Learn Hardcore German: Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik in Ruhe, da sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt. - The actress reads the criticism calmly, since she does not hate her work but loves it.

da and weil both introduce a reason clause and both push the verb to the end of the clause.
da is:
- slightly more formal/literary than weil
- often used when the reason is already known, obvious, or background information
weil is:
- more neutral and very common in spoken German
- often used when giving a new or more important reason

You could say:

Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik in Ruhe, weil sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt.
The meaning is practically the same here; da just feels a bit more written/formal.

Why is there a comma before da?

The comma marks the beginning of a subordinate clause (da sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt).

In German, a subordinate clause introduced by da, weil, dass, wenn, etc. is always separated from the main clause by a comma.
The main clause is: Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik in Ruhe
The subordinate clause is: da sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt

So the comma is grammatically required.

Why does the verb liebt come at the very end of da sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt?

Because this is a subordinate clause introduced by da.

In main clauses, German usually has the verb in second position:
- Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik …
In subordinate clauses with conjunctions like da, weil, dass, wenn, the finite verb goes to the end of the clause:
- … da sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt.

So the structure is: da (conjunction) – sie (subject) – ihre Arbeit (object) – nicht hasst, sondern liebt (verbs at the end).

What does the structure nicht … sondern … mean, and how is it used?

nicht … sondern … means not … but (rather) … and is used to correct or contrast something.

Pattern:

Sie hasst ihre Arbeit nicht, sondern liebt sie.
- nicht negates the first part (hasst)
- sondern introduces the contrasting, correct part (liebt)

In the sentence:

sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt
= she does not hate her work, but loves it (instead).

Important points:

sondern is used after a negation (usually nicht or kein).
Without negation, you’d usually use aber instead of sondern.
- Sie hasst ihre Arbeit, aber sie liebt die Freizeit.

Who does sie refer to in da sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt?

sie refers back to die Schauspielerin.

die Schauspielerin is feminine singular.
The pronoun for a feminine singular noun is sie.
There is no other feminine noun in the context that sie could refer to, so it must be the actress.

So:

da sie ihre Arbeit nicht hasst, sondern liebt
= because she (the actress) does not hate her work but loves it.

Why is it ihre Arbeit and not ihren Arbeit?

Because Arbeit is feminine, and here it is in the accusative singular.

Arbeit is feminine: die Arbeit.
Feminine nouns have the same form for nominative and accusative: die Arbeit.
The corresponding possessive for sie (she) in feminine accusative is ihre.

Declension of ihr- (her) with feminine singular nouns:

Nominative: ihre Arbeit – her work (as subject)
Accusative: ihre Arbeit – her work (as object)

Here Arbeit is the direct object of hasst/liebt, so it is accusative: ihre Arbeit.

Why is it die Kritik and not something like der Kritik?

Because Kritik is a feminine noun used here in the accusative singular.

Kritik = die Kritik (feminine).
Declension of feminine singular definite article:
- Nominative: die Kritik
- Accusative: die Kritik
- Dative: der Kritik
- Genitive: der Kritik

In this sentence, die Kritik is the direct object of liest (what does she read?), so it is accusative.
Feminine accusative = die → die Kritik.

What exactly does Kritik mean here? Is it “critique”, “criticism”, or “review”?

Kritik can mean:

a review of a performance, book, film, etc.
criticism in general

In the context of Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik, it most naturally means the (written) review of her performance, e.g. in a newspaper or online.
The broader idea of people criticizing her is also included in the connotations, but the default reading is the review.

What does in Ruhe mean, literally and idiomatically?

Literally, in Ruhe is in calm/peace/quiet.

Idiomatic meaning here:

calmly, without rushing, without being disturbed, at her leisure

So Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik in Ruhe =
The actress reads the review calmly / in peace / without stress.

Could we move in Ruhe and say Die Schauspielerin liest in Ruhe die Kritik? Is that correct?

Yes, Die Schauspielerin liest in Ruhe die Kritik is grammatically correct.

Both Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik in Ruhe and
Die Schauspielerin liest in Ruhe die Kritik
are acceptable and natural.

Word order nuances:

… liest die Kritik in Ruhe
slightly emphasizes what she reads (die Kritik), then adds how she does it.
… liest in Ruhe die Kritik
slightly emphasizes the calm manner first, then what she reads.

The difference is subtle; both would be understood the same way in most contexts.

Why do we use ruhig in some cases but in Ruhe here? What’s the difference?

ruhig is an adjective/adverb; in Ruhe is a prepositional phrase.

ruhig as an adverb:
- Sie liest ruhig. – She reads calmly/quietly.
in Ruhe:
- Sie liest die Kritik in Ruhe. – She reads the review in peace, without disturbance.

Nuance:

ruhig focuses more on her manner (she herself is calm/quiet).
in Ruhe focuses more on the situation: she has enough time and is not disturbed or stressed.

So in Ruhe is slightly broader: undisturbed, at leisure, in peace.

What is the difference between hasst and hast? They look similar.

They are different verbs:

hasst – from hassen = to hate
- sie hasst = she hates
hast – from haben = to have
- du hast = you have

In the sentence, it must be hasst (with double s), because the meaning is does not hate.
If you wrote hast, the sentence would become ungrammatical and meaningless here.

Why is Schauspielerin capitalized, and what does the -in ending indicate?

All nouns in German are capitalized, so Schauspielerin must start with a capital S.

The -in ending marks the feminine form:

der Schauspieler – male actor
die Schauspielerin – female actor (actress)

Because the subject is feminine, the correct article is die:

Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik …

Why is the tense liest (simple present) used? How do Germans express “is reading” (present continuous)?

German normally uses the simple present (Präsens) for both:

English she reads
and English she is reading

So Die Schauspielerin liest die Kritik can mean:

The actress reads the review (habitual)
The actress is reading the review (right now)

Context decides which one is meant. German doesn’t usually need a separate continuous form.