Breakdown of Jeden Nachmittag trinke ich Kaffee auf dem Balkon.
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
trinken
to drink
ich
I
auf
on
der Kaffee
the coffee
jeder
every
der Nachmittag
the afternoon
der Balkon
the balcony
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Questions & Answers about Jeden Nachmittag trinke ich Kaffee auf dem Balkon.
Why is Jeden Nachmittag used without a preposition, and why is it in the accusative case?
In German, expressions of definite time without a preposition (like days, parts of day, dates) normally take the accusative.
- Jeden Nachmittag literally means “every afternoon.”
- No preposition is needed to mark when something happens; the accusative alone signals time.
What’s the difference between Jeden Nachmittag and Am Nachmittag?
Both indicate afternoons, but with a nuance:
- Jeden Nachmittag = “every single afternoon” (emphasizes repetition).
- Am Nachmittag = “in the afternoon” (more general, can refer to the afternoon of today, tomorrow, or afternoons in general without the explicit “every”).
Why isn’t there an article before Kaffee?
Here Kaffee is used as a mass noun (an uncountable substance) to talk about coffee in general. In German, mass nouns often appear without an article when you mean the substance itself.
Could you use einen Kaffee instead of just Kaffee?
Yes. Einen Kaffee makes it countable (“a coffee,” typically meaning one cup).
- Jeden Nachmittag trinke ich einen Kaffee → “Every afternoon I drink a (single) coffee.”
- Without the article, you refer to coffee in general, not a specific cup.
Why does trinke come before ich in this sentence?
German main clauses follow the verb‑second rule: the finite verb must be the second element. Since Jeden Nachmittag is placed first (time adverbial), trinke follows, pushing the subject ich into third position.
Can you break down the word order of this sentence?
Certainly. The typical structure here is:
- Time (Jeden Nachmittag)
- Verb (trinke)
- Subject (ich)
- Direct object (Kaffee)
- Place (auf dem Balkon)
Why do we say auf dem Balkon instead of in dem Balkon?
German uses different prepositions depending on the idea of surface vs. interior:
- auf = on a surface or open space (e.g. balcony, roof, floor).
- in = inside an enclosed space (e.g. room, box).
A balcony is considered an open, accessible platform, so we use auf.
Why is dem (dative) used with auf, and not the accusative?
The preposition auf can take either dative or accusative, depending on motion vs. location:
- Dative after auf = no movement, static location (“on the balcony”).
- Accusative after auf = movement toward that surface (“onto the balcony”).
Since the action is happening while sitting on the balcony (no movement toward it), we use the dative dem.