Am Sonntag möchte ich morgens weiterschlafen.

On Sunday I would like to keep sleeping in the morning.

Breakdown of Am Sonntag möchte ich morgens weiterschlafen.

• ich: I
• der Sonntag: the Sunday
• möchten: would like to
• morgens: in the morning

Questions & Answers about Am Sonntag möchte ich morgens weiterschlafen.

What exactly does am in Am Sonntag mean?

Am is a contraction of an dem.

• an = “on” (when used with days and dates)
• dem = dative form of the masculine article der (“the”)

So Am Sonntag literally is an dem Sonntag → “on the Sunday,” which in natural English is just “on Sunday.”

In German, days of the week usually appear with an + dative when you say on [day]:

• am Montag – on Monday
• am Freitag – on Friday

Could I say An Sonntag or Im Sonntag instead of Am Sonntag?

No, those would be wrong in standard German.

• For days of the week, German uses an + dative, and almost always in the contracted form am:
  • ✅ am Sonntag
  • ❌ an Sonntag
  • ❌ im Sonntag

im = in dem (“in the”), and you don’t say “in Sunday” in German for time expressions, just like you don’t in English.

Why does Sonntag take the dative case here?