Word
Am Abend wird der Himmel dunkel.
Meaning
In the evening the sky gets dark.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Am Abend wird der Himmel dunkel.
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
dunkel
dark
werden
to become / to get (change of state)
der Abend
the evening
Questions & Answers about Am Abend wird der Himmel dunkel.
Why is the verb wird used here to mean gets?
In English, we often say that something gets or turns dark. In German, you use the verb werden (to become) to express this change of state. Even though you might know werden as a helper verb for the future tense or passive voice, its basic meaning on its own is always to become.
Why is the subject der Himmel placed after the verb?
This is because of the strict verb-second rule in German main clauses. Since the time phrase Am Abend occupies the first position in the sentence, the conjugated verb wird must take the second position. This pushes the subject der Himmel directly after the verb.
Why doesn't the adjective dunkel have an ending here?
Adjectives only take grammatical endings when they are placed directly before a noun, like in der dunkle Himmel (the dark sky). Because dunkel is separated from the noun by the verb and describes the subject's state, it stays in its basic dictionary form.
Is Am short for something in this sentence?