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Am Wochenende spielen wir ein kleines Turnier im Park.

Am Wochenende spielen wir ein kleines Turnier im Park.
At the weekend we are playing a small tournament in the park.
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Questions & Answers about Am Wochenende spielen wir ein kleines Turnier im Park.

Why is it Am Wochenende and not something like Im Wochenende for on the weekend?

German uses different prepositions for time than for place.

  • For days and parts of days, German typically uses an

    • dative:

    • am Montag – on Monday
    • am Abend – in the evening
    • am Wochenende – on the weekend

  • in is normally not used for a specific day or weekend, so im Wochenende sounds wrong in standard German.

So Am Wochenende literally means at the weekend / on the weekend, formed from an dem Wochenende → am Wochenende.

What exactly is am in Am Wochenende?

am is a contraction of:

  • an (preposition)
  • dem (dative masculine/neuter definite article)

So:

  • an + dem = am

Because Wochenende is neuter (das Wochenende), and after an in a time expression you need the dative, you get:

  • an dem Wochenende → am Wochenende.
Why does the verb spielen come after Am Wochenende instead of right after wir?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb must be in second position in the sentence, not necessarily after the subject.

Positions here:

  1. Am Wochenende (position 1: a time phrase)
  2. spielen (position 2: conjugated verb)
  3. wir (rest of the clause starts)

If you start with the subject instead, you still keep the verb second:

  • Wir spielen am Wochenende ein kleines Turnier im Park.

Both versions are correct; one just puts more emphasis on when it happens (Am Wochenende) by putting it first.

Can I also say Wir spielen am Wochenende ein kleines Turnier im Park? Is there any difference in meaning?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly correct.

  • Wir spielen am Wochenende ein kleines Turnier im Park.
  • Am Wochenende spielen wir ein kleines Turnier im Park.

The meaning is the same. The difference is only in emphasis:

  • Starting with Wir is the most neutral, default order.
  • Starting with Am Wochenende emphasizes the time; you’re highlighting when this happens.

Both are normal in spoken and written German.

Which tense is spielen here, and why is it used for a future event?

spielen is in the present tense (Präsens).

In German, the present tense is very often used to talk about future plans, especially when they are scheduled or clearly in the future context:

  • Morgen fahren wir nach Berlin. – We are going to Berlin tomorrow.
  • Nächste Woche schreibe ich die Prüfung. – I’m taking the exam next week.
  • Am Wochenende spielen wir ein kleines Turnier im Park. – We’re playing a small tournament in the park on the weekend.

You can also say:

  • Am Wochenende werden wir ein kleines Turnier im Park spielen.

That’s grammatically correct, but for everyday plans the simple present is more common and sounds more natural.

Why is it ein kleines Turnier and not einen kleinen Turnier?

Because of gender and case:

  1. Gender

    • Turnier has the grammatical gender neuter: das Turnier.

  2. Case

    • In the sentence, ein kleines Turnier is the direct object of spielen, so it is in the accusative case.

  3. Forms

    • Neuter indefinite article in accusative: ein (same as nominative)
    • So:
      • nominative: ein kleines Turnier
      • accusative: ein kleines Turnier (no change for neuter)

Einen kleinen would be masculine accusative (for a word like einen kleinen Hund), but Turnier is neuter, so that ending would be wrong.

Why does the adjective end with -es in ein kleines Turnier?

The adjective ending -es is required because:

  • Turnier is neuter
  • It is in the accusative case
  • It has an indefinite article (ein)

The pattern for neuter, accusative, with ein- is:

  • ein kleines Turnier

Compare:

  • ein kleines Kind (a small child – neuter accusative)
  • ein kleines Problem (a small problem – neuter accusative)

So kleines is the correct form here.

Why is ein kleines Turnier in the accusative case?

In German, the direct object of a verb is normally in the accusative case.

Ask: What do we play?

