Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig, aber der Abend im Garten ist ruhig.

The workday is often stressful, but the evening in the garden is calm.

Breakdown of Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig, aber der Abend im Garten ist ruhig.

• sein: to be
• in: in
• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• oft: often
• aber: but
• der Abend: the evening
• der Garten: the garden
• ruhig: calm
• stressig: stressful
• der Arbeitstag: the workday

Questions & Answers about Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig, aber der Abend im Garten ist ruhig.

Why is it der Arbeitstag and not something like die Arbeitstag, since Arbeit is feminine?

In German, the gender of a compound noun is determined by the last part (the “head” of the compound), not the first part.

• Arbeitstag = Arbeit (work, feminine) + Tag (day, masculine)
• The head is Tag → Tag is masculine → the whole word Arbeitstag is masculine.

So you must use the masculine article der: der Arbeitstag.

Why is it der Arbeitstag and der Abend? Are they both in the same case?

Yes, both der Arbeitstag and der Abend are in the nominative case.

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig → der Arbeitstag is the subject of the first clause.
• der Abend im Garten ist ruhig → der Abend is the subject of the second clause.

In German, the subject is normally in the nominative, and for masculine singular nouns, the nominative article is der. Hence:

• der Arbeitstag (nominative, masculine)
• der Abend (nominative, masculine)

What grammatical role does im Garten play, and which case is it?

im Garten is a prepositional phrase giving the location of the evening (where the evening is calm).

• The preposition in can take dative (location) or accusative (movement).
• Here it describes a location (no movement), so it takes dative.

im is a contraction of in dem:

• in
  • dem (dative masculine singular article for der Garten) → im
• So im Garten = in dem Garten (in the garden, dative).

Why is it im Garten instead of in dem Garten? Are both correct?

Yes, both are grammatically correct, but im Garten is the normal, idiomatic form in everyday German.

German frequently contracts certain prepositions with the dative article dem:

• in dem → im
• an dem → am
• bei dem → beim
• zu dem → zum, etc.

So in dem Garten is correct but sounds more formal or emphasized. In normal speech and writing, you almost always say im Garten.

Why don’t the adjectives have endings here? Why is it ist stressig and ist ruhig, not ist stressiger/ruhiger?

The adjectives stressig and ruhig are used predicatively (after the verb sein – to be), not directly in front of a noun.

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig.
• Der Abend im Garten ist ruhig.

When an adjective comes after a form of sein, it does not take an ending in German. It stays in its base form:

• Der Tag ist lang.
• Die Kinder sind müde.
• Das Essen ist lecker.

You only add adjective endings when the adjective stands before a noun:

• ein stressiger Arbeitstag
• der ruhige Abend

What does oft exactly do here, and where can I put it in the sentence?

oft means often and here it modifies the whole predicate ist stressig (is stressful).

Standard and most natural position:

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig.

You can move it a bit:

• Oft ist der Arbeitstag stressig. (starting with the time adverb, slightly more emphasis on “often”)
• Der Arbeitstag ist stressig, oft. (possible, but this sounds more like an afterthought in speech)

But you cannot split it oddly, e.g. you don’t say:
✗ Der Arbeitstag ist stressig oft.

So: usual pattern is subject – verb – (time adverb) – rest or (time adverb) – verb – subject – rest.

Why is the present tense ist used? In English we’d say “The workday is often stressful” but also “The workday is often stressful” for habits — is German the same?

German uses the present tense (ist) for:

• current situations
• general truths
• habits or repeated situations

So Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig naturally means “The workday is often stressful” in the sense of a repeated, typical situation.

German does not have a separate “present continuous” form like English (“is being”), so present simple ist covers both:

• Er arbeitet. → He works / He is working.

Why is there a comma before aber?

In German, when aber connects two main clauses, you must use a comma:

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig, aber der Abend im Garten ist ruhig.

Each part could stand alone as a full sentence:

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig.
• Der Abend im Garten ist ruhig.

Because these are two independent clauses, the comma before aber is mandatory in standard German spelling.

Could I leave out the second ist and say: Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig, aber der Abend im Garten ruhig?

Yes, that is grammatically correct and sounds quite natural, especially in written or slightly formal German:

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig, aber der Abend im Garten ruhig.

Here, the second ist is understood (elliptical construction). The structure is:

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig, aber der Abend im Garten (ist) ruhig.

Both versions are fine:

• With ist: a bit more neutral, explicit.
• Without ist: a bit more compact, stylistically “tighter,” often seen in writing.

Why are Arbeitstag, Abend, and Garten capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of where they appear in the sentence.

• der Arbeitstag (day of work, noun)
• der Abend (evening, noun)
• der Garten (garden, noun)

This is a core rule of German spelling: every noun gets a capital letter. Adjectives and verbs normally do not (with some special cases like nominalizations).

What is the difference between stressig and gestresst?

Both are related to stress, but they’re used differently:

• stressig describes something that causes stress or is stressful:

  • ein stressiger Tag – a stressful day
  • Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig.

• gestresst describes a person (or living being) who feels stressed:

  • Ich bin gestresst. – I am stressed.
  • Die Mitarbeiter sind gestresst.

So in this sentence, Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig is correct, because the day is the thing that is stressful, not the thing that feels stress.

What is the difference between ruhig and still? Could I say … der Abend im Garten ist still?

Both ruhig and still can relate to quietness, but they’re not always interchangeable.

• ruhig:

  • quiet, calm, peaceful (general calm atmosphere)
  • Der Abend im Garten ist ruhig. → calm, peaceful evening; not hectic, not noisy.

• still:

  • very quiet, often emphasizing absence of sound
  • Die Straße ist nachts still. → The street is silent/very quiet at night.
  • Can sometimes sound a bit more poetic or intense than ruhig.

You could say Der Abend im Garten ist still, but it shifts the focus more to acoustic silence.
ruhig is broader: it can mean acoustically quiet and “relaxing / not stressful”. In contrast to stressig, ruhig is the most natural choice here.

Can I change the word order to Aber der Abend im Garten ist ruhig, der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig?

You can change the order of the clauses, but the conjunction aber usually comes between the two ideas it contrasts, not at the very beginning of an entire new sentence without context.

More natural versions:

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig, aber der Abend im Garten ist ruhig. (original)
• Der Abend im Garten ist ruhig, aber der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig. (reverse order, still good)

Starting with Aber is possible in spoken or informal written German as a continuation of a previous sentence:

• Der Arbeitstag ist oft stressig. Aber der Abend im Garten ist ruhig.

But combining them exactly as you wrote, without a clear preceding context, is less natural. The most idiomatic version remains the original or its simple reversal.