Breakdown of Am Abend spazieren wir den Strand entlang.
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
wir
we
der Abend
the evening
spazieren
to take a walk
Questions & Answers about Am Abend spazieren wir den Strand entlang.
Why is it "Am Abend" and not "Im Abend"?
German uses am (an + dem) with days and parts of the day: am Morgen, am Mittag, am Abend, am Montag. Im (in + dem) is used with months/seasons/longer periods and with night: im Mai, im Winter, in der Nacht. You can also say Heute Abend without a preposition.
What is "am" exactly, and which case does it take?
Am is the contraction of an dem and it takes the dative case. So am Abend literally comes from an dem Abend (dative of masculine der Abend).
Why is the verb "spazieren" before "wir"?
German main clauses follow the V2 rule: exactly one constituent can come first, and the finite verb comes second. Here, Am Abend is in first position, so the verb spazieren must be second, and the subject wir comes after it. A neutral alternative is: Wir spazieren am Abend den Strand entlang.
Why is it "den Strand" and not "der Strand"?
Because entlang (when placed after the noun) governs the accusative. Strand is masculine: nominative der Strand, accusative den Strand, hence den Strand entlang.