Learn Hardcore German: Abends beobachten wir die Schiffe im Hafen. - In the evening we watch the ships in the harbor.

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule. The adverb Abends sits in first position, so the finite verb beobachten must be second, and the subject wir comes after it: Abends beobachten wir .... If you start with the subject, you get Wir beobachten abends ...—still correct, just a different emphasis.

Should Abends be capitalized?

Only because it’s the first word of the sentence. The adverb is normally written lowercase: abends. The noun der Abend (evening) is capitalized, but the adverb abends is not—unless it starts the sentence.

What’s the difference between abends, am Abend, and heute Abend?

abends = generally/habitually “in the evenings”
am Abend = “in the evening” of a specific day, or a general time-of-day on that day
heute Abend = “this evening/tonight” (today’s evening)

What’s the -s in abends?

It’s an old adverbial ending (also in morgens, mittags, nachts). It doesn’t mark plural or possession; it just turns the time-of-day noun into a habitual-time adverb.

What case is die Schiffe and why?

Accusative plural. beobachten is a transitive verb that takes a direct object, so die Schiffe is in the accusative. In the plural, nominative and accusative share the same article die.

Why isn’t it den Schiffen?

den Schiffen is dative plural. You’d use that with verbs that take the dative (e.g., zusehen: Wir sehen den Schiffen im Hafen zu.). With beobachten, you need the accusative: die Schiffe.

What does im stand for, and which case does Hafen take here?

im = in dem (contracted). in is a two-way preposition:

Location (no movement) → dative: im Hafen (in the harbor)
Direction (movement into) → accusative: in den Hafen (into the harbor)

Here it’s location, so dative: dem Hafen → im Hafen.

Could it be in den Hafen?

Only if you mean movement into the harbor (e.g., Die Schiffe fahren in den Hafen.). In the given sentence, we’re describing where the ships are, so im Hafen is correct.

What’s the difference between im Hafen and am Hafen?

im Hafen = in the harbor (inside the harbor area; dative of in)
am Hafen = at/by the harbor (on or near the harbor; dative of an)

Your sentence with im Hafen most naturally says the ships are located in the harbor. If you want to say where the observers are, am Hafen often sounds better: Am Hafen beobachten wir die Schiffe.

Does im Hafen describe where the ships are or where we are?

By default, listeners will usually take im Hafen to describe the ships (the nearest noun phrase). To say clearly that the observers are there, put the place up front or make it explicit: Im Hafen beobachten wir die Schiffe. / Wir stehen am Hafen und beobachten die Schiffe.

Is beobachten a separable verb? How do I form the perfect?

It’s inseparable (the prefix be- never splits). Perfect: haben beobachtet. Example: Abends haben wir die Schiffe im Hafen beobachtet. (No extra ge- because be- blocks it.)

How is beobachten conjugated in the present?

ich beobachte
du beobachtest
er/sie/es beobachtet
wir beobachten
ihr beobachtet
sie/Sie beobachten

How do you pronounce beobachten (and the ch)?

Say it like “be-OH-bakh-ten.” The ch here is the back-of-the-throat “ach-sound” (as in Bach), because it follows a back vowel (a). Stress the second syllable: be-OB-ach-ten.
Other words: Schiffe ≈ “SHIF-feh” (short i), Hafen ≈ “HAH-fen.”

Are other word orders possible?

Yes, with shifts in emphasis:

Abends beobachten wir die Schiffe im Hafen. (time first)
Wir beobachten abends die Schiffe im Hafen. (neutral)
Im Hafen beobachten wir abends die Schiffe. (place emphasized)

A handy guideline is that time often comes early and place later, but German word order is flexible for focus and rhythm.

How do I make a yes/no question from this?

Invert subject and verb (V1): Beobachten wir abends die Schiffe im Hafen?

How do I negate this—nicht or keine?

With a definite object, use nicht: Abends beobachten wir die Schiffe im Hafen nicht.
To say “no ships,” use keine (indefinite): Abends beobachten wir keine Schiffe im Hafen.
nicht placement can shift focus: Wir beobachten die Schiffe nicht im Hafen (sondern am Fluss).

What object pronoun replaces die Schiffe?

sie (3rd person plural): Abends beobachten wir sie im Hafen.

What’s the nuance difference between beobachten, sehen, (an)schauen/gucken, and zusehen?

beobachten: observe/watch carefully, deliberately
sehen: see (neutral perception)
anschauen/ansehen: look at, watch (often more casual; anschauen is separable: Wir schauen die Schiffe an.)
gucken: colloquial for schauen/sehen (regional)
zusehen: watch someone/something doing something; takes dative: Wir sehen den Schiffen zu.

What are the genders and plurals?

das Schiff → die Schiffe (plural)
der Hafen → die Häfen (plural, with umlaut)

Why do we need the pronoun wir—can it be dropped?

No. German isn’t a “pro‑drop” language. The verb form beobachten doesn’t uniquely identify the subject (it fits wir and sie), so the subject pronoun is required.