Learn Hardcore German: Der Weg im Wald ist steil. - The path in the forest is steep.

Weg is masculine, so it takes the masculine article der in the nominative singular.
In this sentence, Der Weg is the subject of the verb ist, so it’s in the nominative case.
Nominative singular definite articles:
- Masculine: der
- Feminine: die
- Neuter: das

So: Der Weg = the path / the way as the subject of the sentence.

What’s the difference between Weg, Straße, and Pfad?

All three can relate to ways of going from A to B, but they’re used differently:

Weg
- General word for path, way, track.
- Can be in nature or in town.
- Can also mean way/method in an abstract sense:
  - Der beste Weg, Deutsch zu lernen, ist…
    (The best way to learn German is…)
Straße
- More like street / road, usually for cars, in towns or between towns.
- Typically paved.
Pfad
- Narrow path / trail, usually in nature, often smaller than a Weg.
- Sounds a bit more literary or specific; not used as frequently as Weg in everyday speech.

In Der Weg im Wald ist steil, the idea is a path/trail in the forest.

What exactly is going on with im Wald? Why not in dem Wald?

im is a contracted form of in dem:

in = in
dem = the (dative, masculine or neuter)
in + dem → im

So:

im Wald literally = in dem Wald (in the forest), just in the shortened everyday form.
This contraction is very common and sounds more natural in most contexts.

You can say in dem Wald, but in a simple sentence like this it would sound a bit more formal or emphatic than im Wald.

Why is Wald in the dative case here?

Because of two things:

The preposition „in“
- in is a so‑called two-way preposition (Wechselpräposition).
- It uses:
  - accusative when there is movement into something:
    - in den Wald gehen (to go into the forest)
  - dative when it describes location / being in something:
    - im Wald sein (to be in the forest)
The meaning here is location
- The sentence describes where the path is steep (location, no movement).
- So Wald must be in the dative case: dem Wald → im Wald.

Therefore, im Wald = in dem Wald in the dative.

Where is the article for Wald? I only see im, not der/die/das.

The article is “hidden” inside im.

Full form: in dem Wald
- dem is the dative form of der for masculine singular.
Contracted form: im Wald

So im already includes dem, which is the definite article (the). You do have an article; it’s just combined with the preposition.

Why does steil have no ending? Why not steiler or steile?

Because steil is used as a predicate adjective here:

Structure: Der Weg … ist steil.
- Subject: Der Weg
- Verb: ist
- Predicate adjective: steil

In German, adjectives after sein, werden, bleiben, etc. do not take endings:

Der Berg ist hoch.
Die Straße ist breit.
Das Wasser ist kalt.

They stay in their basic (dictionary) form.

Adjective endings are needed when the adjective directly modifies a noun (attributive position):

der steile Weg (the steep path)
ein steiler Weg
die steilen Wege

So:

Der Weg ist steil. (predicate → no ending)
Der steile Weg ist lang. (attributive → ending: -e)

How would this sentence look in the plural?

Make both the noun and the verb plural:

Singular: Der Weg im Wald ist steil.
Plural: Die Wege im Wald sind steil.

Changes:

Der Weg → Die Wege (plural, nominative)
ist → sind (3rd person singular → 3rd person plural)

steil stays the same because it’s still a predicate adjective.

Can I say Der Weg ist im Wald steil? Is that different?

Yes, you can say that, and it’s grammatically correct, but the emphasis changes slightly:

Der Weg im Wald ist steil.
- Neutral description: The path in the forest is steep.
- im Wald is closely attached to Weg, specifying which path.
Der Weg ist im Wald steil.
- Suggests a contrast like:
  - The path is steep in the forest (but maybe not steep elsewhere).
- Emphasizes where it is steep, not which path we’re talking about.

So the second version feels more contrastive or focused on location, while the first is a simple description.

Can I make the sentence stronger, like “very steep” or “really steep”?

Yes. You just add an adverb before steil:

Der Weg im Wald ist sehr steil. – very steep
Der Weg im Wald ist wirklich steil. – really steep
Der Weg im Wald ist ziemlich steil. – pretty/quite steep
Der Weg im Wald ist extrem steil. – extremely steep

Word order stays the same; the adverb comes right before the adjective.

What’s the difference between Der Weg im Wald ist steil and Der steile Weg im Wald ist …?

They use adjectives in different positions:

Der Weg im Wald ist steil.
- steil = predicate adjective after ist.
- Simple statement: The path in the forest is steep.
Der steile Weg im Wald ist gefährlich. (for example)
- steile = attributive adjective in front of Weg, with an ending -e.
- Implies there might be more than one path, and you’re talking specifically about the steep one.
- You still need something after ist (e.g., gefährlich, lang, etc.), because ist is a verb that normally requires a complement.

You can’t end the sentence with Der steile Weg im Wald ist.; that’s incomplete.

Why are Weg and Wald capitalized, but steil and im are not?

In German:

All nouns are capitalized:
- Weg, Wald
Articles, adjectives, prepositions, and verbs are not capitalized (unless they start a sentence or are part of a title):
- der (article)
- im (preposition + article)
- ist (verb)
- steil (adjective)

So the capitalization in Der Weg im Wald ist steil. follows the standard German rule: every noun gets a capital letter.

How do you pronounce Der Weg im Wald ist steil?

Rough guide with English approximations:

Der – like English “dare”, but with a lighter r at the end.
Weg – “Vayg”
- W → like English v
- e → like “ay” in say (but usually a bit shorter)
- g at the end is like a normal hard g: “weg” = /veːg/
im – like English “im” in improv, short and nasal: /ɪm/
Wald – “valt”
- W again like v
- a like “u” in cup or “a” in father, depending on accent; more like vahlt
- d like English d
- Final -ld is pronounced, not silent: /valt/
ist – like English “ist” in list without the l.
steil – “shtyle”
- st at the beginning of a stressed syllable often sounds like “sht” (/ʃt/)
- ei → like “eye”
- final l normal

Whole sentence roughly: [Dehr vayg im valt ist shtyle].