Learn Hardcore German: Im Restaurant esse ich frischen Fisch.

German main clauses follow a verb‑second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb must be in second position, but anything (subject, time, place, object) can stand in first position for emphasis or style.

Im Restaurant esse ich frischen Fisch.
– First position: Im Restaurant (place)
– Second position: esse (verb)
– Rest: ich frischen Fisch
Ich esse im Restaurant frischen Fisch.
– First position: Ich (subject)
– Second position: esse
– Rest: im Restaurant frischen Fisch

Both are grammatically correct.
The version with Im Restaurant first emphasizes the location; the version with Ich first is more neutral and common in everyday speech.

What exactly is im? Why not in dem Restaurant?

Im is a contraction of the preposition in + the dative article dem:

in + dem = im

So:

Im Restaurant = In dem Restaurant = in the restaurant

Both forms are grammatically correct, but the contraction im is more natural and common in spoken and written German. You would only use in dem when you want to stress dem for contrast (for example, nicht in der Bar, sondern in dem Restaurant).

Why is Restaurant capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence.

Restaurant is a noun, so it must be written with a capital R.
Fisch is also a noun, so it also gets a capital letter.

This is a core spelling rule in German and applies even to nouns in the middle of a sentence.

Why is it im Restaurant and not something like ins Restaurant?

The preposition in can take either:

dative – for a location (where something is):
- im Restaurant = in the restaurant (staying there)
accusative – for direction / movement (where something is going to):
- ins Restaurant (from in das Restaurant) = into the restaurant

In your sentence, the meaning is: When I am *in the restaurant, I eat fresh fish.
That describes a *location, not movement, so dative (im Restaurant) is correct.

Why is the verb esse and not essen or isst?

Essen is the infinitive (to eat). It must be conjugated:

ich esse – I eat
du isst – you eat (singular, informal)
er / sie / es isst – he / she / it eats
wir essen – we eat
ihr esst – you eat (plural, informal)
sie essen – they eat / you eat (formal Sie)

Since the subject is ich (I), the correct form is esse:
Ich esse … = I eat …

What case is frischen Fisch, and how can I tell?

Frischen Fisch is in the accusative case.

Why?

The verb essen needs a direct object (what is eaten).
The direct object in German is normally in the accusative.
Ich esse was? – frischen Fisch → direct object → accusative.

So Fisch is masculine and accusative singular here: (den) Fisch.
The adjective and noun both reflect that case.

Why is it frischen Fisch and not frischer Fisch or frische Fisch?

The ending -en on frischen comes from adjective declension with a masculine accusative noun without any article.

Here is the relevant part of the strong declension (no article):

Masculine:
- Nominative: frischer Fisch
- Accusative: frischen Fisch

In your sentence, Fisch is:

masculine
singular
accusative (direct object)

So the correct form is:

frischen Fisch

If it were the subject, you would say:

Frischer Fisch ist gesund. – Fresh fish is healthy. (nominative)

Why is there no article before frischen Fisch? Could I say Ich esse den frischen Fisch or Ich esse einen frischen Fisch?

All three are possible, but they mean slightly different things:

Ich esse frischen Fisch.
– No article → general / indefinite:
I eat fresh fish (in general / as a type of food).
Ich esse einen frischen Fisch.
– einen = a / one (masculine accusative) → one whole fish, not specific:
I am eating a fresh fish.
Ich esse den frischen Fisch.
– den = the (masculine accusative) → a specific fish already known from context:
I am eating the fresh fish (that we talked about).

In the original sentence, the idea is more like a habit or preference (I eat fresh fish there), so the version without an article is natural.

Can I change the order of frischen Fisch and im Restaurant at the end of the sentence?

Yes, several orders are possible and correct. The main rule is still verb in second position:

Im Restaurant esse ich frischen Fisch.
– Focus on the place.
Ich esse im Restaurant frischen Fisch.
– Neutral, slightly emphasizing the place before the object.
Ich esse frischen Fisch im Restaurant.
– Slightly more neutral / everyday; often used because time → manner → place is a common pattern, and objects tend to be closer to the verb.

All of these are grammatically correct; the difference is mainly one of emphasis and style, not grammar.

How do you pronounce ich in this sentence? Is the ch like in English church?

The ch in ich is a sound that does not exist in English. It is a soft, hissing sound made near the front of the mouth, called the ich‑Laut.

Tips:

Spread your lips slightly (like a small smile).
Put your tongue close to the hard palate (the roof of your mouth behind your teeth).
Blow air out without using your voice, producing a soft h‑like friction: [ç].

It is not like English ch in church (which is [t͡ʃ]).
A closer comparison for English speakers is the hy in huge when pronounced very softly, but the German sound is typically stronger and more clearly fricative.

Why is Fisch masculine? Is there a rule for the gender of words like this?

Unfortunately, there is no reliable rule that lets you always predict gender from meaning or ending. For many nouns, you simply have to learn the gender together with the word:

der Fisch – masculine
die Katze – feminine
das Pferd – neuter

Some endings give hints (for example, -ung is usually feminine, -chen usually neuter), but Fisch does not have such a typical ending.
When you learn vocabulary, it is best to memorize the article too, e.g. der Fisch, not just Fisch.