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Ich poste den Artikel im Internet.

Ich poste den Artikel im Internet.
I post the article on the internet.
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Questions & Answers about Ich poste den Artikel im Internet.

Why is it den Artikel and not der Artikel?

Because Artikel is the direct object of the verb poste, it must be in the accusative case.

  • Artikel is masculine: der Artikel (nominative).
  • In the accusative singular, masculine der changes to den.

So:

  • Nominative (subject): Der Artikel ist interessant. – The article is interesting.
  • Accusative (object): Ich poste den Artikel. – I post the article.

In your sentence, Ich is the subject, and den Artikel is what is being posted (the direct object), so den is required.

What exactly does im mean in im Internet?

Im is a contraction of in dem.

  • in = in
  • dem = dative form of das (neuter definite article)

Internet is neuter: das Internet (nominative), dem Internet (dative).
So:

  • in dem Internet → im Internet

German very often contracts:

  • in dem → im
  • an dem → am
  • zu dem → zum
  • in das → ins, etc.
Why is it im Internet (dative) and not ins Internet (accusative)?

The preposition in can take dative or accusative:

  • Dative = location (where something is)
  • Accusative = direction/movement (where something is going)

In your sentence, im Internet describes the location where the article is posted:

  • Ich poste den Artikel im Internet.
    → The article ends up located on the internet. (focus on location)

If you say:

  • Ich stelle den Artikel ins Internet.
    (ins = in das, accusative)
    → focus on putting it into the internet (direction / movement into).

Both ideas exist in German; which you use depends on what you want to emphasize. With posten, im Internet is the more usual phrasing.

Why is poste used here and not postet or posten?

Because poste is the correctly conjugated form for 1st person singular (I) in the present tense.

The infinitive is posten. In the present tense:

  • ich poste
  • du postest
  • er/sie/es postet
  • wir posten
  • ihr postet
  • sie/Sie posten

So with ich, you must say ich poste.
Postet is for er/sie/es and ihr, and posten is for wir, sie, and the infinitive form.

Is posten really a German verb or just English stuck into German?

Posten is a loanword from English, but it is fully integrated into modern German:

  • It takes regular German endings: ich poste, du postest, er postet, …
  • It behaves like a normal, non-separable verb (unlike aufstehen, mitkommen, etc.).
  • It is widely used and understood, especially in the context of the internet and social media.

There are more “native” alternatives, such as:

  • Ich stelle den Artikel ins Internet.
  • Ich veröffentliche den Artikel online.

But posten is completely acceptable in everyday language.

Why is Internet capitalized in im Internet?

In standard German spelling, Internet is a noun, and all nouns are capitalized:

  • das Internet – the internet

So you write:

  • im Internet
  • ins Internet
  • über das Internet

You will sometimes see internet (lowercase) in informal writing, but Internet (capitalized) is the correct standard form.

Why is ich necessary? In English we can sometimes omit the subject (“Am posting the article…”).

In German, you must include the subject pronoun in normal sentences. The verb ending alone is not enough, even though it indicates the person.

So:

  • Correct: Ich poste den Artikel im Internet.
  • Incorrect / ungrammatical in standard German: Poste den Artikel im Internet. (unless this is an imperative, which needs a different form anyway)

In English, you can sometimes omit I in informal writing (“Posting this online now”), but in German that omission is not standard in full sentences.

Why does the verb poste come second in the sentence?

German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here poste) must be in second position.

In your sentence:

  1. Ich – first element
  2. poste – second element (finite verb, required position)
  3. den Artikel im Internet – the rest of the sentence

“Second position” means second element, not necessarily the second word. A whole phrase can be the first element. For example:

  • Heute poste ich den Artikel im Internet.
    (Element 1 = Heute, element 2 = poste)
  • Im Internet poste ich den Artikel.
    (Element 1 = Im Internet, element 2 = poste)

In all cases, poste must stay in position 2.

Can I move im Internet to another place in the sentence?

Yes. German word order is relatively flexible for adverbial phrases like im Internet, as long as the finite verb stays in second position.

All of these are correct and mean (roughly) the same:

  • Ich poste den Artikel im Internet.
  • Ich poste im Internet den Artikel. (slightly unusual, but grammatical)
  • Im Internet poste ich den Artikel. (focus on on the internet)
  • Den Artikel poste ich im Internet. (focus on the article)

Native speakers choose the order based on what they want to emphasize.

Does Ich poste den Artikel im Internet refer to now or the future?

German present tense (Präsens) can express:

  1. An action happening right now
    → I am posting the article on the internet (right now).

  2. A planned future action
    → I’m going to post the article on the internet.

Context usually clarifies which one is meant.
If you want to make the future meaning clearer, you can add a time expression:

  • Ich poste den Artikel morgen im Internet.
  • Ich werde den Artikel im Internet posten. (with werden, explicit future)
How would the sentence change with an indefinite article or plural?

Here are some common variations:

  • Ich poste einen Artikel im Internet.
    → I’m posting an article on the internet. (indefinite, masculine accusative einen)

  • Ich poste die Artikel im Internet.
    → I’m posting the articles on the internet. (plural die, accusative = nominative)

  • Ich poste Artikel im Internet.
    → I post articles on the internet. (no article; general statement)

The important pattern: for masculine singular objects, accusative einen/den; for plural, die; and you can omit the article for a general, nonspecific plural meaning.