The Four Seasons
Just like the months of the year, all four seasons in German are masculine nouns. When talking about a season as the subject of a sentence, you will use the masculine article der.
| Spring and summer are beautiful. | Der Frühling und der Sommer sind wunderschön. |
| Autumn is cool and it rains often. | Der Herbst ist kühl und es regnet oft. |
| The winter was very long and cold. | Der Winter war sehr lang und kalt. |
Saying "In" a Season
To say that something happens in a particular season, use the exact same word you use for months: im. This is a contraction of the preposition in and the dative article dem.
| We can travel to Italy in summer. | Wir können im Sommer nach Italien reisen. |
In a standard question, the time expression will usually follow the verb and the subject.
| What are you doing in autumn? | Was machst du im Herbst? |
Time First, Verb Second
German speakers frequently start sentences with a time expression to set the scene. When you begin a sentence with a phrase like im Sommer, remember the golden rule of German word order: the conjugated verb must immediately follow it in the second position. The subject then slides to the other side of the verb.
| In spring the sun shines and it is warm. | Im Frühling scheint die Sonne und es ist warm. |
| In summer we often have vacation. | Im Sommer haben wir oft Urlaub. |
| It snows a lot in winter. | Im Winter schneit es viel. |
