Abends machen wir ein kleines Lagerfeuer vor den Zelten.

In the evening we make a small campfire in front of the tents.

Breakdown of Abends machen wir ein kleines Lagerfeuer vor den Zelten.

• wir: we
• klein: small
• machen: to make
• vor: in front of
• abends: in the evening
• das Zelt: the tent
• das Lagerfeuer: the campfire

Questions & Answers about Abends machen wir ein kleines Lagerfeuer vor den Zelten.

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

Abends is a temporal adverb meaning roughly “in the evenings / in the evening (as a habit, usually)”.

Comparison:

• abends

  • Means “in the evenings, usually / as a rule”.
  • Emphasizes a regular, habitual action.
  • Example: Abends lesen wir. – We read in the evenings (as our habit).

• am Abend

  • Literally “on the evening / in the evening”.
  • Often refers more to a specific evening, or to the time of day without stressing habit.
  • Example: Am Abend lesen wir. – We read in the evening (today / on that day, or generally at that time of day).

• jeden Abend

  • Literally “every evening”.
  • Very explicit: it happens every single evening.
  • Example: Jeden Abend lesen wir. – We read every evening.

In your sentence, Abends machen wir ein kleines Lagerfeuer … clearly suggests this is something you usually do in the evenings, not just once.

Why is Abends capitalized here, and is it a noun or an adverb?

In this sentence, Abends is an adverb, not a noun.

It is capitalized only because it is the first word in the sentence. If you put it in the middle of the sentence, it is written with a small a:

• Abends machen wir ein kleines Lagerfeuer.
• Wir machen abends ein kleines Lagerfeuer.

So:

• Part of speech: adverb of time (temporal adverb)
• Normal spelling: abends (lowercase), except at the beginning of a sentence.

Why does the sentence say Abends machen wir … instead of Abends wir machen … or Wir machen abends …?

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule: the finite verb (here machen) must be in second position in the sentence.

• The first position can be many things: subject, time adverb, object, etc.
• Whatever you put first, the conjugated verb must come second.

So:

• Abends machen wir ein kleines Lagerfeuer.
  
  1. Abends (position 1)
  2. machen (finite verb, position 2)
  3. wir … (subject comes after the verb because of inversion)

Abends wir machen … is wrong because then the verb is in third position, which violates the verb‑second rule.

You can also say:

• Wir machen abends ein kleines Lagerfeuer.

Here, wir is in first position, machen is still second. Both sentences are correct; the difference is only what you emphasize first (time vs. subject).

Is Wir machen abends ein kleines Lagerfeuer vor den Zelten also correct, and does it change the meaning?

Yes, it is correct:

• Wir machen abends ein kleines Lagerfeuer vor den Zelten.

Meaning: essentially the same as Abends machen wir … – “In the evenings we make a small campfire in front of the tents.”

Differences:

• Abends machen wir …
  
  • Emphasizes the time (“In the evenings …”) as the starting point of the information.
• Wir machen abends …
  
  • Emphasizes we (“We make …”) and then adds when as extra information.

In everyday speech, both are natural; it’s mostly a matter of style and emphasis.

Why is it ein kleines Lagerfeuer and not eine kleine Lagerfeuer?

Because Lagerfeuer is neuter in German: das Lagerfeuer.

• Neuter indefinite article (nominative and accusative singular): ein
• Feminine indefinite article: eine

So:

• Correct: ein kleines Lagerfeuer (neuter)
• Incorrect: eine kleine Lagerfeuer (would assume feminine, but Feuer is neuter)

The gender comes from the last part of the compound:

• das Feuer → therefore das Lagerfeuer

The adjective klein has to agree with the neuter noun in the accusative (direct object), which gives kleines.

How do the adjective endings work in ein kleines Lagerfeuer?

Let’s analyze:

• Article: ein (indefinite article, singular, neuter)
• Noun: Lagerfeuer (neuter)
• Role in the sentence: direct object of machen → accusative case

Pattern for neuter singular with ein:

• Nominative: ein kleines Lagerfeuer
• Accusative: ein kleines Lagerfeuer

So in both nominative and accusative neuter with ein, the adjective takes -es:

• ein kleines Kind
• ein kleines Problem
• ein kleines Lagerfeuer

The -es ending is the visible marker of the case and gender here, because ein itself looks the same in nominative and accusative neuter.

What exactly does Lagerfeuer mean, and how is it built?

Lagerfeuer is a compound noun:

• Lager – camp (here in the sense of a camp where you stay, like a campsite)
• Feuer – fire

So literally: camp + fire = Lagerfeuer → campfire.

Key points about such compounds:

• The last part decides the gender:
  
  • das Feuer → das Lagerfeuer
• The stress is usually on the first part: LÁGerfeuer.
• This kind of compounding is extremely common in German:
  
  • Zeltplatz (Zelt + Platz) – campsite
  • Schlafsack (Schlaf + Sack) – sleeping bag
  • Holzfeuer (Holz + Feuer) – wood fire

Why is it vor den Zelten and not vor die Zelte?

Because vor is a two‑way preposition (Wechselpräposition) that can take either:

• Dative → describes a location (where something is)
• Accusative → describes movement to a place (where something is going)

In your sentence:

• vor den Zelten describes where the campfire is made (a position, no movement).
• So you use dative → den Zelten.

Contrast:

• Wir machen ein Lagerfeuer vor den Zelten.
  We make a campfire in front of the tents. (location → dative)

• Wir gehen vor die Zelte.
  We go in front of the tents. (movement towards → accusative: die Zelte)

Why do we say den Zelten and not die Zelte?

Because den Zelten is dative plural, which is required by vor in this “location” meaning.

Form of Zelt:

• Singular: das Zelt
• Nominative plural: die Zelte
• Dative plural: den Zelten

Two important rules:

1. Dative plural article is den (for all genders):

   • den Kindern, den Frauen, den Männern, den Zelten

2. In the dative plural, nouns usually take an extra -n (if they don’t already end in -n or -s):

   • die Zelte → den Zelten
   • die Hunde → den Hunden
   • die Autos → den Autos (no extra -n, already ends in -s)

So vor den Zelten = “in front of the tents” with dative plural.

Is there any special rule about the word order of Abends … ein kleines Lagerfeuer vor den Zelten?

Yes, the sentence follows a very typical German pattern often remembered as TE‑KA‑MO‑LO:

• TEmporal (time)
• KAusal (reason)
• MOdal (manner)
• LOkal (place)

Your sentence:

• Abends – time (temporal)
• machen wir ein kleines Lagerfeuer – verb + subject + object
• vor den Zelten – place (local)

So the time information comes first, and the place information comes later in the sentence, which fits this common pattern well.

A slightly fuller example:

• Abends (TE)
• machen wir manchmal (MO)
• ein kleines Lagerfeuer vor den Zelten (LO).

Why is the present tense (machen) used here, even though it describes something that happens regularly?

German uses the simple present tense very much like English uses the simple present for:

• regular, habitual actions
  
  • Abends machen wir ein kleines Lagerfeuer.
    → In the evenings we (usually) make a small campfire.
• general truths or routines
  
  • Ich arbeite jeden Tag. – I work every day.

You do not need a special tense or an extra word like “do” or “will” to express this kind of regular action.

Also, German often uses the simple present even for future plans:

• Morgen machen wir ein Lagerfeuer. – We’re making a campfire tomorrow.
  (Future meaning, but present tense form.)

So in your sentence, the plain present machen naturally expresses a repeated, habitual action in the evenings.