Learn Hardcore German: Im Ehrenamt ist Vertrauen wichtig, deshalb halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung. - In volunteer work trust is important, therefore everyone sticks to the agreement.

in = in
dem = the (dative, neuter, singular)
Ehrenamt is a neuter noun (das Ehrenamt), so with in in a static/locational sense, you use the dative: in dem Ehrenamt → im Ehrenamt.

So Im Ehrenamt literally means In (the context of) voluntary work / in voluntary positions.

What exactly does Ehrenamt mean? Is it just “volunteering”?

Ehrenamt literally combines Ehre (honor) + Amt (office/position).

Nuances:

Ehrenamt: an unpaid position with a certain responsibility or function, often officially recognized (e.g. volunteer firefighter, club treasurer, board member of a charity).
It’s usually more structured than casual volunteering. Think “voluntary public/organizational role”.
For more general “volunteering” you may also see:
- ehrenamtliche Arbeit – voluntary work (emphasising the work)
- freiwillige Arbeit – voluntary work (more general)
- das Ehrenamt ausüben – to perform voluntary office/role

So Im Ehrenamt means “In voluntary roles / in volunteer positions”, not just “when you help out once in a while”.

In Im Ehrenamt ist Vertrauen wichtig, what is the grammatical subject? Is Vertrauen the subject even though it comes after the verb?

Yes, Vertrauen is the subject.

The structure is:

Im Ehrenamt – fronted adverbial phrase (prepositional phrase, giving context)
ist – finite verb (must be in second position in a main clause)
Vertrauen – subject (noun, neuter singular)
wichtig – predicate adjective

German main clauses are verb-second, but the subject does not have to be first. Any element (time, place, object, etc.) can be placed first for emphasis or flow.

You could also say:

Vertrauen ist im Ehrenamt wichtig.
(Subject first; meaning is essentially the same, but the emphasis changes slightly.)

Why is it Im Ehrenamt ist Vertrauen wichtig, deshalb halten sich alle … and not … deshalb alle halten sich …?

deshalb is a conjunctive adverb, not a subordinating conjunction.

In main clauses with deshalb, the verb still must be in second position.
The typical pattern is:
[deshalb] + [verb] + [subject/other elements]

So:

✅ deshalb halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung.
❌ deshalb alle halten sich an die Vereinbarung. (wrong word order)

Compare with weil, which does send the verb to the end:

…, weil sich alle an die Vereinbarung halten. (subordinate clause, verb-final)
…, deshalb halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung. (main clause with conjunctive adverb, verb-second)

What does sich an etwas halten mean in halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung?

sich an etwas halten is a reflexive verb meaning:

to stick to something
to abide by something
to follow something (like rules or an agreement)

Breakdown in the sentence:

halten – to hold
sich – reflexive pronoun (here: accusative, 3rd person plural)
an – preposition
die Vereinbarung – the agreement

So sie halten sich an die Vereinbarung = they stick to the agreement / they abide by the agreement.

Without sich, halten has different meanings (to hold, to keep, to stop, etc.), so the reflexive is important for this “adhere to” meaning.

Why is it halten sich alle and not halten alle sich? Is halten alle sich an die Vereinbarung wrong?

The most natural order in German is:

halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung

General tendency:

Short pronouns (like sich, ihn, es) normally come before full noun phrases or words like alle, jeder, etc.

So:

✅ deshalb halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung. (most idiomatic)
✅ deshalb halten alle sich an die Vereinbarung. (grammatically possible, but less natural)
❌ deshalb halten an die Vereinbarung sich alle. (feels very marked/odd in normal speech)

In everyday German, put the reflexive pronoun sich directly after the verb when possible.

Why is it an die Vereinbarung (accusative) and not an der Vereinbarung (dative)?

an is a two-way preposition and can take either:

dative → generally for location/state (“where?”)
accusative → generally for direction/movement (“where to?”) or certain fixed verb patterns

But many verbs have fixed combinations with an + accusative, regardless of literal movement. sich an etwas halten is one of them:

sich an etwas halten → always an + accusative

So:

an die Vereinbarung (accusative) is required by the verb.
an der Vereinbarung would usually mean physically at/by the agreement (like at a location), which doesn’t fit the idiom.

What is the difference between Vereinbarung, Vertrag, and Abmachung?

All can relate to “agreements”, but with nuances:

die Vereinbarung
- general word for an agreement or arrangement, often formal but not necessarily a full legal contract.
- Can be written or oral.
- E.g. eine Vereinbarung treffen – to reach an agreement.
der Vertrag
- a contract in the legal sense, typically written and binding.
- E.g. rental contracts, employment contracts.
die Abmachung
- more informal, like a deal or a mutual arrangement.
- Often used in everyday speech; sounds a bit more colloquial than Vereinbarung.

In the sentence, die Vereinbarung fits well as the shared, agreed rules or terms that everyone has committed to follow.

Is there any difference in meaning between Im Ehrenamt ist Vertrauen wichtig and Vertrauen ist im Ehrenamt wichtig?

The core meaning is the same: trust is important in volunteer roles.

The difference is emphasis and topic-focus:

Im Ehrenamt ist Vertrauen wichtig.
- “In voluntary roles, trust is important.”
- The context (im Ehrenamt) is highlighted first.
Vertrauen ist im Ehrenamt wichtig.
- “Trust is important in voluntary roles.”
- The thing being talked about (Vertrauen) is highlighted first.

Both are correct main clauses with verb-second word order. The choice is stylistic and depends on what you want to emphasize first.

What does alle refer to in halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung? Could we omit it?

alle means everyone or all (of them).

halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung = “everyone sticks to the agreement / they all stick to the agreement.”

If you remove alle:

… halten sich an die Vereinbarung.
- Grammatically fine, but then you need an explicit subject (sie, die Mitglieder, etc.) for clarity.

In the full original sentence:

… deshalb halten sich alle an die Vereinbarung.
- alle refers to all the people involved in that volunteering context (members, volunteers, etc.).
- It emphasizes that no one is exempt; everyone follows the agreement.