Ich höre der Dozentin zu, ohne alles mitzuschreiben, weil ich das Handout später noch einmal lese.

Because the verb zuhören takes the dative case, not the accusative.

• die Dozentin = nominative/accusative feminine singular
• der Dozentin = dative feminine singular

So in Ich höre der Dozentin zu, der Dozentin means to the lecturer / to the female lecturer.

This is one of the most important things to remember with zuhören:

• jemandem zuhören = to listen to someone

For example:

• Ich höre dem Professor zu.
• Ich höre meiner Freundin zu.

Because zuhören is a separable verb.

Its full infinitive is zuhören, but in a normal main clause in the present tense, the verb splits:

• Ich höre ... zu.

So:

• infinitive: zuhören
• main clause: ich höre zu

This is very common in German with separable verbs:

• anrufen → Ich rufe an.
• aufstehen → Ich stehe auf.
• zuhören → Ich höre zu.

They are related, but not the same.

• hören = to hear / to listen to
• zuhören = to listen attentively to a person or speaker

So:

• Ich höre Musik. = I listen to music.
• Ich höre ein Geräusch. = I hear a sound.
• Ich höre der Dozentin zu. = I am listening to the lecturer.

A useful shortcut:

• hören often focuses on the sound itself
• zuhören often focuses on paying attention to a person speaking

Also, their grammar is different:

• hören usually takes the accusative
• zuhören takes the dative

mitschreiben literally means to write along with. In this context, it means to take notes or to write things down while someone is speaking.

So:

• alles mitzuschreiben = to write everything down / to take down everything

In a classroom context, mitschreiben often means making notes during a lecture.

So the sentence suggests:

• the speaker is listening to the lecturer
• but not trying to write down absolutely everything at the same time

Because mitschreiben is also a separable verb.

When a separable verb is used with zu + infinitive, the zu goes between the prefix and the verb stem:

• mit-schreiben → mitzuschreiben
• an-fangen → anzufangen
• auf-stehen → aufzustehen

So in the pattern ohne ... zu + infinitive, you get:

• ohne alles mitzuschreiben

not:

• ohne alles zu mitschreiben

That second version is not standard German.

Because this is an infinitive clause, and the subject is understood to be the same as in the main clause.

The full idea is:

• Ich höre der Dozentin zu, ohne (ich) alles mitzuschreiben.

But German normally leaves that subject out in this structure.

So ohne alles mitzuschreiben means:

• without writing everything down

and the implied subject is still ich.

If the subject were different, German would usually use a full clause instead, for example:

• ..., ohne dass ich alles mitschreibe.

Because weil introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses the conjugated verb usually goes to the end.

So:

• main clause: Ich lese das Handout.
• subordinate clause: ..., weil ich das Handout lese.

That is why you get:

• weil ich das Handout später noch einmal lese

This is the same pattern you see with many other subordinating conjunctions:

• dass
• wenn
• obwohl
• weil

For example:

• Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich müde bin.
• Ich weiß, dass er kommt.

There are two things going on here.

1. Handout is a noun used in German, and it is usually neuter:

   • das Handout

2. The verb lesen takes a direct object in the accusative:

   • ich lese was? → das Handout

So das Handout is the thing being read.

In this case, das looks the same in nominative and accusative because it is neuter singular:

• nominative: das Handout
• accusative: das Handout

alles means everything.

In this sentence, ohne alles mitzuschreiben means:

• without writing everything down
• without taking notes on everything

It does not have to mean literally every single word. In natural usage, it often means all of it or every detail.

So the speaker is saying they are not trying to copy down the whole lecture.

noch einmal means again or one more time.

So:

• später noch einmal lese = read again later / read one more time later

In context, it suggests the speaker is not worried about writing everything down now, because they will look at the handout again later.

You will also often hear:

• nochmal or noch mal

These are very common spoken alternatives to noch einmal.

This order is natural because:

• später tells you when
• noch einmal adds the idea of repetition

So the speaker first places the action in time, then adds again:

• später noch einmal

You may find small variations in adverb order in German, but this version sounds very normal here.

The important thing is that in the weil clause, the verb still stays at the end:

• weil ich das Handout später noch einmal lese

The commas are there for grammatical reasons.

1. Before ohne alles mitzuschreiben
   This is an infinitive clause introduced by ohne, and German normally uses a comma here.

2. Before weil ich das Handout später noch einmal lese
   This is a subordinate clause introduced by weil, so a comma is required.

So the commas help show the sentence structure clearly:

• main clause: Ich höre der Dozentin zu
• infinitive clause: ohne alles mitzuschreiben
• subordinate clause: weil ich das Handout später noch einmal lese

Yes, but it would mean something different.

• Ich höre die Dozentin. = I hear the lecturer.
• Ich höre der Dozentin zu. = I am listening to the lecturer.

The first one can simply mean that you hear her voice or what she is saying.
The second one specifically means you are listening attentively to her.

So in a classroom context, zuhören is usually the better choice if you mean listen to the lecturer.

Because German subordinate clauses normally still need their own explicit subject.

So even though the subject is the same person, you still say:

• ..., weil ich das Handout später noch einmal lese.

You cannot usually leave out ich there.

That is different from the ohne ... mitzuschreiben part, where the infinitive construction allows the subject to stay implied.