Am Abend zeichne ich im Notizbuch, statt das Handy zu benutzen.

German main clauses follow the verb‑second rule:

• The conjugated verb must be in second position.
• The first position can be taken by many things: the subject, a time expression, a place, etc.

In your sentence:

• First position: Am Abend (time expression)
• Second position (the verb): zeichne
• Then comes the subject: ich

So Am Abend zeichne ich im Notizbuch, … is correct and quite natural.

You could also say:

• Ich zeichne am Abend im Notizbuch, statt das Handy zu benutzen.

Both are correct; starting with Am Abend simply emphasizes when you do it.

Both can be translated as in the evening, but there is a nuance:

• Am Abend = in the evening (more like on that/every evening; can sound a bit more specific)
• Abends = in the evenings, at night in general (habitual, regularly)

In a sentence about a regular habit, many speakers would find:

• Abends zeichne ich im Notizbuch, statt das Handy zu benutzen.

very natural.

Am Abend is still fine and can also describe a typical routine; it just feels a bit closer to a specific evening or a typical part of the day.

The part statt das Handy zu benutzen is an infinitive clause with zu that gives an alternative action (instead of using the phone).

In modern German spelling rules, a comma is obligatory before infinitive clauses introduced by words like:

• um
• ohne
• statt / anstatt
• außer
• als

So you must write:

• …, statt das Handy zu benutzen.

The comma marks the beginning of that infinitive clause.

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

• Statt das Handy zu benutzen, zeichne ich im Notizbuch.

This is just a different word order:

• You place the infinitive clause first.
• Then you get inversion in the main clause: zeichne ich (verb still in second position).

The meaning stays the same; the emphasis changes slightly.
With this order, you highlight more strongly what you do not do (statt das Handy zu benutzen).

Here statt means instead of and introduces an alternative action.

Pattern:

• [main action], statt [alternative action with zu‑infinitive].

In your sentence:

• Main action: zeichne ich im Notizbuch (I draw in the notebook)
• Alternative you don’t choose: das Handy zu benutzen (to use the phone)

So the structure is:

• Am Abend zeichne ich im Notizbuch, statt das Handy zu benutzen.
  In the evening I draw in the notebook instead of using my phone.

statt can also be used directly with a noun only, e.g.:

• statt des Handys (instead of the phone) – more formal
• statt dem Handy – colloquial

But in your sentence it introduces a whole infinitive clause.

There are two different patterns:

1. statt

   • noun (no verb afterwards)
   • Traditionally, statt takes the genitive:
     
     • statt des Handys (instead of the phone)
   • In everyday speech, you will also hear the dative:
     
     • statt dem Handy

2. statt

   • zu‑infinitive clause, as in your sentence
     Here das Handy is simply the direct object of the verb benutzen, not the object of statt.

If you turned the infinitive into a normal main clause, you would say:

• Ich benutze das Handy. (accusative)

The object keeps the same case inside the infinitive clause:

• statt das Handy zu benutzen

So das Handy is accusative because benutzen takes an accusative object, not because of statt.

German normally uses zu + infinitive to form infinitive clauses like:

• um … zu machen – in order to do …
• ohne … zu machen – without doing …
• statt … zu machen – instead of doing …

So:

• …, statt das Handy zu benutzen. = instead of using the phone.

If you leave out zu, the verb would have to be a finite verb with its own subject, for example:

• …, statt dass ich das Handy benutze.

That is a different structure with dass and a conjugated benutze.
In your sentence we want an infinitive clause, so zu benutzen is required.

im is simply the contracted form of in dem:

• im Notizbuch = in dem Notizbuch (in the notebook)

This contraction is very common and usually preferred in everyday German. Both forms are correct; im just sounds more natural.

Grammatically:

• in can take dative (location) or accusative (direction).
• Here it describes a place where the activity happens → location → dative → dem Notizbuch / im Notizbuch.

Because the preposition in answers two different questions:

• Wo? (where?) → dative (location)
• Wohin? (where to?) → accusative (direction, movement into)

The sentence describes where you are drawing (no movement into something), so it answers Wo?:

• Wo zeichne ich? → im Notizbuch (dative, dem Notizbuch)

If you wanted to emphasize movement into the notebook (e.g. writing something into it), you might use the accusative:

• Ich schreibe es in mein Notizbuch. (accusative mein Notizbuch, direction into)

zeichne is the 1st person singular, present tense of zeichnen (to draw).

Conjugation in the present tense:

• ich zeichne
• du zeichnest
• er/sie/es zeichnet
• wir zeichnen
• ihr zeichnet
• sie/Sie zeichnen

So zeichne ich clearly shows:

• Subject: ich (I)
• Tense: present → usually describing a current or habitual action (I draw / I am drawing)

In German, all nouns are capitalized.

In this sentence:

• Abend – a time of day → noun
• Notizbuch – thing → noun
• Handy – thing → noun

So they must all start with a capital letter:

• Am Abend
• im Notizbuch
• das Handy

Yes, you can, and there is a small nuance:

• im Notizbuch = in dem Notizbuch → dative, location
  
  • Focus on where the drawing happens, in the notebook.
• in mein Notizbuch → accusative, direction towards something
  
  • Focus on putting drawings into your notebook (like into my notebook).

In practice, both can often be used for writing or drawing.
im Notizbuch sounds slightly more like “I work in that notebook” as a place;
in mein Notizbuch sounds more like “I put things into my notebook,” emphasizing the movement into your own notebook.

Yes. In everyday German, Handy is the standard word for:

• mobile phone
• cell phone
• smartphone (in many contexts)

So:

• das Handy benutzen = to use the phone / my phone

Other words exist, such as Smartphone or Mobiltelefon, but Handy is by far the most common informal term in Germany.