Learn Hardcore German: Manchmal gehen wir statt in die Bar lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke. - Sometimes, instead of going to the bar, we prefer to go to a quiet pub on the corner.

German main clauses must have the finite verb in the second position. When you put Manchmal first, it occupies the first slot, and gehen must then come second: Manchmal | gehen | wir …

Nuance:

Manchmal gehen wir … – puts a bit more emphasis on sometimes (the frequency).
Wir gehen manchmal … – more neutral; focus is more on wir gehen and what follows.

Grammatically, both are correct.

Why is it in die Bar and not in der Bar?

Because in is a two-way preposition:

With movement / direction (where to?) → Accusative
With location (where?) → Dative

Here we have movement:

Wohin gehen wir? – in die Bar → direction → Accusative (die Bar)

If you said:

Wir sind in der Bar. – Wo sind wir? → location → Dative (in der Bar)

So in the sentence, in die Bar is correct because it answers where to?

Why is it an der Ecke (dative) and not an die Ecke?

Same principle: an is also a two-way preposition.

an die Ecke – movement to the corner (direction, accusative)
an der Ecke – located at/on the corner (location, dative)

The pub is located at the corner:

Wo ist die Kneipe? – an der Ecke → Dative.

If you said:

Wir gehen an die Ecke. – “We go to the corner.” (direction, accusative)

In your sentence, eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke describes a location, so an der Ecke (dative) is right.

What exactly is statt doing here? Is something like zu gehen left out?

Yes, something is left out. Expanded, the sentence could be:

Manchmal gehen wir lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke, statt in die Bar zu gehen.

Spoken German often omits the repeated zu gehen when it’s obvious from context. So:

statt in die Bar (zu gehen)

is understood as instead of going to the bar.

So grammatically here:

statt is introducing an alternative:
gehen wir … in eine Kneipe, statt [wir gehen in die Bar] → the second gehen is simply omitted.

Does statt normally take the genitive? Why isn’t it statt der Bar?

statt has several common patterns:

statt + Genitive noun (more formal/written)
- statt des Kaffees – instead of the coffee
statt + Dative noun (colloquial, often spoken)
- statt dem Kaffee
statt + zu + infinitive
- statt in die Bar zu gehen – instead of going to the bar
statt + another phrase with an omitted verb (your case)
- statt in die Bar (zu gehen)

In your sentence, statt is not directly followed by a bare noun; it’s followed by the prepositional phrase in die Bar (zu gehen). So the genitive question doesn’t arise; we’re in pattern 3/4, not pattern 1.

You could say, with a different structure:

Manchmal wählen wir eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke statt der Bar.
(more formal, sounds a bit stiff in everyday speech)

But for “going to one place instead of going to another”, statt in die Bar (zu gehen) is the natural pattern.

Are statt and lieber not redundant here? Could I drop one of them?

They’re not redundant; they do slightly different jobs.

statt introduces the explicit alternative:
- statt in die Bar – instead of going to the bar
lieber expresses preference:
- gehen wir lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe – we would rather go to a quiet pub

Compare the versions:

Manchmal gehen wir lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke.
→ “Sometimes we prefer to go to a quiet pub on the corner.”
The alternative (the bar) is not mentioned at all.
Manchmal gehen wir statt in die Bar in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke.
→ “Sometimes, instead of going to the bar, we go to a quiet pub on the corner.”
This states an alternative but doesn’t highlight preference as strongly; it’s more factual.
Manchmal gehen wir statt in die Bar lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke.
→ Combines both: it makes the contrast explicit (statt in die Bar) and clearly marks preference (lieber).
This is very natural in spoken German.

What does lieber literally mean here, and how is it related to gern?

lieber is the comparative form of gern.

gern – gladly, with pleasure
lieber – more gladly, rather
am liebsten – most gladly, preferably

Examples:

Ich trinke gern Tee. – I like drinking tea.
Ich trinke lieber Tee. – I prefer tea / I’d rather drink tea.
Ich trinke am liebsten Tee. – I like tea best of all.

In your sentence:

gehen wir lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe
= “we would rather go to a quiet pub” / “we prefer to go to a quiet pub”.

So lieber is not “more loving”; it’s the comparative adverb of gern.

Why is it eine ruhige Kneipe and not eine ruhigen Kneipe or einen ruhige Kneipe?

This is about gender, case, and adjective endings.

Kneipe is feminine: die Kneipe.
After gehen in …, we have movement → Accusative.
Feminine accusative with eine:

Article: eine (same as nominative feminine)
Adjective ending: -e → ruhige

So:

eine ruhige Kneipe = feminine accusative singular

If it were masculine, it would look different:

ein ruhiger Laden (nom. masc.)
in einen ruhigen Laden (acc. masc.)

Your phrase is correct: eine ruhige Kneipe.

Why is it die Bar (definite article) but eine ruhige Kneipe (indefinite article)?

This reflects typical use of German articles:

die Bar – suggests a specific, known, or typical bar (e.g. “the bar we usually go to” or “the bar in this context”). It can also be somewhat generic: the bar as the usual option.
eine ruhige Kneipe – introduces a place that is not previously identified; it’s “a” quiet pub (one of several possible ones). The focus is on the type of place (quiet pub at the corner), not on a single, already-known establishment.

You could also say in die ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke, if you and your listener both know exactly which pub that is and treat it as a specific, familiar location.

So: definite vs. indefinite here is mostly about known/typical vs. newly introduced / one of several.

What is the difference between Bar and Kneipe in German?

Roughly:

die Bar
- Often a bit more modern, stylish, maybe cocktails, lounge atmosphere.
- The word is borrowed from English.
- Can feel more international/urban.
die Kneipe
- More traditional, local pub; often simpler, more down‑to‑earth.
- Associated with beer, regulars, a homely or “rustic” feel.
- Very typical German word and concept.

In practice, there’s overlap, and usage can depend on region and marketing, but the connotations are:

Bar → trendy / cocktail / modern
Kneipe → pub / local hangout / maybe a bit old-fashioned or cozy

Could I change the order to Manchmal gehen wir lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke statt in die Bar?

Yes, that’s fully correct and very natural:

Manchmal gehen wir lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke statt in die Bar.

You have:

main clause: Manchmal gehen wir lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke
followed by the contrast phrase: statt in die Bar

Both orders work:

… gehen wir statt in die Bar lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke.
… gehen wir lieber in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke statt in die Bar.

Version 2 is often felt to be a bit smoother because lieber sits right next to the thing you prefer (in eine ruhige Kneipe …) and statt in die Bar comes at the end as a clean contrast.

Could I also say Wir gehen manchmal in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke, anstatt in die Bar zu gehen?

Yes:

Wir gehen manchmal in eine ruhige Kneipe an der Ecke, anstatt in die Bar zu gehen.

Points to note:

anstatt is a variant of statt; it’s slightly more formal but very common and correct.
anstatt in die Bar zu gehen is the full zu + infinitive construction, without ellipsis.

So, compared to the original:

Original: more compact, with the verb gehen omitted after statt in die Bar.
Your version: fully explicit, a bit more formal or written-style but completely fine in speech too.