Learn Hardcore German: Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich meist zu Hause. - During the lockdown I usually stay at home.

während des Lockdowns → genitive (correct in standard written German)
während dem Lockdown → dative, which many people say in everyday speech, but it’s considered non‑standard or colloquial.

So the rule is:

während + Genitive → während des Lockdowns, während des Urlaubs, während der Woche

What grammatical case is des Lockdowns, and how is it formed?

des Lockdowns is genitive singular masculine.

Breakdown:

Lockdown is treated as masculine → der Lockdown
Genitive singular masculine article: des
Many masculine and neuter nouns form the genitive by adding -s or -es:
- der Tag → des Tages
- der Computer → des Computers
- der Lockdown → des Lockdowns

Loanwords that end in a consonant often just take -s, like des Lockdowns, des Jobs, des Tests.

Is während here a conjunction or a preposition, and what’s the difference?

In Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich meist zu Hause, während is a preposition, because it is followed by a noun phrase (des Lockdowns), not by a full clause.

As a preposition (followed by a noun in the genitive):
- Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich zu Hause.
  → During the lockdown, I stay at home.
As a subordinating conjunction (followed by a clause with the verb at the end):
- Während ich im Lockdown bin, bleibe ich zu Hause.
  → While I am in lockdown, I stay at home.

So:

Preposition → während + noun (genitive), main clause verb is in 2nd position.
Conjunction → während + subject + … + verb (at the end) in the subclause.

Why is the verb before the subject: bleibe ich instead of ich bleibe?

German main clauses follow the verb‑second rule (V2): the conjugated verb must be the second element in the sentence.

Here, Während des Lockdowns is taken as one element (a time phrase) and placed first. That uses up the first position, so the verb must come next:

Während des Lockdowns – first element
bleibe – conjugated verb (second position)
ich meist zu Hause – the rest (middle/remainder field)

Compare:

Ich bleibe meist zu Hause.
→ Subject first, verb second.
Meist bleibe ich zu Hause.
→ Adverb first, verb second, subject third.
Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich meist zu Hause.
→ Time phrase first, verb second, subject third.

The subject doesn’t have to be first, but the finite verb must be in second position in a main clause.

Could I also say Ich bleibe während des Lockdowns meist zu Hause? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, that sentence is also correct and natural. German allows some flexibility in the middle field (everything after the verb in 2nd position).

All of these are grammatical:

Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich meist zu Hause.
Ich bleibe während des Lockdowns meist zu Hause.
Ich bleibe meist während des Lockdowns zu Hause.

They all mean essentially the same; the differences are about emphasis:

Starting with Während des Lockdowns emphasizes the time frame.
Starting with Ich is more neutral and subject‑focused.
Moving meist slightly changes the rhythm but not the basic meaning.

One thing you normally don’t do is interrupt zu Hause:

✗ Ich bleibe zu meist Hause. (wrong / very unnatural)

Why is it bleibe ich (I stay) and not bin ich (I am) at home?

Both bleiben and sein can be used with zu Hause, but they express slightly different ideas:

Ich bleibe zu Hause.
→ I stay / remain at home (I don’t go out; I choose to stay in).
Ich bin zu Hause.
→ I am at home (describes my current location).

In the original sentence, the idea is:

During the lockdown period, I (tend to) stay at home instead of going out.

That’s a decision or habit, so bleiben is more natural:

Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich meist zu Hause.
→ I mostly stay at home during lockdown.

If the focus were only on where you are, you might say:

Während des Lockdowns bin ich meist zu Hause.
→ Also possible, but emphasizes being located at home rather than the act of staying there.

What does meist mean exactly, and how is it different from meistens?

Both meist and meistens usually mean mostly / most of the time.

In this sentence:

Ich bleibe meist zu Hause.
Ich bleibe meistens zu Hause.

are very close in meaning.

Nuances:

meist is slightly shorter and a bit more formal/literary in some contexts.
meistens is very common in spoken German and sounds a bit more colloquial and explicit: “most of the time”.

In everyday speech, they are often interchangeable:

Ich bin meist müde. / Ich bin meistens müde.
Er ist meist zu spät. / Er ist meistens zu spät.

So you can safely treat meist ≈ meistens here.

