Learn Hardcore German: Am Abend liege ich im Bett, denke an den Kern dieses Tages und plane die nächste Wiederholung eines solchen Turniers. - In the evening I lie in bed, think about the core of this day, and plan the next repeat of such a tournament.

Ich liege am Abend im Bett … – more neutral, just stating what you do.
Am Abend liege ich im Bett … – emphasizes the time (“In the evening, that’s when I lie in bed …”)

Why is it Am Abend and not Im Abend or An dem Abend?

Am Abend is the standard way to say “in the evening” as a general time frame.

Breaking it down:

an dem contracts to am
With parts of the day, German typically uses:
- am Morgen, am Vormittag, am Nachmittag, am Abend, in der Nacht

You’d use:

Am Abend = generally “in the evenings / in the evening (as a routine)”
An diesem Abend = “on this (particular) evening”

Im Abend is incorrect in this sense; for time of day you don’t say im Abend.

Why is it liege ich im Bett and not something like bin ich im Bett?

Both are possible but they mean slightly different things:

Ich liege im Bett.
Focuses on the position: I am lying down (not sitting, not standing). It implies you are physically stretched out / in a lying posture.
Ich bin im Bett.
Just says you’re in bed (located there), without specifying posture. It could sound a bit more neutral or vague.

In everyday German, to mean the English “I’m in bed”, people very often say:

Ich liege im Bett.

because being in bed normally implies lying down.

Why is there a comma before denke? Isn’t that the same subject?

Yes, it’s the same subject (ich), but German punctuation rules are different from English.

You have three main clauses joined by und:

(Ich) liege im Bett
(ich) denke an den Kern dieses Tages
(ich) plane die nächste Wiederholung …

When you share the same subject, German often omits the repeated ich, but each part is still a full main clause:

Am Abend liege ich im Bett,
(ich) denke an den Kern dieses Tages
und (ich) plane die nächste Wiederholung …

A comma before und joining main clauses is optional in modern German; many writers put it to clarify the structure. The comma before denke separates two main clauses.

Why is it denke an den Kern with an + accusative, not dative? And what’s the difference between an and über here?

The verb denken chooses different prepositions depending on meaning:

an + accusative (an den Kern)
- denken an = “to think of / about (have in mind, direct one’s thoughts toward)”
- Example:
  - Ich denke an dich. – I’m thinking of you.
  - Ich denke an die Zukunft. – I’m thinking about the future.
über + accusative
- nachdenken über / sich Gedanken machen über = “to think about, reflect on, contemplate”
- Typically more analytical.

In your sentence, denke an den Kern dieses Tages suggests:

The speaker turns their thoughts to the “core” or “essence” of the day.

Why accusative?

With denken an, an always governs the accusative:
- an den Kern (masculine, acc.)
- an die Reise (feminine, acc.)
- an das Turnier (neuter, acc.)

Why is it den Kern and not der Kern?

Because den Kern is in the accusative case as the object of the preposition an.

Kern is masculine:
- Nominative: der Kern
- Accusative: den Kern

Since the phrase is denken an den Kern, and an (with denken) requires accusative, you must say den Kern.

What case is dieses Tages and why is it used?

dieses Tages is genitive singular of dieser Tag.

Form breakdown:

dieser Tag (nominative)
dieses Tages (genitive)

Genitive is often used to show “of X”:

der Kern dieses Tages
= “the core of this day / the essence of this day”

So grammatically:

der Kern (nominative, subject of the verb think of)
dieses Tages (genitive, describing which core: the day’s core)

A slightly more colloquial alternative (especially in speech) would be:

der Kern von diesem Tag

But der Kern dieses Tages is stylistically more formal / written and very idiomatic.

What is the function of die nächste Wiederholung? Why is nächste ending with -e?

die nächste Wiederholung is a noun phrase in the accusative, functioning as the direct object of plane (“I plan the next repetition”).

Wiederholung is feminine:
- Nominative singular: die Wiederholung
- Accusative singular: die Wiederholung (same form)

With a feminine noun, the adjective before it takes -e in both nominative and accusative when there’s a definite article die:

die nächste Wiederholung (nom.)
die nächste Wiederholung (acc.)

So:

plane was? → die nächste Wiederholung (direct object in accusative)

Why eines solchen Turniers and not von solch einem Turnier? What case is that?

eines solchen Turniers is genitive singular, describing “of such a tournament”.

Breakdown:

das Turnier (neuter noun)
Genitive singular: des Turniers
With an indefinite article and adjective:
- eines (genitive of ein)
- solchen (adjective in genitive after indefinite article)
- Turniers (noun in genitive)

So:

die nächste Wiederholung wessen? – eines solchen Turniers
“the next repetition of such a tournament”

You could also say more colloquially:

die nächste Wiederholung von so einem Turnier

But eines solchen Turniers sounds more formal, written, and elegant.

Why isn’t there a continuous tense in German, like “I am lying / I am thinking / I am planning”?

German generally doesn’t have a special continuous (progressive) tense like English am doing.

Instead, it uses the simple present (Präsens) for:

Regular actions
General truths
Actions happening right now

So:

Ich liege im Bett
Ich denke an den Kern …
Ich plane die nächste Wiederholung …

can all mean both:

“I lie / I think / I plan (habitually)”
and, in the right context:
“I am lying / I am thinking / I am planning (right now)”

Context or time expressions (am Abend, gerade, jetzt) clarify whether it’s ongoing or habitual.

Is there a difference between Am Abend and Abends?

Yes, there is a nuance:

Am Abend
- Literally “on the evening” / “in the evening”
- Often used for a specific evening or a single time frame:
  - Am Abend liege ich im Bett – In the evening, I lie in bed.
    (could be describing a typical part of the day, but can also refer to that evening)
Abends
- Means “in the evenings / every evening / usually in the evening”
- Clearly indicates a habit or recurring action:
  - Abends liege ich im Bett und denke an den Kern des Tages.
    – In the evenings, I lie in bed and think about the core of the day.

In many contexts, Am Abend in your sentence can still be understood as a habitual description, especially if the larger context is about a routine.

Why does the verb after the comma still come second: denke an den Kern … and not ich denke an den Kern …?

German still applies the verb-second rule in each main clause, even if the subject is omitted because it’s understood.

Your clauses:

Am Abend liege ich im Bett,
(ich) denke an den Kern dieses Tages
und (ich) plane die nächste Wiederholung …

In clause 2, the implied order is:

Subject: ich
Verb: denke
Rest: an den Kern dieses Tages

So the underlying word order is: ich denke an den Kern dieses Tages (V2 still holds), but ich is simply left out because it’s the same subject as before and obvious from context.

German often omits repeated subjects in coordinated main clauses when it’s clear who is acting.