Learn Hardcore German: Mein Freund hasst laute Kneipen, deshalb bleibt er lieber zu Hause und hört Musik. - My friend hates loud pubs, so he prefers to stay at home and listen to music.

Mein Freund is in the nominative case because it’s the subject of the sentence (the one doing the action: hating, staying at home, listening to music).

Freund is a masculine noun: der Freund
The possessive mein is used for masculine singular in the nominative: mein Freund

If it were the direct object, you’d use the accusative:

Nominative (subject): Mein Freund hasst laute Kneipen. – My friend hates loud pubs.
Accusative (object): Ich hasse meinen Freund. – I hate my friend.

Does Freund mean “friend” or “boyfriend”?

Freund can mean friend or boyfriend, depending on context.

Mein Freund often means my boyfriend, especially when said by a woman about a man (or in a romantic context).
Ein Freund von mir more clearly means a (male) friend of mine, not necessarily romantic.
For a female romantic partner, you’d say meine Freundin (my girlfriend).

In isolation, Mein Freund is slightly more likely to be understood as my boyfriend, but the broader context usually makes it clear.

Why is it hasst and not hasse or hassen?

Hasst is the 3rd person singular present tense of hassen (to hate).

Conjugation of hassen in the present tense:

ich hasse – I hate
du hasst – you hate (informal singular)
er/sie/es hasst – he/she/it hates
wir hassen – we hate
ihr hasst – you (plural, informal) hate
sie/Sie hassen – they / you (formal) hate

Since the subject is er (he, referring to Mein Freund), you must use hasst.

What case is laute Kneipen in, and why is the adjective ending -e?

Laute Kneipen is in the accusative plural, because it’s the direct object of hasst (he hates what? loud pubs).

Noun: die Kneipe (singular), die Kneipen (plural)
Plural accusative is the same as plural nominative: die Kneipen
There is no article in front (laute Kneipen, not die lauten Kneipen), so the adjective takes a strong ending.

For plural, strong adjective endings in nominative/accusative are -e:

laute Kneipen – loud pubs
Compare:
die lauten Kneipen – the loud pubs (weak ending -en because die is there)
in lauten Kneipen – in loud pubs (dative plural, strong ending -en)

What exactly is a Kneipe, and how is it different from a Bar?

A Kneipe is a kind of pub, often:

more traditional or local
simpler, sometimes a bit “old-fashioned”
focused on drinks (especially beer), sometimes with simple food

A Bar in German is closer to an English bar, often:

trendier or more modern
more focused on cocktails or mixed drinks
sometimes associated with nightlife or club scenes

In this sentence, laute Kneipen are noisy, busy pubs/bars.

Why is there a comma before deshalb?

The comma marks the boundary between two main clauses:

Mein Freund hasst laute Kneipen
deshalb bleibt er lieber zu Hause und hört Musik.

In German, you normally separate main clauses joined by connectors like denn, aber, deshalb, trotzdem with a comma. So:

…, deshalb … – correctly separated with a comma.

Why is the word order deshalb bleibt er and not deshalb er bleibt?

Deshalb is a connector adverb (like therefore, so). When you put such an adverb at the start of the clause, German uses inversion: the finite verb moves to position 2, and the subject comes after the verb.

So:

Neutral order: Er bleibt deshalb lieber zu Hause.
With deshalb first: Deshalb bleibt er lieber zu Hause.

You cannot say Deshalb er bleibt; the verb must be in the second position in main clauses.

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

Lieber is the comparative form of gern.

gern = with pleasure / like to (do something)
- Er bleibt gern zu Hause. – He likes staying at home.
lieber = rather, preferably, more gladly (than something else)
- Er bleibt lieber zu Hause. – He would rather stay at home.

In this sentence, lieber implies preference: he’d rather stay at home (than go to loud pubs).

Patterns to remember:

Er trinkt gern Bier. – He likes drinking beer.
Er trinkt lieber Wein. – He prefers wine (to beer).
Er trinkt am liebsten Wasser. – He likes water best (of all).

Why is it zu Hause and not nach Hause?

German distinguishes between:

zu Hause = at home (state/location)
- Er bleibt lieber zu Hause. – He prefers to stay at home.
nach Hause = (to) home (movement towards home)
- Er geht nach Hause. – He is going home.

So:

Staying at a place → zu Hause
Going to a place → nach Hause

Why is Hause capitalized in zu Hause?

Historically, (das) Haus is a noun meaning house. In zu Hause / nach Hause, it appears in a fixed expression. Because Haus is a noun, it is written with a capital H:

zu Hause, nach Hause

In modern usage, zu Hause is often felt almost like an adverb (at home), but it keeps the capital letter because it contains a noun.

Why is there no article before Musik in hört Musik?

Musik is often treated as an uncountable / mass noun in German, like water or music in English.

When speaking generally, you normally omit the article:

Er hört Musik. – He listens to music.
Sie macht Musik. – She makes music.

You use die Musik when you mean some specific music:

Die Musik, die du hörst, ist sehr laut. – The music you are listening to is very loud.
Ich mag die Musik in diesem Film. – I like the music in this movie.

Why is er not repeated before hört Musik? Could you say …, deshalb bleibt er lieber zu Hause und er hört Musik?

German (like English) can omit the repeated subject when it stays the same across coordinated verbs:

… bleibt er lieber zu Hause und hört Musik.
= … he prefers to stay at home and (he) listens to music.

You could say:

…, deshalb bleibt er lieber zu Hause und er hört Musik.

This is grammatically correct, but it sounds heavier and is not necessary here. Native speakers usually drop the second er when it’s clear that the subject hasn’t changed.

What does the present tense mean here? Is this something he does right now or generally?

German Präsens (present tense) can express:

A general habit or tendency
- Mein Freund hasst laute Kneipen, deshalb bleibt er lieber zu Hause…
  → He generally dislikes loud pubs and usually prefers to stay at home.
Something happening right now (if context makes that clear)
- Ich lese gerade. – I’m reading (right now).

In this sentence, the context (personality/preferences) makes it clear that it’s about his usual behavior, not just one specific evening.

Can I change the order and say Er bleibt lieber zu Hause, deshalb hasst er laute Kneipen?

Grammatically you can switch clauses around, but you must respect meaning and logic.

Original: Mein Freund hasst laute Kneipen, deshalb bleibt er lieber zu Hause und hört Musik.
→ Cause: he hates loud pubs
→ Effect: therefore he prefers to stay at home and listen to music.

Your version:

Er bleibt lieber zu Hause, deshalb hasst er laute Kneipen.
→ Cause: he prefers to stay at home
→ Effect: therefore he hates loud pubs

This reverses the cause and effect, which doesn’t really make sense. So while the grammar is fine, the logic is wrong in this case.

A more neutral reordering that keeps the same meaning would be:

Weil mein Freund laute Kneipen hasst, bleibt er lieber zu Hause und hört Musik.
(Because my friend hates loud pubs, he prefers to stay at home and listen to music.)