Learn Hardcore German: In der Lerngruppe besprechen wir jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten. - In the study group we discuss our term papers every week.

Im is a contraction of in dem and can only be used with masculine or neuter nouns in the dative singular (e.g. im Zimmer = in dem Zimmer).

Lerngruppe is a feminine noun: die Lerngruppe.
In the dative singular, die becomes der: in der Lerngruppe.

So you cannot say im Lerngruppe, because that would mean in dem Lerngruppe, and dem is masculine/neuter, not feminine.
Correct is therefore: In der Lerngruppe.

Why do we use “der” in “In der Lerngruppe”? Shouldn’t it be “die Lerngruppe”?

The base form is indeed die Lerngruppe (feminine, nominative singular).
But the preposition in can take either dative or accusative:

Dative = location (“where?”)
Accusative = direction (“where to?”)

Here we describe a location: in the study group, not into the study group.
So we use dative:

Feminine, dative singular: der
- Nominative: die Lerngruppe
- Dative: der Lerngruppe → in der Lerngruppe

If you talked about movement into the group (more abstract, usually not used this way), it would be in die Lerngruppe (accusative).

Why is the word order “In der Lerngruppe besprechen wir …” and not “In der Lerngruppe wir besprechen …”?

German main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule:

The conjugated verb must be in second position in the sentence.
“Second position” means second element, not second word.

Here:

In der Lerngruppe = one element (a prepositional phrase)
besprechen = conjugated verb
wir = subject
jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten = rest of the sentence (the “Mittelfeld”)

So:

✔ In der Lerngruppe besprechen wir jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten.
✘ In der Lerngruppe wir besprechen … (verb is not in second position)

You could also start with the subject:

✔ Wir besprechen in der Lerngruppe jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten.

Same meaning, just a different emphasis.

What’s the difference between “besprechen” and “(über etwas) sprechen”? Why use “besprechen” here?

Both relate to talking, but they’re used differently.

besprechen

Meaning: to discuss something in a focused, structured way (often going through details).
Grammar: takes a direct object (accusative), no preposition.
Example:
- Wir besprechen unsere Hausarbeiten.
  = We discuss our term papers in detail.

(über etwas) sprechen

Meaning: to talk/speak about something, more general.
Grammar: sprechen über + accusative
Example:
- Wir sprechen über unsere Hausarbeiten.
  = We talk about our term papers (could be more informal or general).

In your sentence, besprechen fits well because a study group usually systematically goes through the term papers.

Why is it “jede Woche” and not “jeden Woche” or with an article like “in jeder Woche”?

jede is a determiner that already plays the role of an article, similar to every in English. You don’t add another article.

Feminine noun Woche:
- Nominative singular: jede Woche
- Accusative singular: jede Woche (same form)
In the sentence, jede Woche is an adverbial expression of time (accusative of time).

So we say:

jede Woche = every week
not
✘ jeden Woche (wrong case & wrong ending)
✘ die jede Woche (double determiner)

You could say in jeder Woche, but that’s much less natural here and sounds very formal or contrastive. jede Woche by itself is the normal choice.

Why is it “unsere Hausarbeiten” and not “unseren Hausarbeiten” or “unserer Hausarbeiten”?

The form of unser- depends on:

Case (here: accusative)
Number (here: plural)
Gender (irrelevant in plural – same form for all genders)

In the sentence, unsere Hausarbeiten is the direct object of besprechen, so it’s in the accusative plural.

Plural, accusative: unsere
So: unsere Hausarbeiten

Compare:

Nominative plural: unsere Hausarbeiten sind interessant.
Accusative plural: Wir besprechen unsere Hausarbeiten.
Dative plural: mit unseren Hausarbeiten

So unsere is correct here because it matches plural accusative.

Why is “Hausarbeiten” in the plural? Would “Hausarbeit” (singular) also be possible?

Both are possible, but they don’t mean exactly the same:

Hausarbeit (singular) = one written assignment/term paper.
- Wir besprechen jede Woche unsere Hausarbeit.
  → Sounds like there is one shared paper, or maybe each person has one current paper.
Hausarbeiten (plural) = several written assignments/term papers.
- Wir besprechen jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten.
  → Suggests there are multiple papers (for example, everyone in the group has their own paper, or there are several tasks).

