Breakdown of Die Praxis ist am Freitag geschlossen.
sein
to be
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
schließen
to close
der Freitag
Friday
die Praxis
the doctor's surgery
Questions & Answers about Die Praxis ist am Freitag geschlossen.
Why does Praxis mean "surgery" here? Does it mean the same thing as practicing a skill?
Praxis usually refers to a doctor's clinic, a dentist's office, or a lawyer's firm (often called a "practice" or "surgery" in English). It can also mean "practice" in the sense of "theory versus practice". However, for practicing a skill like playing the piano or playing a sport, you would use the noun die Übung or the verb üben.
Why does this sentence use ist geschlossen instead of wird geschlossen?
ist geschlossen is the "state passive" (Zustandspassiv). It describes the current condition or result of an action: the clinic is currently in a closed state. If you said Die Praxis wird am Freitag geschlossen, you would be using the standard "action passive" (Vorgangspassiv), which means the physical act of locking the doors will take place on Friday (often implying the business is shutting down permanently on that day).
Why is it am Freitag and not just an Freitag?
In German, the preposition an is used for days of the week, and it requires the dative case when answering the question "when?". Since Freitag is a masculine noun (der Freitag), the dative article is dem. The words an and dem merge to make the mandatory contraction am.
How would I change this sentence to say the clinic is closed "on Fridays" in general?
To talk about a recurring day of the week, you drop the preposition am, add an -s to the day, and make it lowercase because it transforms from a noun into an adverb of time. The sentence would become: Die Praxis ist freitags geschlossen.
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