Im Kurs bearbeite ich zuerst das Arbeitsblatt und lese danach das Handout.

In class I first work through the worksheet and then read the handout.

Breakdown of Im Kurs bearbeite ich zuerst das Arbeitsblatt und lese danach das Handout.

• und: and
• ich: I
• lesen: to read
• zuerst: first

Questions & Answers about Im Kurs bearbeite ich zuerst das Arbeitsblatt und lese danach das Handout.

Why is ich placed after bearbeite instead of directly after Im Kurs?

Because German main clauses follow the verb-second rule. The conjugated verb must be in the second position.

Here, Im Kurs takes the first position, so the verb bearbeite must come next: Im Kurs bearbeite ich ...

If you want ich first, that is also possible: Ich bearbeite im Kurs zuerst das Arbeitsblatt und lese danach das Handout.

Both are correct, but they emphasize different things. Starting with Im Kurs highlights the setting.

What does im mean here?

Im is a contraction of in dem.

• in = in
• dem = the, for certain masculine and neuter nouns in the dative case

So: im Kurs = in dem Kurs

In natural English, this often means in class or during the course, depending on context.

Why is it im Kurs and not in den Kurs?

Because in can take either the dative or the accusative, depending on meaning.

• dative = location, being somewhere
• accusative = movement toward somewhere

Here the sentence describes where the action happens, not movement into the course/class, so German uses the dative:

• im Kurs = in the class / during the course

If it were about movement, you might get something like in den Kurs gehen = to go into the course/class.