Abends sehe ich vom Park aus den Mond, der über dem Fluss steht.

In the evening I see from the park the moon that stands above the river.

Breakdown of Abends sehe ich vom Park aus den Mond, der über dem Fluss steht.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• ich: I
• stehen: to stand
• sehen: to see
• der Park: the park
• der Fluss: the river
• über: above
• von: from
• der: that
• der Mond: the moon
• abends: in the evening
• aus: out

Questions & Answers about Abends sehe ich vom Park aus den Mond, der über dem Fluss steht.

Why is Abends used here instead of am Abend?

Abends is an adverb meaning “in the evenings” (habitual or repeated action). am Abend is a prepositional phrase (“on the evening”) and can refer to one specific evening or a general time slot. In this sentence, Abends emphasizes that it happens regularly in the evening.

Why does the sentence start with Abends and then sehe ich (verb-second order)?

German follows the V2 (verb-second) rule. When you place the time adverb Abends at the beginning, the finite verb (sehe) must come second, so the subject (ich) follows the verb.

What does vom Park aus mean, and why both von and aus?

von … aus is a fixed pair meaning “from [point of view]”.

• vom Park alone would mean “from the park” (where you start).
• vom Park aus stresses “from the vantage point of the park,” i.e. your viewing spot.

Why is it vom Park (dative) and not another case?

The preposition von always takes the dative case. von + dem Park contracts to vom Park.

Why is den Mond in the accusative case?

den Mond is the direct object of the verb sehe (“I see”). In German, masculine nouns take den in the accusative.

Why is there a comma before der and why is the relative pronoun der (not den)?

A comma separates the main clause from the relative clause der über dem Fluss steht.

• The relative pronoun der refers back to den Mond.
• Within the relative clause, der is the subject of steht, so it appears in the nominative case.

Why is it über dem Fluss (dative) rather than über den Fluss (accusative)?

über is a two-way preposition.

• When you describe a static location, you use the dative (dem Fluss).
• The moon “stands” over the river (it’s not moving across), so it’s dative.

Why use steht (“stands”) instead of ist (“is”) for location?

German often uses specific verbs of location—stehen, liegen, sitzen—to describe how or where something is positioned. Saying der Mond steht über dem Fluss gives a more vivid image than ist über dem Fluss, though the latter is also understandable.