Breakdown of Nach dem Feierabend sitzen wir auf dem Balkon und trinken Tee.
und
and
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
trinken
to drink
wir
we
auf
on
nach
after
sitzen
to sit
der Tee
the tea
der Balkon
the balcony
der Feierabend
the end of the workday
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Nach dem Feierabend sitzen wir auf dem Balkon und trinken Tee.
What does Feierabend mean in German?
Feierabend is a compound noun: Feier (“celebration”) + Abend (“evening”). Idiomatically it refers to the time after work when you’re free to relax. In English you might call it knock-off time, quitting time, or simply after work.
Why is it Nach dem Feierabend and not Nach den Feierabend?
The preposition nach always takes the dative case. Feierabend is masculine (der Feierabend). In the singular dative, der changes to dem, so you get nach dem Feierabend, not nach den Feierabend (which would be accusative).
Can I say Nach Feierabend without the article?
Yes, in colloquial German people often drop the article and say nach Feierabend. However, the standard form is nach dem Feierabend. Omitting dem makes it sound more casual and is typical in spoken language.
Why is it auf dem Balkon?
Auf is a two-way preposition (Wechselpräposition) that takes accusative for movement and dative for location. Here we’re describing where we sit (a static location), so we use the dative. Since Balkon is masculine (der Balkon), it becomes dem Balkon. Hence auf dem Balkon = “on the balcony.”
Why is there no article before Tee in trinken Tee?
In German, you can omit the article before mass nouns (uncountable nouns) when speaking generally. Tee is treated as a mass noun here (“we drink tea” in general). If you meant a specific tea, you’d say wir trinken den Tee (“we drink the tea”).
Why is the sentence in present tense even though it talks about after-work?
German uses the present tense for habitual or routine actions. This sentence describes what we usually do after work, so the present tense is natural. To describe one particular past event you’d say:
• Gestern haben wir Tee getrunken.
Why does sitzen come before wir in the sentence?
In German main clauses the finite verb must occupy the second position (V2 rule). Since the first element here is the time phrase Nach dem Feierabend, the verb sitzen comes next, then the subject wir.
Could I start with Wir sitzen… instead of Nach dem Feierabend sitzen wir…?
Absolutely. If you lead with the subject Wir, the verb follows immediately and the time phrase moves later:
• Wir sitzen auf dem Balkon und trinken Tee nach dem Feierabend.
Both orders are correct; the difference is only one of emphasis.
Why is Feierabend (and Balkon, Tee) capitalized?
In German all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence. That’s why you see Feierabend, Balkon, and Tee with initial capitals.
What part of speech is Nach dem Feierabend in this sentence?
Nach dem Feierabend is a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial of time. It answers the question Wann? (“When?”).