Learn Hardcore German: Am Wochenende laufe ich langsam im Park. - On the weekend I run slowly in the park.

Same meaning, different emphasis. German lets you move elements (like time, place, manner) to the front as long as the conjugated verb stays in second position in main clauses.

Why is it Am Wochenende and not Im Wochenende?

The preposition an is used for days and parts of days when you say “on …”:

am Montag = on Monday
am Abend = in the evening
am Wochenende = on the weekend

am is a contraction of an dem (an + dem).

Im Wochenende would literally be in the weekend, which is not idiomatic in German. You almost always say am Wochenende for “on the weekend / at the weekend”.

Can Am Wochenende mean “on weekends / every weekend”, or only one specific weekend?

Both are possible; context decides:

Am Wochenende laufe ich langsam im Park.
Usually understood as a general habit:
→ “On weekends, I walk/run slowly in the park.”
Dieses Wochenende laufe ich langsam im Park.
Specific one:
→ “This weekend, I’m going to walk/run slowly in the park.”

The bare am Wochenende often sounds like a regular or typical activity unless the context clearly points to a particular upcoming weekend.

What exactly does laufe mean? Is it “walk” or “run”?

laufen is a bit tricky because its meaning depends on region and context:

In everyday German (especially in Germany):
- laufen often means “to run / to jog”.
- gehen is the normal word for “to walk”.
In some contexts or regional varieties, laufen can mean “to walk (on foot, not by vehicle)”, especially in contrast to driving.

In this sentence:

Am Wochenende laufe ich langsam im Park.
could reasonably be:
- “On weekends I run slowly in the park.” (jogging)
  or
- “On weekends I walk slowly in the park.” (if context says it’s just walking)

If you clearly mean “walk” (not run), the safest general word is gehen:

Am Wochenende gehe ich langsam im Park spazieren.
= “On weekends I take a slow walk in the park.”

Why is it laufe and not lauf or something else?

laufe is the 1st person singular present tense of laufen.

Present tense conjugation of laufen (irregular stem change):

ich laufe
du läufst
er/sie/es läuft
wir laufen
ihr lauft
sie/Sie laufen

So with ich, you must say ich laufe.

Is langsam an adjective or an adverb here? How can one form do both?

In Am Wochenende laufe ich langsam im Park., langsam is an adverb modifying the verb laufe: it describes how you run/walk.

In German:

Many words have the same form as both adjective and adverb.
You don’t usually add anything like -ly.

Examples:

As adjective:
- ein langsames Auto = a slow car
As adverb:
- Das Auto fährt langsam. = The car drives slowly.

So:

langsam before a noun and with an ending → adjective (ein langsames Tempo)
langsam after the verb with no ending → adverb (ich laufe langsam)

Why is langsam in the middle? Could I say Am Wochenende laufe ich im Park langsam?

Both are possible:

Am Wochenende laufe ich langsam im Park.
Am Wochenende laufe ich im Park langsam.

Both can be understood as: “On weekends I run/walk slowly in the park.”

General tendencies:

A common default order is Time – Verb – Subject – Manner – Place:
- Am Wochenende (time) laufe (verb) ich (subject) langsam (manner) im Park (place).
Moving langsam to the end (… im Park langsam) can slightly highlight “slowly”, because sentence-final positions are often more emphatic.

Neither is wrong; the first is more “neutral textbook” word order.

What does im Park literally mean, and why isn’t it in den Park?

im Park is a fixed combination:

im = contraction of in dem
(in + dem → im)
Park is masculine: der Park in nominative.
After in with a location (where?), you use the dative case:
- in dem Park → im Park = in the park

in den Park uses den (accusative) and means movement to the park (where to?):

Ich gehe in den Park. = I go (into) the park. (destination)
Ich laufe im Park. = I run/walk in the park. (location)

So:

im Park → location, dative
in den Park → destination, accusative

Why is Park capitalized? And why is Wochenende capitalized too?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence.

der Park → Park is a noun → capitalized.
das Wochenende → Wochenende is a noun → capitalized.

This is a standard spelling rule in German and one of the reliable ways to spot nouns when you read.

What gender and plural does Wochenende have?

Gender: neuter
- das Wochenende = the weekend
Plural: die Wochenenden = the weekends

Examples:

Am Wochenende laufe ich langsam im Park.
On the weekend / on weekends, I walk/run slowly in the park.
An den Wochenenden laufe ich langsam im Park.
On the weekends (plural), I walk/run slowly in the park.

Why is it im Park (dative) and not im Parks or something with an ending?

Masculine noun der Park has the following relevant forms:

Nominative: der Park
Dative: dem Park

In im Park, you have in dem Park:

in
- dem (dative masculine) → im
The noun itself is Park in both nominative and dative; it does not take an extra ending here.

So the full underlying phrase is in dem Park, shortened to im Park.

Can the German present tense here also refer to the future, like English “I’m going to run…”?

Yes. German present tense with a future time expression often refers to the future.

Am Wochenende laufe ich langsam im Park.
could mean:
- a habit (“On weekends I (usually) run/walk slowly in the park.”)
- a plan for the coming weekend (“This weekend, I’m going to run/walk slowly in the park.”)

Context decides. If you want to be very clear about the future, you can use Futur I:

Am Wochenende werde ich langsam im Park laufen.
= “On the weekend I will run/walk slowly in the park.”

But in everyday German, the simple present with a future time phrase is usually enough.