Log inSign up

Abends bin ich immer hungrig.

Abends bin ich immer hungrig.
In the evenings I am always hungry.
FromLesson 39inHardcore German

Breakdown of Abends bin ich immer hungrig.

sein
to be
ich
I
immer
always
hungrig
hungry
abends
in the evenings

Questions & Answers about Abends bin ich immer hungrig.

Why does Abends end in -s and why is it capitalized?
Abend is the noun “evening.” Adding -s to a noun can form a time adverb in German, so abends means “in the evenings” (habitually). It’s capitalized here only because it’s the first word of the sentence; if you used it mid-sentence, you’d write abends (lowercase).
What’s the difference between abends and am Abend?

abends is a pure adverb meaning “in the evenings” (every evening, as a routine).
am Abend is a prepositional phrase (an + dem Abend) meaning “in/at the evening.” You can use am Abend for both single events and routines, but when talking about a regular habit, Germans often prefer the shorter adverb abends.

Why does the verb bin come before the subject ich?

German main clauses follow the “verb-second” (V2) rule. Whatever you put in the first position (here Abends) pushes the finite verb into second place, so the subject (ich) must come after bin, yielding:
1 Abends (first)
2 bin (verb-second)
3 ich (subject)

Why is immer placed between ich and hungrig?

immer is an adverb of frequency. In German it normally occupies the “middle field,” coming after the finite verb + subject but before predicates or objects. Because we already inverted bin and ich, immer naturally follows ich:
Abends bin ich immer hungrig.

Why is hungrig at the end of the sentence?
hungrig is a predicative adjective linked to the verb sein. Predicative adjectives always follow the verb and carry no endings here. Since there are no further complements after it, hungrig appears last.
Why don’t Germans usually say Ich bin hungrig, but rather Ich habe Hunger?
Both are correct, but Ich habe Hunger (“I have hunger”) is the idiomatic everyday expression for “I’m hungry.” Ich bin hungrig is grammatically fine but sounds a bit more formal or descriptive. In casual speech you’ll almost always hear Ich habe Hunger.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning German

Master German — from Abends bin ich immer hungrig to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning German freeBrowse the full course