Der Verein macht Werbung im Internet.

The club advertises on the internet.

Breakdown of Der Verein macht Werbung im Internet.

• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• das Internet: the internet
• der Verein: the club
• Werbung machen: to advertise

Questions & Answers about Der Verein macht Werbung im Internet.

What exactly does Verein mean? Is it "club", "association", or something else?

Verein is a masculine noun meaning roughly club / association / society.

• It usually refers to an organized group with members and a formal structure, often registered as an organization (e.g., sports clubs, music clubs, charity associations).
• Possible translations:
  • sports club → Sportverein
  • non-profit association → gemeinnütziger Verein

In many contexts, English club or association is fine for Verein. The exact English word depends on the type of organization, not on the German.

Why is it der Verein and not die Verein or das Verein?

Because Verein is masculine in German.

• Nominative singular definite article:
  • masculine: der
  • feminine: die
  • neuter: das

So:

• der Verein = the association/club
• die Vereine = the associations/clubs (plural)

In this sentence, Der Verein is the subject in the nominative case, so it takes der.

Why is there no article before Werbung? Why not die Werbung?

In macht Werbung, Werbung is used as an uncountable mass noun, similar to English advertising.

• Werbung machen = to do advertising / to advertise
• No article is used when talking about advertising in general:
  • Der Verein macht Werbung. → The association does advertising.
• If you say die Werbung, you refer to a specific piece/type of advertising:
  • Die Werbung war sehr erfolgreich. → The advertising / that ad campaign was very successful.
  • Eine Werbung is rare and usually means a specific ad (but people more often say eine Anzeige, ein Werbespot, etc.).

So here, Werbung is generic, so it appears without an article.

Could I also say Der Verein wirbt im Internet? What is the difference between macht Werbung and wirbt?

Yes, you can say Der Verein wirbt im Internet. It is correct and natural.

Differences:

• Werbung machen

  • Literally “to make/do advertising”.
  • Very common in everyday language.
  • Slightly more informal and descriptive.

• werben (3rd person singular: er wirbt)

  • More formal or compact verb meaning “to advertise / to promote”.
  • Often used in written language, business contexts, or more formal speech.

The meaning in this sentence is essentially the same:

• Der Verein macht Werbung im Internet.
• Der Verein wirbt im Internet.

Both are fine; the first sounds a bit more casual / conversational.

What exactly is im Internet grammatically? Why not just in dem Internet?

im is a contraction of in dem:

• in (preposition) + dem (dative singular article, masculine or neuter) → im

Internet is neuter (das Internet). Dative singular neuter article is dem, so:

• in dem Internet → contracted → im Internet

This is very common in German:

• in dem Haus → im Haus
• an dem Tisch → am Tisch
• zu dem Arzt → zum Arzt

So im Internet literally means “in the Internet”, using dative because it describes location, not movement.

Why is in followed by the dative here? I thought in could also take the accusative.

The preposition in can take dative or accusative, depending on the meaning:

• Dative → location / where?

  • Der Verein macht Werbung im Internet.
  • Where does the association advertise? → in the Internet (location) → dative

• Accusative → direction / where to?

  • Der Verein geht ins Internet.
    (ins = in das, accusative)
  • Where is the association going (to)? → into the Internet (direction)

So here, im Internet answers “wo?” (where?), so dative is used.

Can I say auf dem Internet like "on the internet"? Why is it im Internet?

Idiomatic German uses im Internet, not auf dem Internet, for the general idea of being on the internet / online.

• Natural:
  • im Internet surfen → to surf on the internet
  • im Internet einkaufen → to shop online
  • Werbung im Internet machen → to advertise on the internet

auf is used with many specific platforms:

• auf Instagram, auf Facebook, auf YouTube
  • Der Verein macht Werbung auf Facebook.

But for the general Internet as a medium, im Internet is the standard expression.
auf dem Internet sounds wrong to native speakers.

Why is Internet capitalized, and does it have an article in German?

All nouns in German are capitalized, and Internet is a noun.

• Gender: das Internet (neuter)
• Typical forms:
  • das Internet (nominative)
  • im Internet = in dem Internet (dative)
  • ins Internet = in das Internet (accusative)

Whether you see the article depends on the phrase:

• With a preposition:
  • im Internet (the article is baked into im)
  • übers Internet (über das Internet)
• Without a preposition, you’d say:
  • Das Internet ist langsam. → The internet is slow.

Can the word order change? For example, Der Verein macht im Internet Werbung or Im Internet macht der Verein Werbung?

Yes, German word order is flexible, and all of these are grammatical:

1. Der Verein macht Werbung im Internet.

   • Neutral order: Subject – Verb – Object – Prepositional phrase.
   • Slight focus on Werbung (what the club does).

2. Der Verein macht im Internet Werbung.

   • Focus shifts a bit towards im Internet as the place of advertising.
   • Still very natural.

3. Im Internet macht der Verein Werbung.

   • The prepositional phrase is in the first position, giving it extra emphasis:
   • Roughly like English: “On the internet, the association advertises.”
   • Highlights where more strongly.

All three mean the same basic thing; the differences are mainly in emphasis / focus.

What tense is macht here? Can it also express habitual or future meaning like English "does" / "will do"?

macht is present tense (3rd person singular of machen).

German present tense is quite flexible:

• Der Verein macht Werbung im Internet.
  • can mean:
    • The association is advertising on the internet (now).
    • The association advertises on the internet (in general / habitually).
    • In context, even a near future: The association is going to advertise on the internet.

German often uses the present tense where English might use present continuous or “will”-future, depending on context.

Is Werbung machen a fixed expression in German? Are there other common ways to say this?

Yes, Werbung machen is a very common collocation (fixed verb–noun combination):

• Werbung machen (für etwas) → to advertise (something)
  • Der Verein macht Werbung für sein neues Projekt.

Other common expressions:

• für etwas werben → to advertise for / promote something
• Werbung schalten → to place/run ads (e.g., online, on TV)
• Werbung ansehen → to watch ads
• Werbung vermeiden → to avoid advertising (e.g. with ad-free subscriptions)

So Werbung machen is the everyday, general phrase; für etwas werben sounds a bit more compact and sometimes more formal.

How would I negate this sentence correctly? Where do I put nicht or keine?

There are two main ways to negate, with slightly different meanings:

1. No advertising at all (general negation of “Werbung”):

   • Der Verein macht keine Werbung im Internet.
   • Or: Der Verein macht im Internet keine Werbung.
   • keine Werbung = no advertising

2. Negating the place (not on the internet, but perhaps elsewhere):

   • Der Verein macht Werbung nicht im Internet, sondern in der Zeitung.
   • Here, nicht negates specifically im Internet.

For the original meaning “The association does not advertise on the internet (at all)”, the most natural is:

• Der Verein macht keine Werbung im Internet.

How do you pronounce Verein and Werbung?

Approximate pronunciation in standard German:

• Verein → /fɛˈʁaɪn/

  • V = like English f
  • ei = like English eye
  • Stress on the second syllable: fe-REIN

• Werbung → /ˈvɛʁbʊŋ/

  • W = like English v
  • Stress on the first syllable: WER-bung
  • The -ung ending is pronounced roughly -oong with a nasal ng sound.

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

• Der Verein macht Werbung im Internet.
  /deːɐ fɛˈʁaɪn maxt ˈvɛʁbʊŋ ɪm ˈɪntɐnɛt/