Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park.

The professional trains the children in the park.

Breakdown of Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park.

• das Kind: the child
• der Park: the park
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• trainieren: to train
• der Profi: the professional

Questions & Answers about Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park.

Why is it Der Profi and not Den Profi?

Because Der Profi is the subject of the sentence.

• In German, the subject is in the nominative case.
• The masculine nominative singular article is der.
• Den is masculine accusative, which is used for direct objects, not subjects.

So we get:

• Nominative (subject): der Profi → Der Profi trainiert …
• Accusative (object): Ich sehe den Profi. (I see the professional.)

In your sentence, the professional is the one doing the action, so nominative: der, not den.

What gender is Profi? Can it refer to a woman?

Profi is grammatically masculine in its basic form:

• Singular:
  • der Profi (nominative)
  • den Profi (accusative)
• Plural:
  • die Profis (nominative & accusative)

However, in everyday language der Profi can refer to a male or female professional, especially in sports or informal contexts, a bit like saying “the pro” in English.

If you want to be explicitly feminine, you can say:

• die Profi-Spielerin (the professional [female] player)
• die Profi-Sportlerin (the professional [female] athlete)

But der Profi on its own is commonly used in a gender-neutral way in many contexts.

Why is the verb trainiert and not trainieren?

Trainieren is the infinitive (the basic dictionary form: to train).

In the sentence, the subject is der Profi (3rd person singular: he/she/it), so the verb must be conjugated:

• ich trainiere (I train)
• du trainierst (you train – singular, informal)
• er/sie/es trainiert (he/she/it trains)
• wir trainieren (we train)
• ihr trainiert (you train – plural, informal)
• sie/Sie trainieren (they / you – formal – train)

Since the subject matches er/sie/es, the correct form is:

• Der Profi trainiert …

So trainiert = trains / is training.

Can Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park also mean “The professional is training the children in the park (right now)”?

Yes.

German has only one present tense form, but it covers both:

• English simple present:
  Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park.
  → The professional trains the children in the park. (regularly, as a routine)

• English present continuous / progressive:
  Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park.
  → The professional is training the children in the park. (right now)

Context usually makes it clear whether it’s a regular action or something happening at this moment.

Why is it die Kinder and not den Kindern or der Kinder?

Because die Kinder is the direct object in the accusative plural.

Breakdown:

1. Kind (child) – singular:
   • Nominative: das Kind
   • Accusative: das Kind
2. Kinder (children) – plural:
   • Nominative: die Kinder
   • Accusative: die Kinder
   • Dative: den Kindern
   • Genitive: der Kinder

In your sentence:

• Wer? (Who?) trainiert? → Der Profi (subject, nominative)
• Wen? (Whom?) trainiert er? → die Kinder (direct object, accusative)

So we use die Kinder (accusative plural), not den Kindern (dative plural) and not der Kinder (genitive plural).

What does im Park literally mean, and why not in den Park?

Im Park is a contraction:

• in + dem Park → im Park

Here’s what’s going on:

• in can take either dative or accusative, depending on meaning:
  • Dative (location, “where?” → static position):
    • im Park = in dem Park → in the park (where something happens)
  • Accusative (direction, “where to?” → movement into):
    • in den Park → into the park

Your sentence describes where the training happens (a location, not movement):

• Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park.
  → The training takes place in the park (dative).

If you wanted to express movement to the park:

• Der Profi geht mit den Kindern in den Park.
  → The professional goes into the park with the children.

Can I change the word order, like Im Park trainiert der Profi die Kinder? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can change the word order, and the basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis changes.

All of these are grammatically correct:

1. Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park.

   • Neutral, standard word order.
   • Focus is first on who (der Profi), then what he does.

2. Im Park trainiert der Profi die Kinder.

   • Emphasis on where it happens: in the park.
   • Often used in storytelling or when contrasting locations.

3. Der Profi trainiert im Park die Kinder.

   • Less common; can sound a bit marked.
   • Slight extra emphasis on im Park being the place where these children (as opposed to others) are trained.

German allows relatively flexible word order because cases (der/die/den/dem, etc.) make it clear who does what to whom. But verb position is fixed: in a main clause, the conjugated verb (trainiert) must be in second position.

Could we also say Der Trainer trainiert die Kinder im Park? What’s the difference between Profi and Trainer?

Yes, Der Trainer trainiert die Kinder im Park is grammatically fine, but the meaning changes slightly.

• der Profi = the professional / the pro

  • Focus on level/skill or professional status.
  • Could be a professional athlete, a professional coach, or just someone who is very good and experienced.

• der Trainer = the coach / trainer

  • Focus on the role/job: the person who trains others.
  • Common in sports teams, fitness, etc.

So:

• Der Profi trainiert die Kinder im Park.
  → A pro (someone very good / professional) is training the children.
• Der Trainer trainiert die Kinder im Park.
  → The coach is training the children.

Sometimes, one person might be both a Profi and a Trainer.

What is the singular form of Kinder, and how do the articles change in singular and plural?

The singular of Kinder is Kind (child).

Singular – das Kind:

• Nominative: das Kind (The child plays.)
• Accusative: das Kind (I see the child.)
• Dative: dem Kind (I give the child a ball.)
• Genitive: des Kindes (The child’s toy.)

Plural – die Kinder:

• Nominative: die Kinder (The children play.)
• Accusative: die Kinder (I see the children.)
• Dative: den Kindern (I give the children a ball.)
• Genitive: der Kinder (The children’s toy.)

In your sentence:

• die Kinder is plural accusative (= direct object).

Why are Profi, Kinder, and Park capitalized?

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

So:

• der Profi (noun)
• die Kinder (noun)
• der Park (noun)

This capitalization rule helps you:

• Easily recognize nouns while reading.
• Distinguish words that can be both verbs and nouns, for example:
  • das Lernen (the learning – noun)
  • lernen (to learn – verb)

In your sentence, all three are nouns, so their first letter must be capitalized.