Learn Hardcore German: Ich esse den Rest morgen.

German very often uses the present tense to talk about the near or planned future, as long as there is a time expression that makes the future clear.

Ich esse den Rest morgen.
= I’ll eat the rest tomorrow. (literally: I eat the rest tomorrow.)

Because morgen already shows that it’s about the future, adding werde is not necessary. English can’t usually do this (“I eat the rest tomorrow” sounds odd), but German can.

You can use the future tense:

Ich werde den Rest morgen essen.

This is grammatically correct, but in everyday speech it often sounds more formal or more distant. The plain present is the default for plans like this.

Why is it den Rest and not der Rest?

Rest is a masculine noun in German:

der Rest – the rest (nominative, subject form)

In your sentence, den Rest is not the subject; it’s the direct object of essen. Masculine nouns change their article in the accusative (object) case:

Nominative (subject): der Rest
Accusative (direct object): den Rest

So:

Der Rest ist kalt. – The rest is cold. (subject ⇒ nominative ⇒ der)
Ich esse den Rest. – I eat the rest. (object ⇒ accusative ⇒ den)

That is why you see den Rest here.

What case is den Rest, and how do I know it’s accusative?

den Rest is in the accusative case.

Ways to see this:

Function in the sentence
Ask: “I eat what?” → den Rest.
The thing that directly receives the action of the verb is the direct object, which takes the accusative in German.
Article form
The masculine article changes like this:
- Nominative: der Rest
- Accusative: den Rest
- Dative: dem Rest
- Genitive: des Rests
Since you see den, you know it’s accusative.
Word order doesn’t change the case
Even if you say:
- Ich esse morgen den Rest.
- Morgen esse ich den Rest.
den Rest is still accusative, because its role (direct object) hasn’t changed. In German, grammar depends on case, not position.

What exactly does Rest mean here, and what is its gender?

Rest is a masculine noun: der Rest (plural: die Reste).

Its meaning here is roughly:

the rest, the remainder, or the leftovers

Depending on context it can be:

The rest of a quantity:
- Ich trinke den Rest. – I’ll drink the rest (of it).
Leftover food:
- Wir essen den Rest morgen. – We’ll eat the leftovers tomorrow.
The remainder of something abstract:
- Den Rest erkläre ich morgen. – I’ll explain the rest tomorrow.

So in Ich esse den Rest morgen, it’s “the remaining part” of something already known from context (e.g. the pizza, the cake, the soup).

Can Rest be plural? When would I say die Reste?

Yes, Rest has a plural: die Reste.

Use die Reste when you’re talking about several separate “rests” or leftovers:

Die Reste vom Mittagessen stehen im Kühlschrank.
The leftovers from lunch are in the fridge.
Nach dem Fest hatten wir viele Reste.
After the party we had lots of leftovers.

In your sentence:

Ich esse den Rest morgen.

you’re talking about one remaining portion or the remainder of a single thing, so the singular is used. If you wanted to emphasise several different leftover dishes, you could say:

Ich esse die Reste morgen. – I’ll eat the leftovers (plural) tomorrow.

Can I drop the article and say Ich esse Rest morgen?

No, Ich esse Rest morgen is ungrammatical in standard German.

For countable singular nouns like Rest, you normally must have an article or another determiner:

Ich esse den Rest morgen. – the rest (specific)
Ich esse einen Rest morgen. – a (some) remainder
Ich esse meinen Rest morgen. – my rest
Ich esse diesen Rest morgen. – this rest

Leaving the article out is only possible in special patterns (set phrases, headlines, some technical language), but not in a normal sentence like this.

Is Ich esse morgen den Rest also correct? Does the word order change the meaning?

Yes, Ich esse morgen den Rest is perfectly correct.

Two basic neutral options:

Ich esse den Rest morgen.
Ich esse morgen den Rest.

Both usually mean the same: “I’ll eat the rest tomorrow.”

Very roughly:

Ich esse den Rest morgen.
Slightly more typical if “den Rest” is what you’re focusing on in the flow of conversation.
Ich esse morgen den Rest.
Slightly more typical if you’re first thinking about the time (“tomorrow”), then specifying what you’ll eat.

In everyday speech, the difference is subtle. Both are natural and common.

Can morgen come first, like Morgen esse ich den Rest? Does that change anything?

Yes, that’s also correct:

Morgen esse ich den Rest.

German allows you to put different elements in the first position for emphasis. When you put morgen first, you strongly highlight the time:

Morgen esse ich den Rest, nicht heute.
Tomorrow I’ll eat the rest, not today.

Word order variations (all correct, different emphases):

Ich esse den Rest morgen. – neutral
Ich esse morgen den Rest. – neutral
Morgen esse ich den Rest. – emphasis on tomorrow
Den Rest esse ich morgen. – emphasis on the rest (implies maybe there are other things you eat today)

German uses word order to shift emphasis more flexibly than English does.

Is there a difference between morgen, Morgen, and am Morgen?

