Learn Hardcore German: Ich traue mich inzwischen, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen, auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist. - By now I dare to ask questions in class, even if the point of view of the other students is different.

jemandem trauen = to trust someone
- Example: Ich traue dir. – I trust you.
- The person you trust is in the dative (dir, mir, ihm, etc.).
sich (etwas) trauen = to dare (to do something), to have the courage
- Example: Ich traue mich, im Kurs zu sprechen. – I dare to speak in class.
- This is a reflexive verb, and the reflexive pronoun is in the accusative:
  - ich → mich
  - du → dich
  - er/sie/es → sich, etc.

In your sentence, the meaning is to dare / to have the courage, so it must be sich trauen:

Ich traue mich, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen.
I dare / I have the courage to ask questions in the course.

Using mir would suggest the other verb (jemandem trauen) and would be wrong here.

What does inzwischen mean here, and where can it go in the sentence?

inzwischen roughly means by now / in the meantime / these days and expresses that something has changed over time.

In your sentence:

Ich traue mich inzwischen, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen, ...
→ By now I dare to ask questions in the course, ...

Word order: inzwischen is a kind of time adverb. In main clauses it usually goes:

after the conjugated verb and the subject, or
at the beginning for emphasis.

Typical positions:

Ich traue mich inzwischen, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen.
Inzwischen traue ich mich, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen.

Both are correct. Putting it at the very end would sound unusual:
✗ Ich traue mich, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen inzwischen. (not idiomatic here)

Why is there a comma before im Kurs Fragen zu stellen?

The part im Kurs Fragen zu stellen is an infinitive clause (Infinitivsatz) with zu:

Main clause: Ich traue mich inzwischen, ...
Infinitive clause: im Kurs Fragen zu stellen

German usually puts a comma before an infinitive clause with zu when it depends on a verb like sich trauen, versuchen, beginnen, vergessen, etc.

So:

Ich traue mich, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen. ✅

Without the comma it would be considered wrong in standard written German.

The full sentence has two commas:

Ich traue mich inzwischen, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen, auch wenn ...
1. Between the main clause and the infinitive clause.
2. Between the infinitive clause and the subordinate clause (auch wenn ...).

Why is it Fragen zu stellen and not just Fragen stellen?

In German, when you turn a verb into an infinitive clause (to do something), you usually add zu before the infinitive:

fragen → zu fragen
sprechen → zu sprechen
stellen → zu stellen

After certain verbs (like sich trauen, versuchen, hoffen, planen, anfangen, vergessen), you normally use zu + infinitive:

Ich traue mich, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen.
Ich versuche, mehr Deutsch zu sprechen.
Ich habe vergessen, die Hausaufgaben zu machen.

You only leave zu out after a few special verbs like lassen, gehen, sehen, hören, helfen in some constructions:

Ich gehe schwimmen.
Er hört mich singen.

But with sich trauen, you need zu:

Ich traue mich, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen. ✅
✗ Ich traue mich, im Kurs Fragen stellen. (incorrect)

Why is the word order im Kurs Fragen zu stellen? Could I say Fragen im Kurs zu stellen instead?

Both orders are possible and correct; they just sound slightly different in emphasis.

im Kurs Fragen zu stellen
- Starts with the location (im Kurs) and then says what you do there (Fragen stellen).
- Neutral and very natural here.
Fragen im Kurs zu stellen
- Slightly more emphasis on Fragen first, then where.
- Also correct and understandable.

German word order inside infinitive clauses is flexible, but:

The zu + infinitive (zu stellen) must stay at the end of the infinitive clause.
Elements like im Kurs, Fragen can be placed in front of it in different orders.

So you can say:

Ich traue mich, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen. ✅
Ich traue mich, Fragen im Kurs zu stellen. ✅

What exactly does auch wenn mean here, and how is it different from obwohl?

auch wenn and obwohl are both subordinating conjunctions that introduce a contrast, but they’re not identical:

obwohl ≈ although / even though (fact)
auch wenn ≈ even if / even though (allowing for different possibilities)

In your sentence:

..., auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist.
→ ..., even when / even if the perspective of the other students is different.

Nuances:

obwohl: you usually talk about a known fact.
- Ich stelle Fragen, obwohl der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist.
  → Their perspective is different; that’s a given.
auch wenn: can suggest even in cases where that might be so; a bit more hypothetical or general.
- Ich stelle Fragen, auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist.
  → I ask questions even in situations where their perspective is different.

Grammatically, both introduce a subordinate clause with verb at the end:

..., auch wenn der Blickwinkel ... anders ist.
..., obwohl der Blickwinkel ... anders ist.

Why does the verb ist go at the end of auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist?

auch wenn introduces a subordinate clause (Nebensatz). In German subordinate clauses:

The conjugated verb goes to the end of the clause.

