Learn Hardcore German: Nach dem Turnier ist meine Stimmungslage ruhig und glücklich, obwohl ich körperlich erschöpft bin. - After the tournament my overall mood is calm and happy, although I am physically exhausted.

The verb sein (to be) links the subject to a predicate noun or adjective in the nominative case. It never takes an accusative object like mich here.

Subject: meine Stimmungslage (my emotional state)
Verb: ist
Complement (also nominative): ruhig und glücklich

So the structure is:

[Nach dem Turnier] ist [meine Stimmungslage] [ruhig und glücklich]

You cannot use mich (me, accusative), because there is no direct object of sein. With sein, both sides of ist are in nominative case.

What exactly does Stimmungslage mean, and how is it different from Stimmung or Laune?

All three relate to mood, but with nuances:

Stimmungslage
- Literally: state/position of mood
- Sounds more formal, psychological, or technical.
- Often used in contexts like psychology, reports, or reflective writing:
  - Die Stimmungslage der Mannschaft war angespannt.
Stimmung
- More general: mood, atmosphere, either of a person or a group/place.
- Neutral register, very common:
  - Meine Stimmung ist gut. – My mood is good.
  - Die Stimmung im Stadion war fantastisch. – The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic.
Laune
- More everyday, often for more temporary or personal mood:
  - Ich bin heute guter Laune. – I’m in a good mood today.
  - Was hast du denn für eine Laune? – What kind of mood are you in?

In your sentence, Stimmungslage makes it sound a bit more reflective or analytical, as if describing your mental state in a considered way.

Why don’t ruhig and glücklich have endings like ruhige or glückliche?

Adjectives in German only take endings when they directly modify a noun.
For example:

eine ruhige Stimmung – a calm mood
eine glückliche Person – a happy person

But in your sentence they appear after the verb sein and describe the subject. Then they are predicative adjectives, and in German predicative adjectives do not take endings:

Meine Stimmungslage ist ruhig.
Ich bin glücklich.

So ruhig und glücklich is correct without any ending:

… ist meine Stimmungslage ruhig und glücklich …

Why is there a comma before obwohl?

Obwohl introduces a subordinate clause (Nebensatz). In German, subordinate clauses are separated from the main clause by a comma.

Structure of your sentence:

Main clause: Nach dem Turnier ist meine Stimmungslage ruhig und glücklich,
Subordinate clause: obwohl ich körperlich erschöpft bin.

Because obwohl starts a subordinate clause, German spelling rules require a comma before it.

Why is the verb bin at the end in obwohl ich körperlich erschöpft bin?

In German subordinate clauses (Nebensätze) introduced by conjunctions like obwohl, weil, dass, wenn, the conjugated verb goes to the end of the clause.

Word order:

Subject: ich
Adverb/adjective phrase: körperlich erschöpft
Finite verb (conjugated verb): bin

So:

…, obwohl ich körperlich erschöpft bin.

In contrast, a main clause would have the verb in the second position:

Ich bin körperlich erschöpft. (main clause)
…, obwohl ich körperlich erschöpft bin. (subordinate clause, verb at the end)

What is the function of obwohl here, and how is it different from aber or trotzdem?

All of them introduce contrast, but they work differently:

obwohl = although / even though
- Introduces a subordinate clause:
  - …, obwohl ich körperlich erschöpft bin.
aber = but
- Used to join two main clauses (verb in second position in both):
  - Nach dem Turnier bin ich körperlich erschöpft, aber meine Stimmungslage ist ruhig und glücklich.
trotzdem = nevertheless / in spite of that
- An adverb that usually stands early in the second clause and pushes the verb to second position:
  - Ich bin körperlich erschöpft. Trotzdem ist meine Stimmungslage ruhig und glücklich.

Your sentence uses obwohl to embed the contrasting information (physical exhaustion) in a subordinate clause, making the calm and happy mood the main focus.

Why is the verb ist in the present tense even though the tournament is clearly over?

German can use the present tense to describe a state that exists after a completed event, especially when you focus on your current state rather than the past event.

The time phrase nach dem Turnier already tells us when this is true. So:

Nach dem Turnier ist meine Stimmungslage ruhig und glücklich …
= After the tournament (now, in that phase right after it), my emotional state is calm and happy…

You could also say:

Nach dem Turnier war meine Stimmungslage ruhig und glücklich …

That would sound more like a narration of a past situation (you’re talking about a completed, past period). Using ist keeps it more immediate and present-focused.

Could I simply say Stimmung instead of Stimmungslage in this sentence?

Yes, you can say:

Nach dem Turnier ist meine Stimmung ruhig und glücklich, obwohl ich körperlich erschöpft bin.

This sounds a bit more natural and everyday than Stimmungslage.
Choice of nuance:

Stimmungslage – more technical, reflective, maybe a bit more formal.
Stimmung – neutral, common, good for everyday conversation.

So both are grammatically correct; the difference is mostly style.

What is the nuance of körperlich erschöpft compared to just erschöpft or müde?

müde = tired
- Very general, could be physical or mental.
erschöpft = exhausted
- Stronger than müde, often implies being worn out, commonly physical, but can be general too.
körperlich erschöpft = physically exhausted
- Explicitly emphasizes the physical aspect (after a tournament, training, hard work, etc.).
- Implies that mentally or emotionally you might still feel okay (and in your sentence you do: calm and happy).

So körperlich erschöpft contrasts nicely with Stimmungslage … ruhig und glücklich: physically very tired, but mentally/emotionally in a good state.

Is the word order ruhig und glücklich fixed, or could I say glücklich und ruhig?

You can say glücklich und ruhig as well; both are grammatically correct.

German (like English) has preferred orders for some common adjective pairs for reasons of rhythm and habit, but it’s not a strict rule. Here:

ruhig und glücklich – feels slightly more like: first calm, then happy.
glücklich und ruhig – emphasizes happiness first.

Both will be understood the same way, and both sound natural.

What gender is Turnier, and how do I know which article to use?

Turnier is neuter:

Nominative singular: das Turnier

In your sentence, nach requires the dative, so:

Dative singular neuter: dem Turnier

Unfortunately, German noun gender often has to be learned word by word. However, there are some tendencies:

Many -ier words (from French) are neuter:
- das Turnier, das Papier, das Quartier (but there are exceptions).

In this sentence, the correct form with nach is therefore nach dem Turnier.