Yes, they’re different:

morgen (lowercase) – adverb, means “tomorrow” (the next day)
- Ich esse den Rest morgen. – I’ll eat the rest tomorrow.
der Morgen (capitalized) – noun, means “morning” (the part of the day)
- Der Morgen ist kalt. – The morning is cold.
am Morgen – literally “on the morning”, usually “in the morning” (on that day, in the morning hours)
- Ich esse den Rest am Morgen. – I eat the rest in the morning.

So:

Ich esse den Rest morgen. – tomorrow (any time that day)
Ich esse den Rest morgen früh. – tomorrow morning (specifically)
Ich esse den Rest am Morgen. – in the morning (could be tomorrow, or some other specified day)

The sentence you gave clearly means “tomorrow”, not “in the morning”.

Could I say Ich werde den Rest morgen essen instead? Is there any nuance difference?

Yes, Ich werde den Rest morgen essen is grammatically correct and means the same thing: “I will eat the rest tomorrow.”

Nuance:

Present tense + time adverb (Ich esse den Rest morgen)
- Most common in everyday speech
- Neutral, normal, sounds natural in conversation
Futur I (Ich werde den Rest morgen essen)
- Often a bit more formal or more detached
- Can emphasize the future-ness, a plan, a prediction, or sometimes a promise

In normal spoken German, people very often prefer:

Ich esse den Rest morgen.

and only use werde essen when they really want to stress future time, probability, or intention.

Why does den end with -n here, and what would happen if there was an adjective in front of Rest?

For masculine singular nouns, the definite article endings are:

Nominative: der
Accusative: den

So in the accusative masculine, the article gets an -n: den.

If you add an adjective, it also has to show case, gender, and number. With a definite article:

Nominative: der kalte Rest – the cold rest (subject)
Accusative: Ich esse den kalten Rest. – I eat the cold rest (object)

So the full phrase in your sentence could be:

Ich esse den letzten Rest morgen.
I’ll eat the last (remaining) rest tomorrow.

Here den shows accusative masculine, and the adjective letzten also takes -en because of that case and the preceding definite article.

How would I replace den Rest with a pronoun?

Since Rest is masculine singular, its accusative pronoun is ihn (“him/it”).

So:

Ich esse den Rest morgen.
→ Ich esse ihn morgen.

Examples:

Der Kuchen ist lecker. Ich esse den Rest morgen.
→ Der Kuchen ist lecker. Ich esse ihn morgen.
The cake is tasty. I’ll eat the rest (of it) tomorrow.

The pronoun takes the gender of the noun, not of what it refers to in reality. Even if the cake is a thing, the pronoun is ihn because Kuchen is masculine.

What’s the typical position of time expressions like morgen in German word order?

A common rule of thumb is “Time – Manner – Place” (TMP) for the order of adverbials inside the sentence:

Time: morgen, heute, gestern, am Montag, nächste Woche …
Manner: schnell, langsam, mit Freunden, gern …
Place: zu Hause, in Berlin, im Büro …

In a simple sentence:

Ich esse den Rest morgen zu Hause.
- Time: morgen
- Place: zu Hause

Or:

Ich esse morgen den Rest zu Hause.
Morgen esse ich den Rest zu Hause.

So, morgen normally appears quite early among the elements that come after the verb. Both:

Ich esse den Rest morgen.
Ich esse morgen den Rest.

are compatible with that idea and are very natural. The TMP rule is a tendency, not an absolute law, but it’s a useful guide.

Does Ich esse den Rest morgen sound like a one‑time event or a habit? How would I say “I eat the rest in the mornings” as a habit?

Ich esse den Rest morgen is understood as a one-time or specific event: I’ll eat the rest tomorrow (on that specific day).

For a habitual action, German usually uses different time words:

morgens – in the mornings (regularly)
jeden Morgen – every morning
immer morgens – always in the mornings

Examples for habits:

Ich esse den Rest morgens.
I eat the rest in the mornings (as a general habit).
Ich esse den Rest jeden Morgen.
I eat the rest every morning.

So:

morgen = tomorrow (one specific day)
morgens = in the mornings (habitual / repeated).

Are there more polite or softer ways to say the same idea in German?

Yes, you can soften or nuance the sentence a bit with particles or additional words, depending on context.

Some options:

Ich esse den Rest dann morgen.
I’ll eat the rest tomorrow then.
– dann can make it sound a bit more agreeable or like you’re accepting a plan.
Den Rest esse ich morgen, ja?
I’ll eat the rest tomorrow, okay?
– The ja? invites confirmation.
Den Rest esse ich morgen, wenn das okay ist.
I’ll eat the rest tomorrow, if that’s okay.
Ich würde den Rest morgen essen.
I’d eat the rest tomorrow.
– More tentative / polite, e.g. when making a suggestion.

The basic structure Ich esse den Rest morgen is already neutral and not impolite; these are just ways to soften it in conversation.