Learn Hardcore German: Am Anfang fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen. - At the beginning I often lack the self-confidence to speak aloud in front of the group.

If you said ich fehle Selbstvertrauen, it would sound like I am missing self-confidence in the sense that I myself am absent as self-confidence, which is not German. With fehlen, the thing that is absent is the subject, not the person.

A more literal English parallel is Self-confidence is lacking for me at the beginning.

Why is mir in the dative case here and not mich or ich?

The verb fehlen normally takes a dative person:

jemandem fehlt etwas = someone (dative) lacks something

So:

mir (to me) – dative
mich – accusative, used for direct objects, not correct here
ich – nominative, used for subjects, but the subject is das Selbstvertrauen

Examples:

Mir fehlt Geduld. – Patience is lacking to me.
Uns fehlt Zeit. – We lack time / Time is missing for us.

The dative here marks the experiencer, the person affected by the lack.

What exactly does Am Anfang mean, and why is am written like that?

Am Anfang means at the beginning or at first.

am is a contraction of an dem (at the).
Anfang is a masculine noun (der Anfang) meaning beginning.

So literally: an dem Anfang → am Anfang = at the beginning.

Am starts with a capital A here because it is the first word in the sentence; otherwise am is normally written with a lowercase a.

Could I use other expressions instead of Am Anfang, like Zuerst or Am Anfang spreche ich?

Yes, you can rephrase the time element. Some options:

Am Anfang fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen …
Neutral, focuses on the beginning phase of some activity or process.
Zuerst fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen …
Slightly more like at first in a sequence of phases. Often used when you contrast with later.
Ich spreche am Anfang oft nicht gern laut vor der Gruppe.
Changes the structure and focus: now ich spreche is the main statement; am Anfang is just a time adverbial.

All are grammatical; they differ slightly in emphasis and style, but the overall idea is similar.

Why is it das Selbstvertrauen? Can I say just Selbstvertrauen without das?

Selbstvertrauen is a neuter noun in German:

das Selbstvertrauen – the self-confidence

You can say either:

Am Anfang fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen …
Sounds a bit more concrete or specific, like the self-confidence I need in that situation.

Am Anfang fehlt mir oft Selbstvertrauen …
More general, like I often lack self-confidence as a quality.

Both are used and are correct. Adding das makes it more like a specific, identifiable amount or kind of self-confidence in that context.

What is the function of oft here, and could it go in other positions in the sentence?

oft is an adverb of frequency meaning often.

In Am Anfang fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen …, it modifies the verb phrase fehlt mir das Selbstvertrauen: this lack happens frequently, not just once.

German allows some flexibility in placing oft. All of these are possible:

Am Anfang fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen.
Am Anfang fehlt mir das Selbstvertrauen oft, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen.
Oft fehlt mir am Anfang das Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen.

The differences are mostly about rhythm and emphasis:

Early oft (after the verb) is very common and neutral.
Oft in the first position (starting the sentence) emphasizes frequency: Often, at the beginning, I lack ….

All three would be understood in the same way in normal conversation.

Why is there a comma before laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen?

In German, infinitive clauses with zu are normally separated from the main clause with a comma.

Pattern:

Hauptsatz, zu-Infinitivsatz

Here:

Main clause: Am Anfang fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen
Infinitive clause: laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen

So you must write:

Am Anfang fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen.

Leaving out the comma would be considered incorrect in standard written German.

How does the expression laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen work grammatically? Why is zu sprechen used?

laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen is an infinitive clause with zu, functioning as the thing you lack confidence for.

Structure:

zu sprechen – infinitive of the verb sprechen with zu
laut – adverb modifying sprechen (to speak loudly)
vor der Gruppe – prepositional phrase telling you where or in front of whom you are speaking

So the whole chunk answers: confidence for what?

das Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen
= the self-confidence to speak loudly in front of the group

The zu is required because the verb is in the infinitive and depends on the noun Selbstvertrauen; it is not a finite verb with its own subject and tense.

Is laut an adjective or an adverb here, and why doesn’t it change its ending (like laute)

In this sentence, laut functions as an adverb modifying the verb sprechen.

As an adverb, laut is invariable:
- laut sprechen – to speak loudly
- leise sprechen – to speak quietly
As an adjective before a noun, it would take endings:
- eine laute Stimme – a loud voice
- laute Musik – loud music

Since laut here describes how you speak, not a noun, it stays in its base form and does not get an ending. That is why it is laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen, not laute.

Why is it vor der Gruppe, and why is der in the dative case?

The preposition vor can take either dative or accusative, depending on whether it expresses:

location (where?) → dative
direction/motion (to where?) → accusative

Here we are talking about a position or situation: speaking in front of the group (not moving toward it), so it is dative.

die Gruppe – nominative singular (feminine)
der Gruppe – dative singular (feminine)

Thus:

vor der Gruppe = in front of the group / before the group (location)

If you were expressing movement, you might get accusative:

Er tritt vor die Gruppe. – He steps in front of the group.

Could I also say Am Anfang habe ich oft nicht genug Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen? Is that the same meaning?

Yes, that is grammatical and very natural, and the meaning is very close.

mir fehlt das Selbstvertrauen
literally: the self-confidence is missing to me
ich habe nicht genug Selbstvertrauen
literally: I do not have enough self-confidence

Both express a lack of self-confidence. The mir fehlt version sounds a bit more like it is lacking / it is missing, while ich habe nicht genug feels slightly more concrete or quantitative (not enough). In everyday language they are essentially interchangeable in this context.

Why is the verb fehlt in the third person singular?

The verb has to agree with the grammatical subject, which is das Selbstvertrauen.

das Selbstvertrauen – singular, neuter
therefore the verb is fehlt (3rd person singular)

Word order can be confusing because mir is closer to the verb, but mir is not the subject; it is the dative object.

Check by asking:

What is missing? → das Selbstvertrauen → subject
To whom is it missing? → mir → dative object

So the correct conjugation is fehlt, not fehlen.

Can I move Am Anfang or other parts around, like Mir fehlt am Anfang oft das Selbstvertrauen …? Does the meaning change?

Yes, German word order is quite flexible in the middle field (the part between the verb and the rest of the clause). Some common variants:

Am Anfang fehlt mir oft das Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen.
Mir fehlt am Anfang oft das Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen.
Oft fehlt mir am Anfang das Selbstvertrauen, laut vor der Gruppe zu sprechen.

All of these keep:

one element in the first position (e.g. Am Anfang, Mir, or Oft)
the conjugated verb in second position (fehlt)
the rest after that

The basic meaning is the same. Moving elements slightly changes what you emphasize:

Am Anfang … – focus on the beginning phase
Mir … – focus on yourself as the experiencer
Oft … – focus on frequency

But in normal conversation, the differences are subtle.

Why is Gruppe capitalized?

Because Gruppe is a noun. In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence:

die Gruppe – the group
eine Gruppe – a group
vor der Gruppe – in front of the group

This is a general spelling rule, not something specific to this sentence.