Learn Hardcore German: Wir üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer. - We practice the text in the living room today.

Nominative (subject): der Text – Der Text ist schwer. (The text is difficult.)
Accusative (direct object): den Text – Wir üben den Text. (We are practising the text.)

In the sentence Wir üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer, wir (we) is the subject, üben (practice) is the verb, and den Text is what we are practising, so den is the correct accusative form of the masculine article.

Why is it im Wohnzimmer and not in das Wohnzimmer?

im is a contraction of in dem.

in dem Wohnzimmer → im Wohnzimmer

So the phrase is actually in dem Wohnzimmer (in the living room, dative case).

The preposition in can take dative or accusative:

Dative = location (where something is)
→ Wir sind im Wohnzimmer. (We are in the living room.)
Accusative = direction/movement into something
→ Wir gehen ins Wohnzimmer. (We are going into the living room.)
ins = in das

In your sentence, the action is happening in the living room (location), not going into it, so we use in dem Wohnzimmer → im Wohnzimmer.

What does üben mean exactly, and how is it different from lernen or studieren?

üben means to practise – to repeat something to get better at it.

Wir üben den Text.
We are practising the text (e.g. reading it aloud, memorising it, rehearsing it).

Compare:

lernen = to learn (to acquire knowledge or a skill)
- Ich lerne Deutsch. – I am learning German.
- Ich lerne den Text. – I am learning/memorising the text.
studieren = to study (usually at university, or in a very focused way)
- Ich studiere Physik. – I am studying physics (at university).

Typical use:

üben an instrument: Ich übe Klavier. (I’m practising piano.)
üben a text: Wir üben den Text. (We’re practising/rehearsing the text.)

So üben focuses on practice/repetition, lernen on learning/acquiring, and studieren on academic study.

Can the word order be different? For example, can I say Heute üben wir den Text im Wohnzimmer?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and very natural.

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

Some element comes first (subject, time, place, etc.)
The finite verb (here: üben) comes in second position
The rest of the sentence follows

Your sentence:

Wir üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer.
(Subject first)

Alternative:

Heute üben wir den Text im Wohnzimmer.
(Time phrase first)

Both are correct. The choice mainly affects emphasis:

Wir üben heute… – neutral, slightly emphasises we.
Heute üben wir… – emphasises today (as opposed to another day).

Where can heute go in the sentence? Is Wir üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer the only option?

Heute is flexible. All of these are grammatically correct:

Wir üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer.
Wir üben den Text heute im Wohnzimmer.
Wir üben den Text im Wohnzimmer heute. (possible, but sounds less natural)
Heute üben wir den Text im Wohnzimmer.

Most common and natural:

Wir üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer.
Heute üben wir den Text im Wohnzimmer.

Putting heute at the very end (option 3) is grammatically okay but not the most idiomatic in everyday speech.

What exactly does Wohnzimmer mean, and why is it one word?

Wohnzimmer is a compound noun:

wohnen = to live, to reside
das Zimmer = the room

Literally: living-room → living room.

German very often joins nouns together into one long word instead of separating them:

Wohnzimmer – living room
Schlafzimmer – bedroom (schlafen = to sleep)
Kinderzimmer – children’s room
Esszimmer – dining room (essen = to eat)

So Wohnzimmer must be written as one word, not Wohn Zimmer.

Why is Wohnzimmer neuter, and how do I know that from im Wohnzimmer?

We see it’s neuter because:

im = in dem (dative, singular)
The dative singular article dem is used for masculine and neuter nouns.
But Zimmer on its own is a known neuter noun: das Zimmer.

In German compounds, the last part usually determines the gender:

das Zimmer → das Wohnzimmer
die Schule → die Sprachschule
der Tisch → der Schreibtisch

You generally have to learn the gender with each base noun:

das Zimmer (neuter) → also das Wohnzimmer.

Why is Text capitalised?

In German, all nouns are capitalised, regardless of where they appear in the sentence.

der Text – the text
Wir üben den Text im Wohnzimmer.
Das ist ein schwieriger Text.

So Text is capitalised simply because it’s a noun. This is a standard rule in German orthography.

How do you pronounce üben and what is the ü sound?

Pronunciation: üben → roughly: [ˈyːbən]

ü is a sound that doesn’t exist in standard English.
To produce ü:
1. First say the English vowel in see (the ee sound).
2. Keep your tongue in the same position.
3. Now round your lips as if you were saying the English oo in too.
4. Keep that lip rounding, but keep the ee-tongue position.

That combined position gives you the German ü.

Also:

The b in üben is pronounced like a normal b, not like English v.
The e in the second syllable (-ben) is a reduced vowel, like a weak uh.

Does Wir üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer mean “We are practising…” or “We practise…” or “We will practise…”?

It can mean all three, depending on context. German has one simple present tense that covers:

Present continuous:
- We are practising the text today in the living room.
Simple present (habitual):
- We practise the text today in the living room (e.g. as part of a routine, though you’d often add immer, jeden Tag, etc.)
Near future with a time expression:
- We will practise the text today in the living room.

English often uses different forms (am practising / practise / will practise), but German wir üben can cover all of them if the time word (here heute) and the context make the meaning clear.

Can I leave out wir and just say Üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer?

No, not in a normal statement. In German you normally must use the subject pronoun.

Correct: Wir üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer.
Incorrect (as a statement): Üben heute den Text im Wohnzimmer.

Exceptions:

Imperatives (commands) can drop the subject:
- Übt heute den Text im Wohnzimmer! (You plural: Practise the text today in the living room!)
- Üben wir heute den Text im Wohnzimmer! (Let’s practise the text today in the living room!) – here wir is often kept.

But for a normal declarative sentence about what we do, you must say wir.

Could I say Wir üben den Text zu Hause im Wohnzimmer? What is the difference between zu Hause and im Wohnzimmer?

Yes, Wir üben den Text zu Hause im Wohnzimmer is correct.

zu Hause = at home (general location: not out, but in one’s home)
im Wohnzimmer = in the living room (specific room in the house)

So the full sentence:

Wir üben den Text zu Hause im Wohnzimmer.
= We are practising the text at home, in the living room.

Often you might use just one of them:

Wir üben den Text zu Hause. – We’re practising the text at home.
Wir üben den Text im Wohnzimmer. – We’re practising the text in the living room (it’s implicitly at home, but the focus is on the room).

Does Text have the same meaning as in English? What kind of “text” can it refer to?

Mostly yes, but German Text is often used in a more specific way, especially in this kind of sentence.

Possible meanings of Text:

A written passage or article:
ein literarischer Text, ein Zeitungstext
A script or speech:
den Text für ein Theaterstück üben
The lyrics of a song:
den Text eines Liedes lernen (learn the lyrics of a song)

In Wir üben heute den Text, it usually means:

a short text you are reading
or a script or dialogue
or the lyrics of a song

Context (e.g. music class, drama rehearsal, language exercise) will clarify which kind of text it is.