Gäste loben das Stück, aber es gibt auch Kritik.
→ There is also criticism (in addition to praise).

By putting auch before Kritik, you make clear that Kritik is what is being added.

es gibt Kritik auch is grammatically possible but sounds unusual and often needs extra context or contrast. In standard, natural German, you would nearly always say es gibt auch Kritik here.

Could I say Öffentlich loben viele Gäste das Stück instead of In der Öffentlichkeit loben viele Gäste das Stück? Is there a difference?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

Öffentlich loben viele Gäste das Stück.
- öffentlich is an adverb: “publicly, in public.”
- Focus on the manner of praising: They praise it publicly, not privately/secretly.
In der Öffentlichkeit loben viele Gäste das Stück.
- in der Öffentlichkeit is a prepositional phrase: “in (the) public / in public.”
- Slightly more concrete, suggests in front of the public / in the public eye, perhaps in media, on stage, etc.

In many contexts they are interchangeable, but in der Öffentlichkeit can sound a bit more formal and can emphasize the public sphere (media, audience, society) more clearly than just öffentlich.

Could the sentence also be Viele Gäste loben das Stück in der Öffentlichkeit, aber es gibt auch Kritik.? Would the meaning change?

Yes, that word order is also correct:

Viele Gäste loben das Stück in der Öffentlichkeit, aber es gibt auch Kritik.

The meaning is essentially the same, but the focus/emphasis shifts:

Original: In der Öffentlichkeit loben viele Gäste das Stück, …
→ Emphasis on the public setting (“In public, many guests praise the play…”)
Variant: Viele Gäste loben das Stück in der Öffentlichkeit, …
→ Emphasis on the guests (“Many guests praise the play in public…”)

Both follow verb-second order correctly; it’s mainly a matter of emphasis and style.

What genders are Öffentlichkeit, Gast, Gäste, and Stück, and how do the articles show that?

die Öffentlichkeit – feminine singular
- Dative singular feminine article is der → in der Öffentlichkeit
der Gast – masculine singular
- Plural is die Gäste (with umlaut)
- Here, viele Gäste has no article, but Gäste is plural.
das Stück – neuter singular
- Nominative = das Stück, accusative = also das Stück
- The article das shows neuter singular.

In the sentence:

In der Öffentlichkeit → dative feminine singular
viele Gäste → nominative plural (subject)
das Stück → accusative neuter singular (object)