So:

Main clause word order (verb in second position):
- Der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden ist anders.
Subordinate clause with auch wenn:
- auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist

Pattern:

[conjunction] + [subject] + ... + [verb-at-the-end]

This is the normal rule for conjunctions like dass, weil, obwohl, wenn, als, während, bevor, nachdem, auch wenn, etc.

You cannot say: ✗ auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden ist anders (that would be considered wrong in standard German).

What does Blickwinkel mean, and what gender and case does it have in this sentence?

Blickwinkel literally means “angle of view” / “point of view” / “perspective.”

Grammatically:

Noun: der Blickwinkel
Gender: masculine
Plural: die Blickwinkel

In your sentence:

... auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist.

Here, der Blickwinkel is:

subject of the subordinate clause
therefore nominative singular masculine

The der in der Blickwinkel is nominative masculine.
The second der (in der anderen Studierenden) is something different: it’s genitive plural (of the other students).

What is der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden grammatically? Is der anderen Studierenden a genitive?

Yes. Let’s break it down:

der Blickwinkel – nominative singular masculine, subject of the clause.
der anderen Studierenden – genitive plural, dependent on Blickwinkel, meaning of the other students.

So structurally:

der Blickwinkel
der anderen Studierenden
= the perspective of the other students

Genitive plural of die Studierenden (plural) is:

der Studierenden (no ending on the noun; plural article der)
plus an adjective: der anderen Studierenden (of the other students)

So:

Article der = genitive plural
Adjective anderen = genitive plural ending -en
Noun Studierenden = same form in all cases in the plural for this word.

Why is it der anderen Studierenden and not die anderen Studierenden?

die anderen Studierenden would be nominative or accusative plural:

Die anderen Studierenden haben einen anderen Blickwinkel.
Ich sehe die anderen Studierenden.

But in your sentence, der anderen Studierenden is genitive plural (of the other students), dependent on Blickwinkel:

der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden
→ the perspective of the other students

The genitive plural article is der, not die, and the adjective gets -en:

Nominative plural: die anderen Studierenden
Genitive plural: der anderen Studierenden

What does Studierenden mean, and why not just Studenten or Studentinnen?

Studierende / Studierenden is a gender‑inclusive form made from the present participle of studieren:

Studierende ≈ people who are studying → students

It’s often used in modern German (especially in universities, official texts, and inclusive language) because it doesn’t specify masculine or feminine:

Studenten traditionally = male students (or mixed, if used generically)
Studentinnen = female students
Studierende = students of any gender

In your sentence:

der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden
→ the perspective of the other students (gender-neutral / inclusive)

Case and number here: genitive plural.

Why is it anders and not andere at the end: anders ist?

anders and andere have different functions:

anders = different(ly), in a different way (adverb or predicative adjective)
andere = other / another (attributive adjective, in front of a noun)

In your sentence:

... der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist.
→ the perspective of the other students is different.

Here anders describes how the perspective is, so it works like an adverb / predicative adjective:

Der Blickwinkel ist anders. – The perspective is different.

You would use andere if it directly modified a noun:

ein anderer Blickwinkel – a different/another perspective
andere Studierende – other students

So:

Der Blickwinkel ist anders. ✅
Er hat einen anderen Blickwinkel. ✅

What does im Kurs mean exactly, and why is it im and not in den Kurs?

im Kurs is the contraction of in dem Kurs:

in
- dem (dative masculine) = im

The noun:

der Kurs (masculine)
→ dative singular: dem Kurs

The preposition in can take either dative (location, “where?”) or accusative (direction, “into where?”):

Dative (location, static): im Kurs – in the course (while it is happening)
Accusative (movement into): in den Kurs gehen – to go into the course / to attend a course

In your sentence:

im Kurs Fragen zu stellen
→ literally: to ask questions in the course (during the class)

This is a location, not a movement, so dative is used → im Kurs.

Why is there a comma before auch wenn, and could this be a separate sentence?

auch wenn introduces a subordinate clause (Nebensatz). In standard German, subordinate clauses are usually separated from the main clause by a comma.

So:

Ich traue mich inzwischen, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen, auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist.

Structure:

Main clause: Ich traue mich inzwischen, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen,
Subordinate clause: auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist.

You normally don’t make a separate sentence starting with auch wenn unless you continue in a very stylistic/elliptical way; grammatically it belongs to a main clause:

✗ Ich traue mich inzwischen, im Kurs Fragen zu stellen. Auch wenn der Blickwinkel der anderen Studierenden anders ist.
→ This would be seen as stylistically fragmented in standard writing.

So the comma before auch wenn is required to mark the beginning of the subordinate clause.