Learn Hardcore German: Im Lauf des Tages wird der Park lauter. - Over the course of the day, the park becomes louder.

im = in dem (“in the” – dative masculine singular)
Lauf = “course / progression / run” (a noun, from the verb laufen, “to run”)
des Tages = “of the day” (genitive singular of der Tag)

So word for word: “In the course of the day”.

Here, Lauf doesn’t mean a physical “run” like jogging, but the course / progression of something over time. The whole phrase is a very common time expression: “over the course of the day / during the day”.

Why is it im Lauf and not im Laufe? Are both correct?

Both im Lauf des Tages and im Laufe des Tages are correct and mean the same thing.

Lauf is the basic noun (“course / run”).
Laufe is the same noun with an old dative ending -e (dem Laufe instead of dem Lauf). This old dative ending still survives in some fixed expressions.

So:

im Lauf des Tages = in dem Lauf des Tages
im Laufe des Tages = in dem Laufe des Tages

Modern German usually prefers im Lauf, but im Laufe des Tages is extremely common and sounds a bit more formal or traditional. You can safely use either.

Which cases are used in Im Lauf des Tages?

Two cases appear here:

Dative after the preposition in (contracted to im):
- in dem Lauf → im Lauf
- Lauf is masculine, so dem is the dative masculine article.
Genitive to show possession/“of” after the noun Lauf:
- des Tages = “of the day” (genitive singular of der Tag)

Structure:

im (in + dative) + Lauf (dative masculine)
- des Tages (genitive: whose course? the day’s course)

So you literally have: “in the course (dative) of the day (genitive)”.

Why is it wird der Park lauter and not ist der Park lauter?

German uses werden + Adjective to express a change of state:

werden + laut = “to become loud”
werden + lauter = “to become louder / to get louder”

So:

Der Park ist lauter. = “The park is louder.” (describing a state at some point)
Der Park wird lauter. = “The park is getting louder / becomes louder.” (describing a process of change)

In Im Lauf des Tages wird der Park lauter, the focus is on how the park changes over time: it starts off quieter and becomes louder as the day progresses.

Is wird here a future tense, like “will get louder”?

Grammatically, wird is the present tense of werden.

German uses werden in two main ways:

As a full verb of change:
- Der Park wird lauter. = “The park is becoming louder / getting louder.”
  (present tense, describing a change happening over the course of the day)
As a future auxiliary with an infinitive:
- Der Park wird lauter werden. = “The park will become louder.” (future tense)

In your sentence, there is no infinitive at the end (werden, machen, etc.), so wird is not a future auxiliary but a main verb meaning “becomes / gets”. English often translates it with a progressive: “gets louder”, “is getting louder”.

What exactly does lauter mean here? Is it just “louder”?

Yes. In this sentence, lauter is the comparative form of the adjective laut (“loud”).

laut = loud
lauter = louder

So wird lauter = “becomes louder / gets louder”.

Note: lauter can also be another word meaning “nothing but / only” (e.g. lauter Kinder = “nothing but children”), but that is a different usage. Here, because it follows wird and clearly functions as an adjective describing the park’s volume, it is the comparative of “laut.”

Why does the sentence start with Im Lauf des Tages? Could I say Der Park wird im Lauf des Tages lauter instead?

German is a V2 (verb-second) language: the finite verb must be the second element in a main clause. Everything else around it is fairly flexible for emphasis.

Both are correct:

Im Lauf des Tages wird der Park lauter.
- Time expression first; it’s emphasized.
- Structure: [Time] – [Verb] – [Subject] – [Rest].
Der Park wird im Lauf des Tages lauter.
- Subject first; more neutral, focusing on “the park.”
- Structure: [Subject] – [Verb] – [Time] – [Rest].

In both cases, wird stays in second position. The choice is about focus and style, not grammar.

Can I replace Im Lauf des Tages with other expressions like Während des Tages, Über den Tag, or Tagsüber?

Yes, there are several alternatives with slightly different flavors:

Während des Tages
- Very close in meaning: “during the day.”
- Während des Tages wird der Park lauter.
Tagsüber
- Means “during the day / in the daytime” (more general, not so much the gradual course).
- Tagsüber wird der Park lauter.
- This suggests that in the daytime in general the park is louder than at night, not necessarily that it gradually gets louder over the day.
Im Laufe des Tages
- Just the variant spelling we discussed; same meaning as Im Lauf des Tages.
- Im Laufe des Tages wird der Park lauter.
Über den Tag (hinweg)
- Also “over the day / throughout the day,” more colloquial.
- Über den Tag wird der Park lauter. (often you’ll hear über den Tag hinweg)

Im Lauf(e) des Tages and Während des Tages both strongly suggest a development over time. Tagsüber is more about “by day” as a time frame and less about the idea of gradual change.

Why is Park masculine (der Park) and capitalized?

In German:

Park is a noun, so it is always capitalized: der Park.
Its grammatical gender is masculine, so the nominative singular article is der.

That’s why the subject is der Park. In your sentence, der Park is in the nominative case (it performs the action of “getting louder”).

Is there any special punctuation needed here, like a comma after Im Lauf des Tages?

No comma is needed.

Im Lauf des Tages is just a prepositional phrase acting as an adverbial of time.
German does not require a comma between a fronted adverbial and the main clause verb.

So the correct punctuation is simply:

Im Lauf des Tages wird der Park lauter.

Can this sentence also talk about a repeated habit, like “On any typical day, the park gets louder as the day goes on”?

Yes. German present tense is flexible and can describe:

Something happening today:
- “Over the course of today, the park is getting louder.”
A general, repeated pattern:
- “Over the course of the day (on a typical day), the park gets louder.”

Context decides which reading is intended. The bare present wird lauter can easily describe a habitual daily pattern, just like English “gets louder (as the day goes on)”.