Learn Hardcore German: Am Wochenende möchten wir einen Ausflug ans Meer machen. - At the weekend we would like to go on a trip to the sea.

an
- dative is used for points in time:
  - am Montag (on Monday)
  - am Abend (in the evening)
Wochenende is neuter (das Wochenende), and after an in this time expression it takes the dative: dem Wochenende → am Wochenende.

In dem Wochenende is not idiomatic German for “on the weekend”. You normally say am Wochenende.

Why is Wochenende capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence.

Wochenende is a noun (it names a thing/time: “weekend”), so it must be written with a capital letter: das Wochenende, am Wochenende, etc.

This is a general rule:

die Stadt, ein Auto, am Montag, im Sommer, das Essen – all capitalized because they’re nouns.

Why is it möchten here and not wollen or a future tense with werden?

In the sentence Am Wochenende möchten wir einen Ausflug ans Meer machen, möchten expresses a polite, non‑insistent desire — roughly “would like to”.

Comparisons:

wir möchten = “we would like to” (politer, softer, common in conversation)
wir wollen = “we want” (stronger, more direct, can sound pushy)
wir werden … machen = future tense “we will …” (grammatically fine, but for plans you usually don’t need werden in German)

In German, the present tense is very often used for future plans if the time is clear from context:

Am Wochenende möchten wir … = “We would like to … (this coming weekend).”

So möchten here is natural and polite for “we’d like to go on a trip to the sea.”

Why is the verb order möchten wir … machen and why does machen go to the end?

Möchten is a modal verb. In German:

The modal verb is conjugated and goes into the second position.
The main verb (the action) goes in its infinitive form at the end of the clause.

So in this sentence:

möchten = modal verb (conjugated: wir möchten)
machen = main verb (infinitive)

Word order pattern:

Am Wochenende (element 1, a time phrase)
möchten (finite verb, position 2)
wir (subject)
einen Ausflug ans Meer (the rest of the information)
machen (main verb at the end)

This is the normal pattern with modal verbs:

Ich will ein Buch lesen.
Wir müssen morgen früh aufstehen.
Sie kann sehr gut schwimmen.

What case is einen Ausflug and why is it einen, not ein?

Einen Ausflug is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of machen (What do we want to make/do? → a trip).

Ausflug:

gender: masculine → der Ausflug
accusative singular masculine form of ein is einen.

So:

nominative: ein Ausflug (subject) → Ein Ausflug ist eine gute Idee.
accusative: einen Ausflug (object) → Wir machen einen Ausflug.

In your sentence, einen Ausflug is what is being “made”, so it must be in the accusative: einen.

What does ans Meer mean exactly, and why is it written as one word?

Ans is a contraction of an das:

an (preposition) = “to / at / on” depending on context
das = definite article for neuter noun Meer

So:

an das Meer → ans Meer

Meaning:

With an
- accusative, we express movement toward a boundary or surface:
  - ans Meer fahren = drive/go to the sea
  - an die Wand gehen (less common) = go to the wall

So ans Meer here means “to the sea”. It’s written as one word because in everyday German, an + das is almost always contracted to ans in this kind of phrase.

Why is it ans Meer and not zum Meer or ins Meer?

All three are grammatically possible, but they don’t mean quite the same thing:

ans Meer (an + das + accusative)
→ Movement to the seaside/coast, i.e. to spend time by the sea.
Typical for holidays/trips.
zum Meer (zu + dem + dative)
→ Movement “to(wards) the sea” in a more general sense. It could work, but for the idea “go on a trip to the seaside”, ans Meer is the usual idiom.
ins Meer (in + das + accusative)
→ Movement into the sea (into the water). This would mean something like “into the sea (to go swimming / to throw something into the water)”, not “to the seaside”.

In the context of a weekend trip, ans Meer is the natural choice.

Is Meer singular or plural here, and what kind of “sea” is it?

Meer in ans Meer is:

singular
neuter noun: das Meer

It refers to “the sea / the ocean” in a general sense – not a specific named sea like “the Baltic Sea” (which is die Ostsee).

