Ich nehme abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche.

In the evening I take a shower in the bathroom.

Breakdown of Ich nehme abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche.

• ich: I
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• nehmen: to take
• abends: in the evening
• die Dusche: the shower
• eine: a; (feminine, accusative)
• das Badezimmer: the bathroom

Questions & Answers about Ich nehme abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche.

Why does the sentence use "eine Dusche nehmen" instead of just saying "Ich dusche"?

Both are correct, but there are small differences in style and nuance:

• Ich dusche.

  • Literally: I shower.
  • Very common, simple, and slightly more colloquial.
  • Focuses on the action as a verb.

• Ich nehme eine Dusche.

  • Literally: I take a shower.
  • Also normal, slightly more formal or descriptive, and sounds a bit more “complete” in some contexts.
  • Focuses on the action as “taking” the thing Dusche.

In everyday spoken German, Ich dusche (abends) is probably more frequent, but Ich nehme abends eine Dusche is absolutely correct and idiomatic.

What grammatical case is "eine Dusche" in, and why?

Eine Dusche is in the accusative case.

• The main verb is nehmen (to take).
• Nehmen is a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object.
• The direct object is eine Dusche (what you are taking).
• In German, direct objects are in the accusative.

You can see this from the article:

• Nominative feminine: eine Dusche
• Accusative feminine: eine Dusche

For feminine nouns, nominative and accusative look the same, so you have to know from the function (direct object) that it’s accusative.

Why is it "im Badezimmer" and not "in dem Badezimmer"?

Im is a standard contraction of in dem:

• in = in
• dem = the (dative, masculine or neuter)
• in + dem → im

Badezimmer is neuter (das Badezimmer), and after in with a location (no movement), you need the dative case:

• in + dem Badezimmer → im Badezimmer

You could say in dem Badezimmer, but in normal speech and writing, im Badezimmer is preferred and more natural.

What case is used in "im Badezimmer", and why is it not accusative?

Im Badezimmer is dative case.

Reason:

• in is a two-way preposition (Wechselpräposition). It takes:
  • Accusative when there is movement into something (answering “where to?” – wohin?)
  • Dative when it describes position/location (answering “where?” – wo?)

In this sentence, we are talking about where the shower happens, not movement into the bathroom:

• Wo dusche ich? – im Badezimmer → dative
• Formally: in dem Badezimmer → im Badezimmer

If it described movement into the bathroom, you’d use accusative instead:

• Ich gehe ins Badezimmer. (in + das → ins, accusative)

Why is the word order "abends im Badezimmer" and not "im Badezimmer abends"? Are both possible?

Both are grammatically correct, but they differ slightly in emphasis and typical style.

German usually follows a guideline often taught as “time – manner – place” for adverbials:

• abends = time (when?)
• im Badezimmer = place (where?)

So, the neutral, typical order is:

• Ich nehme abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche.
  (time first, then place)

You can say:

• Ich nehme im Badezimmer abends eine Dusche.

This is understood, but it sounds slightly less neutral and more marked; it might feel like you’re stressing “im Badezimmer” first and then adding “abends” as an afterthought.

You can also put the time at the very beginning for emphasis:

• Abends nehme ich im Badezimmer eine Dusche.
  (Emphasis on in the evenings)

What exactly does "abends" mean, and how is it different from "am Abend" or "jeden Abend"?

Abends is a time adverb and means roughly “in the evenings / at night (in the evening period), usually / regularly”.

• abends

  • General, habitual: in the evenings (as a routine)
  • Example: Ich lese abends. – I read in the evenings.

• am Abend

  • Literally: on the evening
  • More like “in the (particular) evening” or “in the evening (today / that day)”.
  • Example: Am Abend war ich müde. – In the evening, I was tired.

• jeden Abend

  • Literally: every evening
  • Stronger, very explicit regularity.
  • Example: Ich dusche jeden Abend. – I shower every evening.

So abends often implies a habitual action without sounding as strict or explicit as jeden Abend.

Why is it "abends" and not "am Abende" or something with an article?

Abends is an adverb, formed from the noun Abend plus -s, which is a common way to make time adverbs in German:

• der Morgen → morgens (in the mornings)
• der Mittag → mittags (at noon / at midday, usually)
• der Abend → abends (in the evenings)
• die Nacht → nachts (at night, in the nights)

As an adverb, abends does not need an article. You would only use an article if you keep it as a noun phrase:

• am Abend (= an + dem Abend) – in the evening
• in der Nacht – in the night

Here, abends is the idiomatic, compact adverb form.

Could I also say "Ich dusche abends im Badezimmer" instead of "Ich nehme abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche"?

Yes, absolutely. That is very natural German:

• Ich dusche abends im Badezimmer.

Meaning-wise, it’s the same as:

• Ich nehme abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche.

Differences:

• Ich dusche …

  • Uses the verb duschen directly.
  • Maybe slightly more common in everyday speech.

• Ich nehme … eine Dusche.

  • Uses nehmen
    • noun.
  • Slightly more formal or descriptive in style.

In most situations, Ich dusche abends im Badezimmer would be the more typical everyday phrasing.

Do Germans ever say "Ich dusche mich", like “I wash myself”?

In modern standard German, for the meaning “I am taking a shower / I shower”, people usually say:

• Ich dusche.

Ich dusche mich does exist, but:

• It sounds more like “I am showering myself” with emphasis on “myself” as the object, and is less common in many regions.
• In many dialects or colloquial varieties, people still say it, but standard German doesn’t require mich.

So, for everyday standard German, prefer:

• Ich dusche (abends).
  not
• Ich dusche mich (abends).

What is the gender of "Dusche", and how can I tell from the sentence?

Dusche is feminine: die Dusche.

You can tell from the article:

• eine Dusche → eine is the feminine indefinite article in nominative and accusative.

Typical hints (not rules) that help:

• Many nouns ending in -e are feminine: die Dusche, die Lampe, die Straße, die Blume.
  (But there are exceptions, so you do need to learn each noun’s gender.)

In the dictionary, it will appear as die Dusche (f).

Why is the verb "nehme" and not "nehmt" or "nimmt"?

Because the subject is ich (I), and nehmen is irregular. Its present tense forms are:

• ich nehme – I take
• du nimmst – you (singular, informal) take
• er/sie/es nimmt – he/she/it takes
• wir nehmen – we take
• ihr nehmt – you (plural, informal) take
• sie/Sie nehmen – they / you (formal) take

So for ich, the correct form is nehme:

• Ich nehme abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche. ✔
• Er nimmt abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche. ✔ (he takes…)
• Ihr nehmt abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche. ✔ (you all take…)

Can I move the time to the front and say "Abends nehme ich im Badezimmer eine Dusche"? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can, and it’s very natural:

• Abends nehme ich im Badezimmer eine Dusche.

This does not change the basic meaning; it mostly changes emphasis:

• Ich nehme abends im Badezimmer eine Dusche.
  – neutral word order, focus on the whole statement.

• Abends nehme ich im Badezimmer eine Dusche.
  – puts extra stress on when you do it: In the evenings, (that’s when) I take a shower in the bathroom.

In German, it’s common and stylistically good to put adverbials like time at the beginning for emphasis or variety.