In many university contexts, students work on several Hausarbeiten, so the plural is very natural.

What is the difference between “Hausarbeit” and “Hausaufgabe(n)”?

They describe different kinds of work:

die Hausarbeit (Plural: die Hausarbeiten)
- Often a longer written paper, especially at university or college
- Comparable to a term paper, research paper, or essay
- Example: Ich schreibe eine Hausarbeit in Linguistik.
die Hausaufgabe (Plural: die Hausaufgaben)
- Regular homework assignments, usually shorter tasks (school, language courses, etc.)
- Example: Ich muss meine Hausaufgaben in Mathe machen.

In your sentence, Hausarbeiten suggests that this is about more substantial written work (e.g. at university), not just daily homework.

Could we also say “wöchentlich” instead of “jede Woche”? Is there a difference?

Yes, you could say:

In der Lerngruppe besprechen wir wöchentlich unsere Hausarbeiten.

Both are grammatical and mean “once per week / every week,” but the style is slightly different:

jede Woche
- More everyday, neutral.
- Very common in spoken and written German.
wöchentlich
- Slightly more formal or compact, often used in written texts, schedules, or descriptions of routines.

So the meaning is almost the same; jede Woche just sounds more conversational.

Why is the verb in the present tense (“besprechen”) when we’re talking about a repeated action in the future as well?

German uses the present tense (Präsens) for:

actions happening now
regular, repeated actions (habits, routines)
near future actions when the context makes it clear

So:

In der Lerngruppe besprechen wir jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten.
= We discuss our term papers every week (habit, ongoing arrangement).

You could theoretically use werden … besprechen for future, but it would emphasize a specific future time rather than a regular routine, and would sound unnatural here:

? In der Lerngruppe werden wir jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten besprechen.
→ Grammatically okay, but stylistically odd; sounds like a schedule just announced.

Can the word order of “jede Woche” and “in der Lerngruppe” change? For example: “Wir besprechen jede Woche in der Lerngruppe …”?

Yes, German allows some flexibility in the Mittelfeld (the middle part of the sentence, between the conjugated verb and the sentence-final elements).

These are all correct:

In der Lerngruppe besprechen wir jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten.
– Emphasis on the place (“In the study group…”).
Wir besprechen in der Lerngruppe jede Woche unsere Hausarbeiten.
Wir besprechen jede Woche in der Lerngruppe unsere Hausarbeiten.

All are grammatical; the differences are mostly in rhythm and emphasis:

Putting In der Lerngruppe at the beginning makes the location the topic.
Putting jede Woche earlier highlights the regularity more.
Native speakers often choose the order that sounds best to them in context, but all these orders are acceptable.

Why is “Lerngruppe” capitalized, and what gender is it?

In German:

All nouns are capitalized.
So Lerngruppe is capitalized because it’s a noun.

About its gender:

die Lerngruppe (feminine noun)
Meaning: study group / learning group

Declension (singular):

Nominative: die Lerngruppe – Die Lerngruppe ist hilfreich.
Dative: der Lerngruppe – In der Lerngruppe lernen wir zusammen.
Accusative: die Lerngruppe – Ich mag die Lerngruppe.

In your sentence, in der Lerngruppe uses the dative because it describes location.

Could we say just “Hausarbeiten” without “unsere”, or use “die Hausarbeiten” instead? How would that change the meaning?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

unsere Hausarbeiten
- Clearly refers to our own written assignments (the speaker’s group).
- Personal and specific.
die Hausarbeiten
- Can sound more general or refer to a known set of papers (e.g. “the term papers” that everyone knows about from context).
- Could also sound slightly more distant or formal.
Hausarbeiten (no determiner)
- Possible, but less common here.
- Often used when talking about things in a very general way or in lists:
  - In der Lerngruppe besprechen wir Hausarbeiten, Referate und Projekte.
    (“We discuss term papers, presentations and projects.” – types of work in general.)

In your original sentence, unsere Hausarbeiten is the most natural because the group is talking about their own individual papers.