Learn Hardcore German: Am Tag wirkt der Wald weniger lebendig, aber im Zelt höre ich trotzdem jedes kleine Geräusch. - In the daytime the forest seems less lively, but in the tent I still hear every little sound.

You would not normally say im Tag. In + dem (im) is used for being inside something (a room, a container, a country, etc.), not for this kind of general time expression.

So Am Tag literally = “on the day / by day”, but idiomatically it means “in the daytime / during the day”.

Why does the verb come right after Am Tag: Am Tag wirkt der Wald … and not Am Tag der Wald wirkt …?

German is a V2 (verb-second) language in main clauses. That means:

The finite verb must be in second position,
but “second” means second element, not “second word”.

Here, the first element is the whole phrase Am Tag. So the verb must come next:

✅ Am Tag wirkt der Wald weniger lebendig.
❌ Am Tag der Wald wirkt weniger lebendig. (violates V2 rule)

The subject (der Wald) can move after the verb when something else (here: Am Tag) is put in the first position.

What exactly does wirkt mean? Is it “works”, “acts”, or “seems”? How is it different from ist?

The verb wirken has several meanings, but in this context it means “to seem / to appear”.

Der Wald wirkt weniger lebendig.
≈ The forest seems/appears less lively.

Compared to ist (“is”):

Der Wald ist weniger lebendig.
→ sounds more like a factual statement: the forest is actually less lively.
Der Wald wirkt weniger lebendig.
→ focuses on the impression the forest makes: it gives the impression of being less lively.

Synonyms (with slightly different nuances):

scheint – seems
kommt … rüber (colloquial) – comes across as

How does weniger lebendig work grammatically? Why not lebendiger?

Lebendig is an adjective: lebendig = lively, alive (in the sense of “full of life”).

To make a comparative, German has two main options:

Use the -er ending:
- lebendig → lebendiger (more lively)
Use weniger (“less”) + positive form:
- weniger lebendig (less lively)

The sentence uses the “less” type of comparison rather than the “more” type. You wouldn’t say “less more lively”, so lebendiger would not fit here; you either say:

lebendiger (more lively)
weniger lebendig (less lively)

Both are grammatically fine in general, but they express opposite directions of comparison.

What is the difference between aber and trotzdem here? Don’t they both mean “but”?

In this sentence, both aber and trotzdem express contrast, but they are different word types and behave differently:

aber = a coordinating conjunction (“but”)
trotzdem = an adverb meaning “nevertheless / despite that”

Function here:

aber links the two main clauses:
- Am Tag wirkt der Wald weniger lebendig, aber …
trotzdem comments on the relation between the two clauses inside the second clause:
- … aber im Zelt höre ich trotzdem jedes kleine Geräusch.
  → “but in the tent I still / nevertheless hear every little noise.”

Word order effect:

With aber, word order stays normal V2:
- …, aber im Zelt höre ich …
trotzdem is an adverb inside the clause, and it does not have to come first. It’s placed after the verb or after the subject, depending on focus; here:
- im Zelt höre ich trotzdem jedes kleine Geräusch
  (V2 is already satisfied with höre in second position after im Zelt.)

Why is it im Zelt and not ins Zelt? What case is used with in here?

Im = in + dem (preposition in + dative article dem).

With in, German uses:

Dative for location / state (where?):
- im Zelt – in the tent (staying there)
Accusative for direction / movement (where to?):
- ins Zelt = in + das Zelt – into the tent

In this sentence, the speaker is already inside the tent (location), not moving into it. So German uses dative:

im Zelt (in + dem Zelt, dative)

If the sentence were about going into the tent, you’d say:

Ich gehe ins Zelt. – I’m going into the tent.

Why is the word order in the second clause aber im Zelt höre ich trotzdem … and not aber ich höre im Zelt trotzdem …? Are both correct?

Both are correct, but they have slightly different emphasis.

Basic neutral order would be:

…, aber ich höre im Zelt trotzdem jedes kleine Geräusch.

Here, the subject ich is in the first position of the clause.

In the actual sentence:

…, aber im Zelt höre ich trotzdem jedes kleine Geräusch.

the phrase im Zelt is moved to the first position of the clause to emphasize the setting (“in the tent”). Because German main clauses must keep the verb in second position (V2), the verb höre comes immediately after:

im Zelt – first element
höre – verb (must be 2nd)
ich – subject
trotzdem – adverb
jedes kleine Geräusch – object

So the chosen word order highlights im Zelt (the location) more strongly.

Where should trotzdem go in the sentence? Could I say … aber trotzdem höre ich im Zelt … instead?

Yes. Trotzdem is a sentence adverb and is quite flexible in position. Common possibilities:

… aber trotzdem höre ich im Zelt jedes kleine Geräusch.
… aber im Zelt höre ich trotzdem jedes kleine Geräusch.
… aber im Zelt höre ich jedes kleine Geräusch trotzdem. (less common, different emphasis)

Rules to keep in mind:

In main clauses, the finite verb must still be in second position.
trotzdem itself does not count as a conjunction here; it must not push the verb to the end like obwohl does.

So you cannot make a subclause with trotzdem:

❌ *… aber trotzdem ich im Zelt jedes kleine Geräusch höre. (wrong)

For that kind of subclause, you would use obwohl instead:

… obwohl ich im Zelt trotzdem jedes kleine Geräusch höre.

Why is it jedes kleine Geräusch and not jeden kleinen Geräusch or jedes kleines Geräusch?

Let’s break it down:

Geräusch is neuter: das Geräusch.
It is the direct object of höre → accusative case.

The word group:

jedes – determiner (each/every)
kleine – adjective
Geräusch – noun (neuter)

Accusative singular endings:

Neuter noun → article-like words use -es in nominative/accusative:
- jedes Geräusch (nom./acc. neuter)
Adjective after jedes takes -e:
- jedes kleine Geräusch

So:

✅ jedes kleine Geräusch – correct (accusative neuter)
❌ jeden kleinen Geräusch – jeden is masculine accusative, but Geräusch is neuter.
❌ jedes kleines Geräusch – adjective ending -es is wrong here; after jedes you need kleine in this pattern.

Why are Tag, Wald, Zelt, and Geräusch capitalized?

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

der Tag – the day
der Wald – the forest
das Zelt – the tent
das Geräusch – the noise / sound

This is a core spelling rule in modern German:

nouns → capitalized
adjectives, verbs, adverbs → usually lowercase (except at the beginning of a sentence or in specific fixed phrases).

Could I also say Tagsüber wirkt der Wald weniger lebendig instead of Am Tag wirkt der Wald weniger lebendig? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both, and both are correct:

Am Tag wirkt der Wald weniger lebendig.
Tagsüber wirkt der Wald weniger lebendig.

Nuance:

am Tag – literally “on the day / in the daytime”. Quite neutral, can also contrast with in der Nacht, abends, etc.
tagsüber – “during the day / in the daytime” with a slightly stronger feeling of “over the course of the day, in general daytime hours”.

In many contexts they’re interchangeable. Tagsüber is a single adverb; am Tag is a prepositional phrase, but in this sentence they would communicate almost the same thing.