Log inSign up

Die Kinder laufen im Park um den Baum herum.

Die Kinder laufen im Park um den Baum herum.
The children run around the tree in the park.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning German now

Questions & Answers about Die Kinder laufen im Park um den Baum herum.

Why is it im Park and not in dem Park?

Im is just the contracted form of in dem.

  • in + dem Park (in the dative case) → im Park
  • This contraction is very common and sounds more natural in everyday German.
  • You can say in dem Park, but it sounds more formal or emphatic; in this neutral sentence, im Park is preferred.
Why is Park in the dative case (im Park)?

The preposition in can take either dative or accusative:

  • Dative = location (where something is)
    • Die Kinder laufen im Park. → They are in the park (location)
  • Accusative = direction (movement into something)
    • Die Kinder laufen in den Park. → They run into the park (movement towards/into)

In this sentence, the focus is on where they are running (inside the park), not on entering it, so dative (im Park) is used.

Why is it den Baum and not dem Baum?

Because of the preposition um:

  • um always takes the accusative case.
  • Masculine accusative singular of der Baum is den Baum.

So:

  • um den Baum = around the tree (accusative required by um)
  • um dem Baum would be grammatically wrong.
Why do we have both um and herum? Aren’t they redundant?

Um already has the meaning around, and herum also adds a sense of around / round and round. Together:

  • um den Baum = around the tree
  • um den Baum herum = (going) around the tree, often suggesting movement circling it

Using both is very natural and common in German. You can often drop herum and say just um den Baum, but:

  • um den Baum herum can feel a bit more vivid or explicit, especially for circular motion.
  • In many everyday contexts, both versions are acceptable; this sentence sounds very natural as is.
Is um den Baum herum part of the verb, like a separable prefix?

No. The main verb is just laufen.

  • um here is a preposition (taking the accusative).
  • herum is an adverb/particle that reinforces the meaning around.

So the structure is:

  • Die Kinder (subject)
  • laufen (verb)
  • im Park (dative phrase of location)
  • um den Baum herum (prepositional phrase with adverb describing their path)

It’s not a separable-verb structure like herumlaufen (which is a verb: to walk/run around).

Could we also say Die Kinder laufen um den Baum herum im Park? How flexible is the word order?

Yes, German word order is quite flexible for these adverbial phrases. Some natural options:

  • Die Kinder laufen im Park um den Baum herum. (original)
  • Die Kinder laufen um den Baum herum im Park. (OK, slightly different emphasis)
  • Im Park laufen die Kinder um den Baum herum. (fronts the location)
  • Um den Baum herum laufen die Kinder im Park. (strong focus on the circling motion)

As long as:

  • The finite verb (laufen) stays in the second position of the main clause.
  • The elements remain clearly understandable.

The original version is probably the most neutral and natural-sounding.

Why is it laufen and not läuft?

Because the subject die Kinder is third person plural.

Conjugation of laufen (present tense):

  • ich laufe
  • du läufst
  • er/sie/es läuft
  • wir laufen
  • ihr lauft
  • sie/Sie laufen

Die Kinder = sie (they) → sie laufen.
So the correct form is laufen, not läuft (which is used for he/she/it).

Why is Kinder without -n even though it’s plural?

The noun is das Kind (singular), and its plural is die Kinder.

In this sentence:

  • die Kinder is nominative plural (it’s the subject).

No extra -n is added in the nominative plural for this word. You’d see Kindern (with -n) in dative plural, for example:

  • mit den Kindern = with the children (dative plural)

Here we just need the nominative plural: die Kinder.

Does laufen mean “to walk” or “to run”? How should I think about it?

It depends on context and region, but roughly:

  • laufen: to move on foot, often faster than walking; can mean to run or to jog, and sometimes just go on foot.
  • gehen: to walk (normal pace)
  • rennen: to run (clearly fast, often with effort)

In many contexts:

  • Die Kinder laufen im Park is most naturally understood as The children are running in the park.
  • But in some varieties of German (especially in the south), laufen can be used more generally for going on foot.

If you want to be clear:

  • gehen for walking.
  • rennen for really running fast.
Why is the verb in the present tense? Could this also mean “are running” like in English?

German present tense (Präsens) covers both:

  • They run (simple present)
  • They are running (present continuous)

So Die Kinder laufen im Park um den Baum herum. can naturally be translated as:

  • The children are running around the tree in the park.
    or
  • The children run around the tree in the park.

German doesn’t need a special continuous tense; laufen (present) covers both meanings.

Could we leave out im Park or um den Baum herum? What changes?

Yes:

  1. Die Kinder laufen im Park.

    • Focus: they are running in the park (location), route unspecified.

  2. Die Kinder laufen um den Baum herum.

    • Focus: they are circling the tree, but the general place is unspecified (could be obvious from context).

  3. Die Kinder laufen im Park um den Baum herum.

    • Combines both: we know where they are (in the park) and how they move (around the tree).

So removing one phrase just removes that piece of information; the rest of the sentence still works.

Why is Baum capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized.

  • Baum (tree) is a noun → capitalized.
  • Kinder, Park, Baum are all nouns, so they all start with a capital letter:
    • die Kinder
    • im Park
    • um den Baum herum