Breakdown of Im Fitnessstudio erklärt der Trainer, dass wir die Pausentaste am Laufband nur im Notfall benutzen sollen.
Questions & Answers about Im Fitnessstudio erklärt der Trainer, dass wir die Pausentaste am Laufband nur im Notfall benutzen sollen.
Im is a contraction of in dem (in + the, dative). So:
- im Fitnessstudio = in dem Fitnessstudio = “in the gym / at the gym”
In normal speech and writing, Germans almost always use the contraction (im) instead of the full form in dem here.
Why not ins Fitnessstudio?
- ins = in das (in + the, accusative) and is used for movement toward a place:
- Ich gehe ins Fitnessstudio. – I’m going to the gym.
In your sentence, the trainer is already there, so we talk about a location, not a direction. That requires the dative: im Fitnessstudio.
Im Fitnessstudio is dative.
The preposition in can take either:
- dative for location (answering Wo? – where?), or
- accusative for direction (answering Wohin? – where to?).
Here it describes where the explaining happens:
- Wo erklärt der Trainer? – Im Fitnessstudio.
→ Location → dative → in dem → im.
German main clauses have the finite verb in second position (the V2 rule), but the first position can be almost anything: subject, time, place, object, etc.
- Im Fitnessstudio erklärt der Trainer, …
- 1st position: Im Fitnessstudio (place)
- 2nd position: erklärt (finite verb)
- then: der Trainer (subject)
You could also say:
- Der Trainer erklärt im Fitnessstudio, …
Both are correct. Starting with Im Fitnessstudio just emphasizes the location: “At the gym, the trainer explains that…”
This is a consequence of putting Im Fitnessstudio at the beginning.
Word order options (main clause):
Der Trainer erklärt im Fitnessstudio, …
- Subject in 1st position → verb is 2nd → erklärt after Der Trainer
Im Fitnessstudio erklärt der Trainer, …
- Adverbial (place) in 1st position
- Verb must still be 2nd → erklärt comes directly after Im Fitnessstudio
- Subject der Trainer now comes after the verb.
This kind of inversion (verb–subject) is normal in German when something other than the subject is in the first position.
Dass introduces a subordinate clause (a “that”-clause in English) which gives the content of what is explained.
- Main clause: Im Fitnessstudio erklärt der Trainer, …
- Subordinate clause: dass wir die Pausentaste am Laufband nur im Notfall benutzen sollen.
So dass = that (in the sense of “he explains that …”).
Function: it connects the main clause with a dependent clause whose finite verb moves to the end (typical subordinate clause structure in German).
In German, subordinate clauses are always separated by a comma from the main clause.
Dass introduces a subordinate clause, so:
- Im Fitnessstudio erklärt der Trainer, dass …
The comma is mandatory here under standard spelling rules. There is no choice like in English, where you can sometimes write “He explains that we should …” without a comma.
In a subordinate clause introduced by dass, the finite verb (conjugated verb) goes to the end of the clause.
Here the finite verb is the modal sollen (conjugated for wir):
- dass (subordinator)
- wir (subject)
- die Pausentaste am Laufband (object + prepositional phrase)
- nur im Notfall (adverbial)
- benutzen sollen (verb cluster at the end)
Because it’s a modal + infinitive combination:
- The infinitive (benutzen) comes before the finite modal (sollen) at the very end: … benutzen sollen.
That verb-last pattern is typical for dass-clauses in German.
Wir is the nominative form (subject form), while uns is accusative/dative (object form).
In the clause dass wir die Pausentaste … benutzen sollen:
- wir is the subject (the ones who are supposed to use the button) → nominative → wir
- die Pausentaste is the direct object → accusative
Using uns (dass uns die Pausentaste … benutzen sollen) would be ungrammatical here, because wir/uns is not an object but the subject of benutzen sollen.
Die Pausentaste is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of benutzen (“to use”).
- Verb: benutzen – to use
- Who uses? → wir (subject, nominative)
- What do we use? → die Pausentaste (direct object, accusative)
Since Taste is a feminine noun (die Taste in the dictionary), the form die looks the same in nominative and accusative singular:
- Nominative feminine: die Taste
- Accusative feminine: die Taste
So die here is accusative feminine singular, even though it looks identical to the nominative form.
Am is a contraction of an dem (at/on the, dative).
- am Laufband = an dem Laufband = “on/at the treadmill”
Why an?
- German often uses an for things you are operating or standing at, like:
- am Computer (at the computer)
- am Handy (on the phone)
- am Schalter (at the counter)
- am Laufband (on/at the treadmill, operating it)
Alternatives:
- im Laufband – literally “inside the treadmill” → wrong meaning here.
- auf dem Laufband – “on top of the treadmill”, often used for being physically on it (as in standing/running on it).
- Ich stehe auf dem Laufband. – I’m standing on the treadmill.
Here we talk about the pause button on the treadmill device → am Laufband is idiomatic.
Am = an dem. The preposition an takes:
- dative for location (Wo?)
- accusative for direction (Wohin?)
Here, we describe location (“on/at the treadmill”), not movement towards it:
- Wo ist die Pausentaste? – Am Laufband.
So we need dative:
- das Laufband (nominative) → dem Laufband (dative)
- an dem Laufband → contracted to am Laufband
Literally:
- nur – only
- im Notfall – in dem Notfall = “in (the) emergency / in case of emergency”
So nur im Notfall ≈ “only in an emergency” or “only in case of emergency”.
Im again is in dem, and in with dative expresses a state or situation:
- in dem Notfall → “in the (kind of) situation of emergency”
- Dative because it’s not direction into an emergency, but being in the state/condition of an emergency.
It’s also a set phrase in German:
- nur im Notfall – only in an emergency
In German, these modal verbs differ in nuance:
- müssen – must / have to (strong obligation, often necessity)
- dürfen – may / be allowed to (permission/prohibition)
- sollen – should / be supposed to (recommendation, instruction, rule, moral duty)
In … dass wir … nur im Notfall benutzen sollen:
- sollen indicates a rule or guideline: “We should / are supposed to use the pause button only in emergencies.”
- It’s not as strong as müssen, which would mean we absolutely must do it and have no choice.
- It’s not about permission (dürfen) but about what is expected and recommended as proper behavior.
So sollen is the best choice to express a trainer’s instruction or rule.
Yes, that alternative is grammatically correct:
- dass wir die Pausentaste am Laufband nur im Notfall benutzen sollen
- dass wir nur im Notfall die Pausentaste am Laufband benutzen sollen
Both are fine.
In German, elements before the final verb cluster (benutzen sollen) can be rearranged with some flexibility to change emphasis:
- Original: slight focus on what we should use (die Pausentaste am Laufband) and then the condition (nur im Notfall).
- Variant: nur im Notfall is placed earlier → the “only in an emergency” condition is highlighted sooner.
But the finite verb (sollen) still remains at the very end, and benutzen remains directly in front of it. That part you cannot change in a dass-clause.
Benutzen is not a separable verb. It’s just a simple, inseparable verb meaning “to use”.
Separable verbs in German usually have a stressed prefix like aufstehen, anrufen, mitkommen. In main clauses, the prefix goes to the end:
- Ich rufe dich an. (from anrufen)
But benutzen has no such prefix that can split off, so in main clauses it stays together:
- Wir benutzen die Pausentaste.
In your sentence, benutzen is in the infinitive and combined with the modal sollen, which is why it appears near the end:
- … benutzen sollen.
There is no separable prefix to move around.