Learn Hardcore German: Am Bildschirmrand sehe ich ein kleines Notizfeld, in das ich neue Redewendungen schreibe. - At the edge of the screen I see a small note field in which I write new idioms.

German has the verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses: the conjugated verb must be in position 2, but “position” is counted in chunks, not individual words.

Am Bildschirmrand is one chunk (a prepositional phrase = “at the edge of the screen”).
That takes position 1.
The verb sehe must then be position 2.
The subject ich moves after the verb: Am Bildschirmrand sehe ich …

You could also say:

Ich sehe am Bildschirmrand ein kleines Notizfeld, …

Both are correct.
Fronting Am Bildschirmrand just changes the emphasis: it highlights the location first.

What exactly is am in am Bildschirmrand? Why not just an dem Bildschirmrand?

Am is a contraction of an dem:

an = “at/on (vertical side, edge, contact)”
dem = dative form of der (masculine/neuter “the”)

So:

an dem Bildschirmrand → am Bildschirmrand

This is very common in spoken and written German:

an dem Tisch → am Tisch
an dem Fenster → am Fenster

Why is it am Bildschirmrand (dative) and not accusative? What case does an take here?

an is a two-way preposition; it can take:

dative for a location / no movement
- am Bildschirmrand = “at the edge of the screen” (static)
accusative for movement toward something
- Ich gehe an den Rand. = “I go to the edge.”

In the sentence, the note field is located at the screen edge; nothing is moving to the edge, so we use dative:

an + dem (dative) → am Bildschirmrand

What does the compound noun Bildschirmrand literally mean?

Bildschirmrand is a compound of:

der Bildschirm = the screen, monitor
der Rand = the edge, margin, border

So der Bildschirmrand literally means “the screen edge / the edge of the screen.”
Using a compound like this is very typical in German instead of a full phrase like Rand des Bildschirms.

Why is it ein kleines Notizfeld and not ein kleine Notizfeld?

Because Notizfeld is neuter, and the phrase is in the accusative (it’s the direct object of sehe).

Noun: das Notizfeld (neuter)
Accusative neuter with ein + adjective → ein kleines Notizfeld

Adjective endings with ein in the accusative:

masculine: einen kleinen Tisch
neuter: ein kleines Notizfeld
feminine: eine kleine Lampe

So kleines is the correct ending: ein kleines Notizfeld.

How do I know that Notizfeld is neuter (das Notizfeld)?

Unfortunately, grammatical gender is mostly arbitrary and must be learned with each noun.

Some hints:

Many nouns ending in -feld are neuter:
- das Spielfeld, das Schlachtfeld, das Feld itself is neuter.
Diminutive-like or area/field nouns with Feld are often neuter.

But this is just a tendency; the safe approach is to learn nouns with their article:
das Notizfeld, ein Notizfeld, dieses Notizfeld.

Why is it in das in the relative clause (in das ich neue Redewendungen schreibe) and not in dem?

There are two things going on:

Relative pronoun agreement
- It refers back to Notizfeld = das Notizfeld (neuter singular).
- The relative pronoun for neuter singular is das (in both nominative and accusative).
Two-way preposition in
- in takes:
  - dative = location (in dem Feld = “in the field”)
  - accusative = movement into something (in das Feld = “into the field”)
- Here the meaning is “into which I write” → direction into the field → accusative.

So we get in das (not in dem) because:

Gender/number: das (neuter, singular)
Case: accusative (movement into the note field)

How does this relative clause in das ich neue Redewendungen schreibe work, and why is the verb at the end?

In German relative clauses, the finite verb goes to the end of the clause.

Breakdown:

in das – preposition + relative pronoun (“into which”)
ich – subject
neue Redewendungen – direct object
schreibe – verb (goes to the end)

So the structure is: > in das (Relativpronomen) – ich (Subjekt) – neue Redewendungen (Akkusativobjekt) – schreibe (Verb)

Relative clause word order pattern is: > [relative pronoun / preposition+pronoun] + … + verb at the end

Could I use wo instead of in das (like …, wo ich neue Redewendungen schreibe)?

Yes, in colloquial German you often hear:

… ein kleines Notizfeld, wo ich neue Redewendungen schreibe.

But:

in das is more standard and precise, especially in written German.
wo is a bit looser; it’s very common in speech but is sometimes considered less formal or less exact in careful writing.

So:

Standard / formal written style:
… Notizfeld, in das ich neue Redewendungen schreibe.
Informal / spoken:
… Notizfeld, wo ich neue Redewendungen reinschreibe.

What exactly are Redewendungen? Is that the same as idioms or proverbs?

Redewendungen are set phrases / idiomatic expressions that are used in everyday language.

Often multi-word expressions whose meaning is not just the sum of the words:
- ins Gras beißen – literally “to bite into the grass,” idiomatically “to die”
- auf Wolke sieben sein – “to be on cloud nine”
They’re similar to idioms or fixed expressions in English.

Comparison:

Redewendung – general idiomatic expression or set phrase.
Sprichwort – proverb, usually a full sentence with a moral or general truth:
- Was du heute kannst besorgen, das verschiebe nicht auf morgen.
Ausdruck – more general: expression (can be a word, phrase, idiom, etc.).

In your sentence, neue Redewendungen is naturally understood as new idiomatic expressions you’re learning.

Why is it ich neue Redewendungen schreibe and not something like ich schreibe neue Redewendungen in the relative clause?

In a main clause, German has verb-second word order:

Ich schreibe neue Redewendungen.

But in a subordinate clause (and a relative clause is one type of subordinate clause), the finite verb goes to the end:

…, in das ich neue Redewendungen schreibe.

So the difference is:

Main clause: ich schreibe …
Relative clause: ich … schreibe (verb final)

That’s why schreibe moves to the end in the relative clause.

Can I also say Ich sehe am Bildschirmrand … instead of Am Bildschirmrand sehe ich …? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say either:

Ich sehe am Bildschirmrand ein kleines Notizfeld, …
Am Bildschirmrand sehe ich ein kleines Notizfeld, …

Both are grammatically correct and have the same basic meaning.

The difference is in focus / emphasis:

Ich sehe … – starts by focusing on “I see …” (the act of seeing).
Am Bildschirmrand sehe ich … – starts by focusing on the location where you see it.

German word order is fairly flexible; moving a phrase to the beginning usually changes what is highlighted, not the core meaning.

Would it be more natural to say something like aufschreiben instead of schreibe here?

You can say:

… in das ich neue Redewendungen aufschreibe.

Differences:

schreiben – neutral “to write.”
aufschreiben – “to write something down” (to note it somewhere, to record it).

In context:

… in das ich neue Redewendungen schreibe.
Neutral: I write new expressions in that field.
… in das ich neue Redewendungen aufschreibe.
Emphasizes the idea of jotting them down / noting them.

Both are natural; aufschreiben slightly highlights the “noting them down” aspect.