Ich gehe jeden Tag nach Hause.

I go home every day.

Breakdown of Ich gehe jeden Tag nach Hause.

• ich: I
• gehen: to go
• nach: to
• der Tag: the day
• jeden: every; (masculine, accusative)

Questions & Answers about Ich gehe jeden Tag nach Hause.

Why is jeden Tag in the accusative case, and why don’t we say jeder Tag?

In German, adverbial expressions of time that answer “how often?” or “for how long?” typically use the accusative.

• Tag is a masculine noun (der Tag).
• Its accusative singular form is jeden Tag (not jeder Tag, which is nominative).

So jeden Tag literally means “every day” as a temporal adverbial in the accusative.

What case does nach govern in nach Hause, and why?

The preposition nach always takes the dative when indicating direction toward countries, cities, or the special term Hause.

• Here Hause is the dative form of Haus, so nach Hause means “to home.”

Why is the noun Hause spelled with an -e at the end? Can’t I just say Haus?

Historically, many masculine nouns in German added an -e in the dative singular. Although that -e has mostly disappeared in everyday speech, it remains in fixed expressions like nach Hause and zu Hause.
Standard German requires the -e here.

Why isn’t there an article before Hause, e.g. nach dem Hause?

Adding dem (dative of das Haus) would make it “toward the house” (a specific, tangible house).
But nach Hause means “toward home” in the general sense of your own dwelling, so no article is used.

What’s the difference between nach Hause and zu Hause?

• nach Hause = “to home” (motion toward home).
• Example: Ich gehe nach Hause. (I’m going home.)
• zu Hause = “at home” (location, no motion).
• Example: Ich bin zu Hause. (I’m at home.)

Could I use heim instead of nach Hause?

Yes. heim is an adverb meaning “homeward.”

• Ich gehe jeden Tag heim. is equivalent to Ich gehe jeden Tag nach Hause.
• heim is slightly more colloquial.

Where can I place jeden Tag in the sentence? Can I start with it?

German allows flexible word order for adverbials. You can start with jeden Tag to emphasize frequency:

• Jeden Tag gehe ich nach Hause.
  Note: The conjugated verb gehe must remain in second position (verb-second rule).

Could I use täglich instead of jeden Tag?

Absolutely. täglich is an adjective used adverbially to mean “daily.”

• Ich gehe täglich nach Hause. conveys exactly the same idea as Ich gehe jeden Tag nach Hause.

Why is Tag capitalized in jeden Tag, while English “day” isn’t in “every day”?

In German orthography, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence.

• Tag (day) is a noun, so it’s always capitalized.