Examples:

das Meer = the sea / the ocean
am Meer = at/by the sea
ans Meer = to the sea

Compare:

der See = the lake (e.g. an den See fahren – go to the lake)
die See (more literary/nautical) = the sea (e.g. an die See fahren – go to the sea/coast)

In everyday speech for holiday context, ans Meer is more common than an die See in many regions.

Can I leave out machen and just say Am Wochenende möchten wir einen Ausflug ans Meer?

Not really, at least not in standard, natural German.

In German, einen Ausflug machen (“to make/do a trip”) is a fixed and very common collocation. If you remove machen, einen Ausflug sounds unfinished in this sentence.

More natural alternatives without machen would be to change the verb:

Am Wochenende möchten wir ans Meer fahren.
(At the weekend we would like to go/drive to the sea.)
Am Wochenende möchten wir ans Meer reisen. (more formal)

But as long as you keep Ausflug, you normally keep machen:

Am Wochenende möchten wir einen Ausflug ans Meer machen. ✅
Am Wochenende möchten wir einen Ausflug ans Meer. ❌ (feels incomplete)

Why does the sentence start with Am Wochenende and not with Wir? Would Wir möchten am Wochenende … also be correct?

Both are correct; the difference is mainly in emphasis and style.

Wir möchten am Wochenende einen Ausflug ans Meer machen.
→ Neutral word order, starting with the subject (wir).
Am Wochenende möchten wir einen Ausflug ans Meer machen.
→ The time expression (am Wochenende) is put in the first position, so it is emphasized: As for the weekend, we’d like to …

German word order rules:

The finite verb (here möchten) must be in second position in a main clause.
The first position can be filled by any one element: subject, time phrase, place phrase, object, etc.

So both:

Wir | möchten | am Wochenende … machen.
Am Wochenende | möchten | wir … machen.

are grammatically fine. You just choose what to highlight.

Why is it Am Wochenende and not Am Wochenenden (with -n at the end)?

Because Wochenende is neuter and does not add -n in the dative singular.

Forms of das Wochenende:

nominative: das Wochenende
accusative: das Wochenende
dative: dem Wochenende
genitive: des Wochenendes

After an in time expressions we use the dative:

an dem Wochenende → am Wochenende (no extra -n at the end of Wochenende)

The -n you may know in dative singular appears with many masculine weak nouns (e.g. dem Jungen, dem Kollegen) or plural forms (mit den Kindern). It does not apply to das Wochenende.

Why is the present tense used here if we are talking about the future?

German very often uses the present tense to talk about the future when the time is clear from context.

In your sentence:

The time is specified by am Wochenende, so it’s obvious we are talking about the future.
Therefore, möchten … machen in the present tense is enough.

Examples:

Morgen fahre ich nach Berlin. = I’m going to Berlin tomorrow.
Nächste Woche arbeiten wir nicht. = We’re not working next week.

You could say:

Am Wochenende werden wir einen Ausflug ans Meer machen.

But this sounds more like a statement of fact or a firm plan (“We will…”).
The original Am Wochenende möchten wir … focuses more on the wish/desire than on a scheduled plan.

Could I replace einen Ausflug with something more like English “trip”, e.g. einen Trip? Is there a nuance difference?

Yes, you can say einen Trip, but the nuance changes slightly:

einen Ausflug machen
→ very standard, neutral German. Typical for day trips, family outings, excursions.
einen Trip machen
→ more colloquial / informal, influenced by English. Often associated with (short) vacations or more casual travel, can sound a bit trendier/younger.

So:

Am Wochenende möchten wir einen Ausflug ans Meer machen.
Neutral, natural for “We’d like to go on a trip to the sea (maybe a day trip).”
Am Wochenende möchten wir einen Trip ans Meer machen.
More informal; you might hear this among friends, in casual conversation.

For learners, einen Ausflug machen is the safest and most idiomatic choice.