Learn Hardcore German: Ich suche noch eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt. - I am still looking for a full-time position in the city.

Ich suche noch eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt.
→ can mean I look for a full-time position in the city or I am (still) looking for a full-time position in the city, depending on context.

Forms like Ich bin am Suchen exist in colloquial speech in some regions, but:

they are not standard written German,
and they are used much less than English continuous forms.

So Ich suche … is the normal, correct way to express an ongoing search.

Why is the verb suche in second position? Could I move it?

In a normal main clause, German word order rule is: the conjugated verb is always in second position.

Ich (1st position: subject)
suche (2nd position: conjugated verb)
noch eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt (everything else)

You cannot move suche away from second place in a main clause like this. But you can move other elements to the first position for emphasis and keep the verb second:

Noch suche ich eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt.
In der Stadt suche ich noch eine Vollzeitstelle.

In all cases, suche stays in second position.

What exactly does noch mean here, and why is it before eine Vollzeitstelle?

In this sentence, noch is best understood as still:

Ich suche noch eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt.
≈ I am still looking for a full-time position in the city.

But noch eine can also mean another / an additional:

Ich nehme noch eine Tasse Kaffee.
= I’ll have another cup of coffee.

So Ich suche noch eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt. can be:

still looking (haven’t found one yet), or
looking for another full-time job (in addition to something you already have).

In real life, context and intonation decide. If you strongly stress noch, people often hear another; if you stress suche, they often hear still:

Ich SUche noch eine Vollzeitstelle … → more like still
Ich suche NOCH eine Vollzeitstelle … → more like another

Why is it eine Vollzeitstelle and not ein Vollzeitstelle?

Because Stelle is a feminine noun:

die Stelle = the position / job

The compound Vollzeitstelle keeps the gender of Stelle, so it is also feminine:

die Vollzeitstelle

The indefinite article for feminine singular in both nominative and accusative is eine:

eine Stelle, eine Vollzeitstelle

ein would be used for masculine or neuter (e.g. ein Job, ein Kind), not for feminine nouns.

Why is Vollzeitstelle written as one long word and capitalized?

German very often forms compound nouns by simply glueing nouns together:

Vollzeit (full-time) + Stelle (position, job) → Vollzeitstelle (full-time position)

Key points:

In German, all nouns are capitalized: Vollzeit, Stelle, Vollzeitstelle.
In a noun compound, the last part is the “main” noun and determines gender and plural:
- die Vollzeitstelle, plural die Vollzeitstellen
You may sometimes see Vollzeit-Stelle with a hyphen, but Vollzeitstelle is the standard spelling.

Stress is usually on the first part: VÓLLzeitstelle.

What case is eine Vollzeitstelle, and how do I know?

eine Vollzeitstelle is in the accusative case as the direct object of the verb suchen.

Pattern:

Wer / was sucht? – Ich (subject, nominative)
Wen / was suche ich? – eine Vollzeitstelle (direct object, accusative)

For feminine nouns, the article eine looks the same in nominative and accusative:

Nominative: Eine Vollzeitstelle ist schwer zu finden.
Accusative: Ich suche eine Vollzeitstelle.

Here the function in the sentence (what is being searched) tells you it’s accusative.

Why is it in der Stadt and not in die Stadt?

The preposition in can take either dative or accusative, depending on meaning:

Dative → location (answer to Wo? = where?)
Accusative → direction / movement (answer to Wohin? = where to?)

In this sentence, you are talking about location of the job you’re looking for:

Wo suche ich eine Vollzeitstelle? – in der Stadt.
→ in the city / in town (location) → dative

die Stadt (feminine) in the dative singular becomes der Stadt, so:

in der Stadt = in the city / in town (location)
in die Stadt = into the city (direction), e.g. Ich fahre in die Stadt.

What’s the difference between in der Stadt and in einer Stadt?

Both are grammatically correct, but the nuance is different:

in der Stadt
- Often means in town, as opposed to auf dem Land (in the countryside).
- Can also imply a specific city known from context: in the city (we’re talking about).
in einer Stadt
- Literally in a city (any city, not specified).
- Emphasises “urban area somewhere” rather than “this particular town”.

In everyday speech, in der Stadt is more common when you mean in town in general.

Can I also say Ich suche nach einer Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are correct:

Ich suche eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt.
Ich suche nach einer Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt.

Differences:

suchen + Akkusativ (eine Vollzeitstelle)
- Very common and perfectly correct.
- Often feels a bit more direct / object-focused: you’re looking for that thing.
suchen nach + Dativ (nach einer Vollzeitstelle)
- Also common and idiomatic.
- Slightly more “process-focused”: you’re searching for something, similar to English to search for.

In many contexts, they are interchangeable, and most learners don’t need to worry much about the nuance.

What’s the difference between Vollzeitstelle, Job, Arbeit, and Arbeitsstelle here?

They overlap, but have different flavors:

Vollzeitstelle
- Specifically a full-time position, usually more formal, often used in professional/official contexts.
Job
- More casual; can be any job, often shorter-term or less “career-ish”.
- You can also say Vollzeitjob for “full-time job”.
Arbeit
- Means work in general.
- Ich suche Arbeit. = I am looking for work (not necessarily one specific post).
Arbeitsstelle
- Very similar to Stelle; slightly bureaucratic/formal word for place of employment / job position.
- Vollzeit-Arbeitsstelle is possible but less common than Vollzeitstelle.

Ich suche noch eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt. focuses on a specific full-time position rather than “work in general”.

Can I leave noch out, and can I move it to another place?

Yes, you can leave it out:

Ich suche eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt.
→ I am looking for a full-time position in the city.
(No implication of still or another.)

With noch, you add either still or another (depending on context).

Position:

Most natural here:
- Ich suche noch eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt.
You can also put noch earlier for emphasis:
- Noch suche ich eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt. (emphasises still)
Many other positions sound odd or change meaning/unclarity:
- Ich suche eine Vollzeitstelle noch in der Stadt. → unnatural / confusing.

A stronger still is immer noch:

Ich suche immer noch eine Vollzeitstelle in der Stadt.
= I am still (and it’s taking a while) looking for a full-time job in the city.

Why is there an article before Vollzeitstelle, when in English I can say “I’m looking for work” without “a/the”?

English and German treat countable singular nouns differently:

In English, you can sometimes omit the article:
- I’m looking for work.
In German, a singular, countable noun normally needs an article (or something article-like) unless it’s in a special pattern (like professions after sein: Ich bin Lehrer.).

So:

Ich suche eine Vollzeitstelle. → correct and normal.
Ich suche Vollzeitstelle. → sounds wrong.

If you want the more general, article-less idea of “work” in German, you use Arbeit:

Ich suche Arbeit. = I’m looking for work (in general, not one particular position).

How do you pronounce Vollzeitstelle, and where is the stress?

Vollzeitstelle is pronounced roughly like:

Voll-zeit-stel-le
IPA: [ˈfɔltsaɪtˌʃtɛlə] (approximation in standard German)

Key points:

Main stress on the first part: VÓLLzeitstelle.
Secondary stress on STEL: Vollzeitstélle.
The st in Stelle is pronounced like sht: [ʃt].

So you hear something like FOLL-tsite-shtel-le, with the strongest emphasis on the Voll- at the beginning.