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Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen.

Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen.
Many students would like to take part in the course.
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Questions & Answers about Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen.

Why is it viele Studenten and not viel Studenten?

German distinguishes between viel and viele:

  • viel = much, a lot of → used with uncountable or singular mass nouns

    • viel Wasser (much water)
    • viel Zeit (a lot of time)

  • viele = many → used with countable plural nouns

    • viele Bücher (many books)
    • viele Studenten (many students)

Since Studenten is a plural countable noun, you must use viele, not viel.

What case is Studenten in, and how can I tell?

In Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen, Studenten is:

  • Case: Nominative
  • Number: Plural
  • Role: Subject of the sentence

You can tell because:

  • The verb möchten agrees with the subject Studenten (3rd person plural → möchten, not möchte).
  • In a simple sentence, the thing performing the action (the “doer”) is usually in the nominative case.
  • If you add the article, it would be Viele (die) Studenten. Die Studenten is nominative plural.

Note: Student is a so‑called weak masculine noun in the singular (e.g. des Studenten, dem Studenten), but in the plural nominative it just uses the regular -en ending: die Studenten.

Why is möchten used here instead of wollen or mögen?

Möchten expresses a polite or softer desire, similar to “would like to” in English:

  • Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen.
    → Many students would like to take part in the course.

Comparison:

  • wollen = to want (stronger, more direct)

    • Viele Studenten wollen am Kurs teilnehmen.
      → Many students want to take part in the course. (sounds more determined)

  • mögen = to like (usually with nouns, not actions)

    • Viele Studenten mögen den Kurs.
      → Many students like the course.

So möchten + infinitive (here: teilnehmen) is the normal way to say “would like to do something”.

Where does möchten come from, and how do you conjugate it?

Historically, möchten is the subjunctive form (Konjunktiv II) of mögen, but in modern German it’s used almost like its own verb meaning “would like to”.

Present tense conjugation of möchten:

  • ich möchte – I would like
  • du möchtest – you (singular, informal) would like
  • er/sie/es möchte – he/she/it would like
  • wir möchten – we would like
  • ihr möchtet – you (plural, informal) would like
  • sie/Sie möchten – they / you (formal) would like

In your sentence:
Viele Studenten → 3rd person plural → möchten.

What does am mean here, and why not an dem?

Am is simply the contracted form of an dem:

  • an = at / on
  • dem = the (dative, masculine/neuter singular)

So:

  • am Kurs = an dem Kurs = “at the course” / “in the course” (in English meaning)

In spoken and written German, an + dem almost always contracts to am:

  • an dem Tisch → am Tisch
  • an dem Fenster → am Fenster

Because Kurs is masculine (der Kurs) and is used with an in the dative case, you get an dem Kurs → am Kurs.

Why is it am Kurs and not im Kurs or beim Kurs?

This choice is mostly dictated by the verb teilnehmen:

  • teilnehmen an + Dativ = to take part in something

So you must say:

  • am Kurs teilnehmen (take part in the course)
  • an einer Konferenz teilnehmen
  • an einem Wettbewerb teilnehmen

If you use im Kurs, you’d usually describe physical location or participation in general, not this specific verb pattern:

  • Ich bin im Kurs. – I am in the course / in class.
  • Ich lerne viel im Kurs. – I learn a lot in the course.

Beim Kurs is possible but has a different nuance (more like “at the time/place of the course”):

  • Ich habe ihn beim Kurs kennengelernt. – I met him at the course.

For teilnehmen, the standard is an + Dativ → am Kurs.

Why does teilnehmen need an + Dativ?

In German, many verbs have fixed prepositions. Teilnehmen is one of them:

  • teilnehmen an + Dativ = to take part in / to participate in

Examples:

  • Sie nimmt an einem Projekt teil.
  • Wir nehmen an der Besprechung teil.
  • Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen.

The preposition an plus the dative case is not optional; it’s part of the verb’s pattern. You can’t replace an with other prepositions here if you want the meaning “to participate”.

Why is teilnehmen at the end of the sentence?

This is because of German word order with modal verbs (like möchten, wollen, können, etc.):

  • The conjugated modal verb goes in the second position.
  • The main verb (infinitive) goes to the end of the clause.

So:

  • Viele Studenten (position 1: subject)
  • möchten (position 2: conjugated modal verb)
  • am Kurs (middle field: other information)
  • teilnehmen (final position: infinitive main verb)

Pattern:
Subject – modal (2nd) – … – main verb (infinitive at the end)

Compare:

  • Viele Studenten nehmen am Kurs teil. (no modal; separable verb splits)
  • Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen. (with modal; infinitive goes to the end, stays together)
Is teilnehmen a separable verb, and how does that work in other sentences?

Yes, teilnehmen is a separable verb:

  • Prefix: teil-
  • Verb: nehmen

In simple present or simple past main clauses (without another verb like möchten), the prefix goes to the end:

  • Viele Studenten nehmen am Kurs teil.
  • Letztes Jahr nahmen viele Studenten am Kurs teil.

When you use an infinitive construction (with möchten, müssen, können, werden, etc.), the verb stays together at the end:

  • Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen.
  • Viele Studenten müssen am Kurs teilnehmen.

So:

  • Finite main verb → nehmen … teil
  • Infinitive at the end → teilnehmen
Could I say Viele Studenten wollen am Kurs teilnehmen instead? What would change?

Yes, the sentence is grammatically correct:

  • Viele Studenten wollen am Kurs teilnehmen.

Difference in nuance:

  • möchten = would like to (polite, softer, more tentative)
  • wollen = want to (stronger, more direct, can sound more determined or blunt)

So:

  • Viele Studenten möchten am Kurs teilnehmen.
    → Many students would like to take part in the course.
  • Viele Studenten wollen am Kurs teilnehmen.
    → Many students want to take part in the course. (suggests a clearer, stronger intention)
Why is Studenten capitalized, and why is Kurs capitalized too?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence. That’s why you see:

  • Studenten (plural of der Student)
  • Kurs (der Kurs)

Other words like viele, möchten, am, teilnehmen are not nouns, so they are not capitalized.

So capitalization here tells you which words are nouns, not which words are “important” or at the beginning of a sentence.

How would the sentence change with a different subject or in the past tense?

Changing the subject:

  • Singular:

    • Ein Student möchte am Kurs teilnehmen. – One student would like to take part in the course.
    • Eine Studentin möchte am Kurs teilnehmen. – One (female) student would like to take part in the course.

  • 1st person:

    • Ich möchte am Kurs teilnehmen. – I would like to take part in the course.
    • Wir möchten am Kurs teilnehmen. – We would like to take part in the course.

Changing to past tense (Perfekt, very common in speech):

  • Viele Studenten haben am Kurs teilgenommen.
    → Many students took part in the course / have taken part in the course.

Here you see:

  • Auxiliary: haben (3rd person plural)
  • Past participle of teilnehmen: teilgenommen (prefix teil in front, genommen from nehmen)
  • Preposition pattern stays the same: an + Dativ → am Kurs