Where can meist go in the sentence? Can I say Ich bleibe meist zu Hause?

Yes, Ich bleibe meist zu Hause is perfectly correct and very natural.

Common placements of meist in this sentence:

Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich meist zu Hause.
Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich zu Hause, meist. (possible, but sounds like an afterthought)
Ich bleibe meist während des Lockdowns zu Hause. (grammatical but less typical in this exact context)
Ich bleibe meist zu Hause. (without the time phrase)

General rules:

meist is an adverb and usually stands in the middle field, often before the element it modifies.
Don’t break fixed expressions like zu Hause:
- ✓ meist zu Hause
- ✗ zu meist Hause

The version you suggested, Ich bleibe meist zu Hause, is one of the most neutral and frequent word orders.

Why is it zu Hause with a space, and sometimes I see zuhause as one word?

Both zu Hause and zuhause are used in modern German.

Traditionally:

zu Hause = preposition zu
- noun das Haus (in a fixed phrase)
Over time, this became a kind of adverb meaning at home.

Nowadays:

zu Hause → still very common and absolutely correct.
zuhause → also accepted in many contexts, especially as an adverb.

Examples:

Ich bin zu Hause. / Ich bin zuhause.
Er fühlt sich zuhause.

In careful writing, zu Hause (two words, capital H) is often preferred, especially in more formal texts. In everyday writing, zuhause as one word is also widespread and considered standard by major dictionaries.

What is the difference between zu Hause and nach Hause?

They express different directions:

zu Hause = at home (location, “where?”)
- Ich bin zu Hause. → I am at home.
- Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich zu Hause. → I stay at home.
nach Hause = (to) home (direction, “where to?”)
- Ich gehe nach Hause. → I go (to) home.
- Kommst du nach Hause? → Are you coming home?

So you cannot replace one with the other:

✗ Ich bin nach Hause. (wrong)
✗ Ich gehe zu Hause. (wrong in this sense)

Use zu Hause for being/staying somewhere; nach Hause for moving to that place.

Why is Lockdowns capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of whether they are common or proper nouns.

der Lockdown, des Lockdowns
das Haus, die Stadt, der Tisch

So Lockdowns is capitalized because it is the genitive form of the noun Lockdown. This applies even though Lockdown is a loanword from English.

Verbs, adjectives, and most adverbs are not capitalized, unless they are turned into nouns (nominalized), e.g.:

das Bleiben zu Hause (the act of staying at home)
→ here Bleiben becomes a noun and is capitalized.

Is Lockdown masculine, feminine, or neuter in German, and how is that shown here?

In German, Lockdown is generally treated as masculine:

der Lockdown – nominative singular
des Lockdowns – genitive singular
dem Lockdown – dative singular
den Lockdown – accusative singular

In the sentence:

des Lockdowns uses the masculine genitive article des, which shows that German speakers treat Lockdown as masculine.

With loanwords, gender is often somewhat arbitrary and must be learned, but der Lockdown is the standard choice.

Could I also say Im Lockdown bleibe ich meist zu Hause? Does it mean the same as Während des Lockdowns …?

Im Lockdown is possible and understandable, but there is a slight nuance difference:

Während des Lockdowns
→ literally during the lockdown; focuses on the entire time period as a span.
Im Lockdown
→ literally in (the state of) lockdown; somewhat more like “when we are in lockdown / during lockdown times”.

They are very close in meaning in everyday use. Stylistically:

Während des Lockdowns sounds a bit more formal/standard.
Im Lockdown sounds a bit more colloquial/condensed.

Both can be used with the same main clause:

Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich meist zu Hause.
Im Lockdown bleibe ich meist zu Hause.

Does the present tense bleibe talk about the future here too?

Yes, German Präsens (present tense) can cover:

Current / general habit
- Während des Lockdowns bleibe ich meist zu Hause.
  → During lockdown periods (whenever they occur), I mostly stay at home.
Near or planned future (by context)
- Morgen bleibe ich zu Hause. → I’m staying home tomorrow.

In the original sentence, it most naturally expresses a general habit or rule during that lockdown, rather than a single future plan. You don’t need a separate future tense; the present tense plus context is usually enough in German.