Breakdown of Ich gehe einmal im Monat in die Bibliothek.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
ich
I
gehen
to go
Questions & Answers about Ich gehe einmal im Monat in die Bibliothek.
Why is it einmal written as one word instead of ein Mal?
In German, the adverb meaning “once” is usually written as one word: einmal. You can technically write ein Mal, but that looks more like a noun phrase (“one occurrence”) and is less idiomatic. As an adverb, stick with einmal.
What exactly does einmal im Monat mean?
It literally means “once in the month,” but idiomatically it’s “once a month.”
- einmal = one time
- im Monat = in the month (i.e. per month)
Why is it im Monat instead of in dem Monat, and what case is Monat here?
- in dem contracts to im in everyday German.
- Monat is in the dative case because time expressions with in normally use dative when you specify “in” a period.
Why does the sentence use in die Bibliothek instead of in der Bibliothek?
When you express movement toward a destination, in takes the accusative case.