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Ihr Abo läuft im nächsten Monat ab, ungefähr am fünften.

Ihr Abo läuft im nächsten Monat ab, ungefähr am fünften.
Your subscription expires next month, around the fifth.
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Questions & Answers about Ihr Abo läuft im nächsten Monat ab, ungefähr am fünften.

Does Ihr mean “your,” “her,” or “their” here? How can I tell?
  • Ihr with a capital I is the polite/formal your (addressing one person or several). It’s capitalized in standard German.
  • ihr (lowercase) can mean her or their.
  • At the start of a sentence, capitalization doesn’t help, so you rely on context (e.g., elsewhere in the message you’d see Sie/Ihnen/Ihr if it’s the formal you). In service messages about subscriptions, it’s almost always the formal your.
Why is it Ihr and not Ihre?

Because Abo is neuter and used as the subject (nominative). The possessive for neuter nominative is Ihr:

  • Neuter nominative: Ihr Abo
  • Feminine nominative: Ihre Mitgliedschaft
  • Masculine accusative: Ihren Vertrag, etc.
What exactly is Abo?
Abo is a common shortening of Abonnement (subscription). It’s neuter: das Abo, plural die Abos. Perfectly standard in everyday and business German.
What’s going on with läuft … ab? Why is ab at the end?

Ablaufen is a separable verb. In main clauses, the prefix splits off and goes to the end:

  • Present: Ihr Abo läuft … ab.
  • With more elements inside: Ihr Abo läuft im nächsten Monat ab. In subordinate clauses, it’s not split: …, dass Ihr Abo im nächsten Monat abläuft.
How do I say this in the past?
Use the perfect with “sein”: Das Abo ist am 5. abgelaufen. (Not “hat abgelaufen.”)
Can I use endet, läuft aus, or verfällt instead of läuft ab?
  • endet = ends (neutral, very clear).
  • läuft aus = runs out/expires; common with contracts/subscriptions.
  • läuft ab = expires; very common with deadlines, IDs, and also subscriptions.
  • verfällt = lapses/forfeits; typical for coupons, credits, vouchers, perishable rights. All are understandable; nuance and typical pairings differ slightly.
Why is the present tense used for a future event?
German often uses the present for scheduled or certain future events when a time expression is present. Ihr Abo läuft … ab with “next month” clearly refers to the future. You could use Future I—wird ablaufen—but it’s not necessary here.
Why is it im nächsten Monat? Could I say just nächsten Monat?

Both are correct:

  • im nächsten Monat = “in the next month” (in + dem → im, dative).
  • nächsten Monat (no preposition) uses the “accusative of time” and is very common in speech and writing. Meaning is the same.
Why does nächsten end in -en in im nächsten Monat?
Because it’s dative singular after a definite article: in dem (im) nächsten Monat. After der/die/das (or in dem/am), attributive adjectives typically take -en in the singular dative.
What case is am fünften, and why the -en ending?
  • am = an dem (dative), so it’s dative case.
  • Ordinal adjectives after a definite article in the dative take -en: am fünften.
  • Written with a numeral: am 5. (the dot marks the ordinal).
Should it be am Fünften with a capital F?
Strictly speaking, yes, when the day stands alone (no following noun), it’s treated like a noun and capitalized: am Fünften. If you name the month, it’s lowercase: am fünften Mai. Many people write lowercase informally, but the standard is uppercase in the standalone form.
Is the comma before ungefähr am fünften correct?
Yes. It’s a “nachgestellter Nachtrag” (an afterthought). A comma (or a dash) can set it off: Ihr Abo läuft im nächsten Monat ab, ungefähr am Fünften. You could also integrate it: Ihr Abo läuft im nächsten Monat ungefähr am Fünften ab. Both are fine.
Are there more natural alternatives to ungefähr am fünften?

Common options:

  • etwa am Fünften
  • so um den 5. (herum)
  • gegen den 5. All mean “around the 5th.” circa (ca.) is also fine, often with numbers/dates: ca. am 5.
Is there a rule for the order of the time expressions?
Yes: go from general to specific. Month first, then day works well: im nächsten Monat, (etwa) am Fünften. This fits the broader German tendency (TeKaMoLo) and sounds natural.
How would this change if I’m talking to someone informally?
  • Singular informal: Dein Abo läuft im nächsten Monat ab, ungefähr am Fünften.
  • Plural informal: Euer Abo läuft … (note the different possessive).
How would this look in a subordinate clause?
The verb is not split: …, dass Ihr Abo im nächsten Monat, ungefähr am Fünften, abläuft.
How do I write the date with numerals correctly?
Use a dot for ordinals: am 5. You can add the month if needed: am 5. (Mai) or am 5. des nächsten Monats. In numeric dates, German uses day.month: am 05.10. (5 October).