  • We play what? → ein kleines Turnier

So ein kleines Turnier is the thing directly affected by the action of playing. That’s why it takes the accusative.

What is im in im Park, and why is it dative?

im is a contraction of:

  • in (preposition)
  • dem (dative masculine/neuter definite article)

So:

  • in + dem = im

Park is masculine: der Park.
With the preposition in, when you describe a location / where something happens (no movement), German uses the dative case:

  • im Park = in dem Park – in the park (location)

So the event is taking place in the park; there is no movement into the park in this sentence.

What is the difference between im Park and in den Park?

The difference is dative vs. accusative with in:

  • im Park = in dem Park (dative) → location (where?)

    • Wir spielen im Park. – We play in the park.

  • in den Park (accusative) → direction (where to?)

    • Wir gehen in den Park. – We are going to the park.

In your sentence, im Park is correct because it describes where the tournament takes place, not a movement toward the park.

Why is Am Wochenende placed at the beginning? Is there a rule for word order with time expressions?

German has a common (but not absolute) word order pattern often called TMP:

  • Time – Manner – Place

In a neutral sentence, you might get:

  • Wir spielen am Wochenende im Park.
    (Time: am Wochenende; Place: im Park)

You can also move the time expression to the beginning for emphasis, as long as the verb stays second:

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir im Park.

Both are correct. Starting with the time phrase is very common and sounds natural, especially when you introduce new information about when something happens.

Why are Wochenende, Turnier, and Park capitalized?

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

  • das Wochenende → Wochenende
  • das Turnier → Turnier
  • der Park → Park

This applies even in the middle of a sentence:

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir ein kleines Turnier im Park.

So capitalization is a grammatical rule, not just a stylistic choice.

Why is it ein kleines Turnier and not das kleine Turnier?

This is a question of definite vs. indefinite article:

  • ein kleines Turnier – a small tournament (indefinite, not specified which one)
  • das kleine Turnier – the small tournament (definite, both speaker and listener know which one)

In your sentence, the idea is probably just “some small tournament” or “a small tournament”, not one that has been clearly identified before in the conversation. That’s why ein is more natural.

If you had already talked about this particular tournament, you could use:

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir das kleine Turnier im Park.
    (that specific small tournament we already know about)
Can I drop wir, like in Spanish or Italian, and just say Am Wochenende spielen ein kleines Turnier im Park?

No, you cannot drop wir here. German is not a “pro-drop” language:

  • The subject pronoun (like ich, du, wir, sie) is normally required, even though the verb ending also shows person and number.

So:

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir ein kleines Turnier im Park. ✔️ correct
  • Am Wochenende spielen ein kleines Turnier im Park. ✖️ wrong (no subject)

You can sometimes omit pronouns in very informal, elliptical speech, but in standard sentences like this you should always include wir.

Where would nicht go if I want to say We are not playing a small tournament in the park at the weekend?

You want to negate the whole action, so nicht usually goes before the part you want to negate last. A natural version would be:

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir kein kleines Turnier im Park.
    (using kein because you’re negating ein kleines Turnier directly)

If you prefer nicht, the default place for negating the whole predicate (without a specific focus) is near the end, but before any final verb:

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir nicht im Park.
    – We are not playing in the park (but maybe somewhere else).

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir im Park kein kleines Turnier.
    – We are playing in the park, but not a small tournament (maybe something else).

So for your original idea, the most idiomatic is:

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir kein kleines Turnier im Park.
How would this sentence look in a subordinate clause, for example after weil?

In subordinate clauses introduced by words like weil, dass, wenn, German puts the conjugated verb at the end of the clause.

Main clause:

  • Am Wochenende spielen wir ein kleines Turnier im Park.

Subordinate clause with weil:

  • …, weil wir am Wochenende ein kleines Turnier im Park spielen.

Notice the changes:

  • Subject wir comes right after weil.
  • The conjugated verb spielen moves to the end of the clause.
  • The rest of the elements keep almost the same order.