Word
Am Abend kommen alle Gäste an.
Meaning
All the guests are arriving in the evening.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Am Abend kommen alle Gäste an.
alle
all, everyone
ankommen
to arrive
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
der Abend
the evening
Questions & Answers about Am Abend kommen alle Gäste an.
Why do we use am for "in the evening" instead of in?
In German, we use the preposition an (which combines with dem to make am) for days of the week and parts of the day. So, "in the evening" is am Abend, just like "in the morning" is am Morgen. We use in for longer periods like months or seasons, and um for specific clock times.
How does the word alle work here?
Alle means "all" and is an indefinite pronoun. When it comes right before a plural noun like Gäste (guests), it takes the plural ending -e. It tells us about the quantity without naming a specific number.
Why does the verb kommen come before the subject alle Gäste?
Because German sentences have a strict rule: the conjugated verb must be in the second position. Since the time phrase Am Abend takes up the first position, the verb kommen must come right after it, pushing the subject alle Gäste to the third position.
What is the an doing at the very end of the sentence?
It belongs to the verb! The infinitive is ankommen (to arrive), which is a separable verb. In a normal main clause, the main part of the verb (kommen) goes in the second position, and the prefix (an) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.