Questions & Answers about Am Abend denke ich über meinen Tag nach.
Why does the sentence start with Am Abend instead of Ich?
German main clauses normally put the finite verb in second position. What comes first can vary:
- Ich denke am Abend über meinen Tag nach.
- Am Abend denke ich über meinen Tag nach.
Both are correct. Putting Am Abend first simply emphasizes the time (“In the evening, I think about my day”) and sounds very natural in German. The verb denke still stays in second position; Am Abend counts as the first sentence element.
What exactly is am in Am Abend?
Am is a contraction of an + dem:
- an dem Abend → am Abend
Here:
- an is a preposition.
- dem is the dative form of the masculine article der.
- Abend is masculine (der Abend).
For time expressions, an + dative is common:
- am Morgen (in the morning)
- am Nachmittag (in the afternoon)
- am Abend (in the evening)
What case is Abend in Am Abend, and why?