Breakdown of Am Abend möchte ich abschalten und eine Serie sehen.
Questions & Answers about Am Abend möchte ich abschalten und eine Serie sehen.
Am is the contraction of an dem (the preposition an + dative article dem).
For times of day and days of the week, German often uses an + dative:
- am Abend = on / in the evening
- am Morgen = in the morning
- am Montag = on Monday
So:
- Am Abend is the natural way to say in the evening (often referring to a specific or typical evening).
- Im Abend is basically not used in standard German.
- Just Abend möchte ich… is ungrammatical; you need a preposition or an adverbial form like abends.
A related form is:
- abends möchte ich abschalten… = in the evenings / in the evening (habitually, as a routine)
Both relate to the evening, but the nuance is different:
Am Abend
- literally on the evening / in the evening
- can refer to a specific evening (often understood from context, e.g. “tonight”)
- or to a general time of day, but less strongly “habitual” than abends
Abends
- means in the evenings / in the evening (in general, regularly)
- clearly suggests a habit or routine
Examples:
Am Abend möchte ich abschalten.
→ This evening / in the evening I want to switch off. (could mean tonight, or generally but context decides)Abends möchte ich abschalten.
→ In the evenings I like to switch off. (sounds like a general habit)
German main clauses follow the verb-second rule:
- The conjugated verb (here möchte) must be the second element in the sentence.
- Only one element can come before it: here it’s Am Abend.
So:
- Am Abend = 1st element (a time expression)
- möchte = 2nd element (the finite verb)
- ich = next element (the subject)
Correct:
- Am Abend möchte ich abschalten…
- Ich möchte am Abend abschalten…
Incorrect:
- Am Abend ich möchte abschalten… ✗ (verb is not in second position)
You can move elements around for emphasis, but the conjugated verb must stay in second place in a main clause.
Because of the modal verb möchte.
In German, when you use a modal verb (like möchte, kann, will, muss, soll, darf), the other verb(s) stay in the infinitive and go to the end of the clause.
Pattern:
- [conjugated modal] + … + [infinitive]
Here:
- möchte (conjugated, 2nd position)
- abschalten und eine Serie sehen (infinitives at the end)
So:
- Am Abend möchte ich abschalten und eine Serie sehen.
If there were just one verb without a modal, it would be conjugated and in second position:
- Am Abend schalte ich ab und sehe eine Serie.
Möchte is historically the Konjunktiv II (subjunctive) form of mögen, but in modern German it’s used almost exclusively as a modal verb meaning would like to.
Compare:
- ich mag = I like (something)
- ich möchte = I would like (to do something)
Conjugation of möchte:
- ich möchte
- du möchtest
- er/sie/es möchte
- wir möchten
- ihr möchtet
- sie/Sie möchten
It sounds softer and more polite than will:
- Ich möchte abschalten. = I’d like to switch off. (polite, less pushy)
- Ich will abschalten. = I want to switch off. (stronger, more determined; can sound a bit blunt depending on context)
Literally, abschalten means to switch off / to turn off (a device):
- Ich schalte den Fernseher ab. = I switch the TV off.
Figuratively, as in this sentence, it means:
- to switch off mentally
- to unwind, relax, stop thinking about work or problems
So Am Abend möchte ich abschalten means something like:
- In the evening I want to unwind / mentally switch off.
Note: abschalten is a separable verb.
In present tense without a modal, you would say:
- Ich schalte ab. (prefix ab goes to the end)
All of these are possible; they just differ in style and regional preference.
sehen
- neutral, standard
- works everywhere
- common in written and spoken German
schauen / Fernsehen schauen
- more common in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland
- sounds slightly more conversational
gucken / glotzen
- more colloquial / regional
- gucken is quite common in many regions
- glotzen can sound slangy or a bit negative (“to stare / to veg out in front of the TV”)
So you could also hear:
- Am Abend möchte ich abschalten und eine Serie schauen.
- Am Abend möchte ich abschalten und eine Serie gucken.
But sehen is the safest, most neutral choice.
Eine Serie is in the accusative case.
Reason: It is the direct object of the verb sehen.
Pattern:
- Subject (nominative) → ich
- Verb → sehen
- Direct object (accusative) → eine Serie
So:
- Ich (who is doing the seeing? → subject, nominative)
- sehe (verb)
- eine Serie (what do I see? → direct object, accusative)
Because möchte is a modal verb, and modal verbs in German are followed by the bare infinitive (without zu):
- ich möchte abschalten
- ich kann abschalten
- ich will abschalten
So the pattern is:
- möchte + [infinitive]
When you have two infinitives controlled by the same modal, you also use them without zu:
- möchte abschalten und eine Serie sehen
You use zu + infinitive in other structures, for example:
- Ich habe vor, abzuschalten und eine Serie zu sehen.
- Ich freue mich darauf, abzuschalten und eine Serie zu sehen.
Because there are not two main clauses here. The und simply connects two infinitives inside one verb phrase:
- abschalten
- (und) eine Serie sehen
German generally does not put a comma before und when it just links:
- two verbs with the same subject, or
- two parts of a simple predicate.
Examples:
- Ich trinke Kaffee und lese die Zeitung.
- Am Abend möchte ich abschalten und eine Serie sehen.
A comma before und would appear if und joined two independent main clauses:
- Es ist spät, und ich gehe ins Bett.
Yes, that sentence is also correct.
- Am Abend möchte ich abschalten…
- Ich möchte am Abend abschalten…
Both are grammatical and mean essentially the same thing.
The difference is emphasis:
- Starting with Am Abend emphasizes the time:
→ In the evening I’d like to switch off… - Starting with Ich emphasizes the subject (I):
→ I would like to switch off in the evening…
In both versions, the finite verb (möchte) stays in second position, which is the crucial rule.