Breakdown of Am Wochenende lese ich mein Lerntagebuch durch und sehe meinen Lernfortschritt.
Questions & Answers about Am Wochenende lese ich mein Lerntagebuch durch und sehe meinen Lernfortschritt.
Am Wochenende is a fixed, very common time expression meaning “at the weekend / on the weekend.”
- am = contraction of an dem (on/at the + dative)
- With days and similar time points, German typically uses an:
- am Montag, am Abend, am Wochenende
- im Wochenende is wrong in standard German. in is used for longer periods or enclosed spans:
- im Winter, im Juli, im Jahr 2024
You could theoretically say an dem Wochenende, but it sounds very heavy and is only used if you really want to stress a very specific weekend (and even then people still prefer an diesem Wochenende or am Wochenende).
German allows quite free word order at the beginning of a main clause as long as the conjugated verb stays in second position.
Putting Am Wochenende first:
- emphasizes when the action happens
- sets the time frame as the topic of the sentence
Compare:
- Ich lese am Wochenende mein Lerntagebuch durch …
→ neutral emphasis on I. - Am Wochenende lese ich mein Lerntagebuch durch …
→ emphasis on at the weekend (vs. on weekdays, evenings, etc.).
Both orders are grammatically correct; only the focus changes.
In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must be in second position, but that means:
second element (slot), not necessarily second word.
Here:
- Am Wochenende = first element (a full prepositional phrase)
- lese = second element (the verb)
- ich mein Lerntagebuch durch = rest of the clause
So the rule is respected: the verb is second, even though Am Wochenende is made up of two words.
durchlesen is a separable-prefix verb:
- infinitive: durchlesen
- finite form in main clause: ich lese … durch
The prefix durch- separates and goes to the end of the clause in the present tense (and simple past) main clauses:
- Ich lese mein Lerntagebuch durch.
Meaning nuance:
- lesen = to read (in general)
- durchlesen = to read something all the way through, from beginning to end, often carefully
So mein Lerntagebuch durchlesen implies you go through the whole learning diary, not just parts.
Yes, that is completely correct:
- Am Wochenende lese ich mein Lerntagebuch durch …
- Ich lese am Wochenende mein Lerntagebuch durch …
Both are fine. The difference is emphasis:
- Starting with Ich is neutral; subject-first is the default order.
- Starting with Am Wochenende highlights the time frame (“specifically at the weekend I do this”).
Grammatically, they are equivalent.
Both Lerntagebuch and Lernfortschritt are direct objects, so both are in the accusative case. The difference is their grammatical gender:
- das Tagebuch (neuter) → das Lerntagebuch
- accusative singular neuter: mein Lerntagebuch (no change in form)
- der Fortschritt (masculine) → der Lernfortschritt
- accusative singular masculine: meinen Lernfortschritt
Possessive mein- declines like the indefinite article ein:
- nominative masc.: mein Lernfortschritt (like ein Lernfortschritt)
- accusative masc.: meinen Lernfortschritt (like einen Lernfortschritt)
So meinen signals masculine accusative.
In German compound nouns, the last part decides the gender:
- das Tagebuch → das Lerntagebuch
- der Fortschritt → der Lernfortschritt
So to find the gender of a long compound, look at the final noun:
- die Schule → die Sprachschule, die Fahrschule
- der Plan → der Lernplan, der Stadtplan
You usually just have to learn the gender of the base nouns (Tagebuch, Fortschritt), then apply it to the compounds.
Because possessive determiners (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr) already play the role of a “determiner.” In German you normally use:
- either an article (der, ein, dieser, jeder, …)
- or a possessive (mein, dein, sein, …)
but not both together in standard usage.
So you say:
- mein Lerntagebuch, not das mein Lerntagebuch
- meinen Lernfortschritt, not den meinen Lernfortschritt
(There are special emphatic forms like der meinige, but that’s different grammar and quite formal/old-fashioned.)
When you join two main clauses with und and they have the same subject, German often omits the repeated subject in the second clause, especially in spoken and informal written language:
- Am Wochenende lese ich mein Lerntagebuch durch und (ich) sehe meinen Lernfortschritt.
The ich is understood from context, so you can drop it. Both versions are correct:
- … und ich sehe meinen Lernfortschritt. (explicit, a bit clearer for learners)
- … und sehe meinen Lernfortschritt. (very typical in natural German)
With und, you’re starting a new main clause:
- full version: … und ich sehe meinen Lernfortschritt.
- 1st element: ich
- 2nd element: sehe → verb-second respected
When you omit ich, the surface word order is:
- … und sehe meinen Lernfortschritt.
The subject is still “there” in meaning, just not written. Native speakers feel this as a normal coordinated clause with the same subject, not as an inversion like a question. So the verb-second rule is not broken; the subject is just elliptical (left out because it’s obvious).
Yes, that is grammatically correct:
- Am Wochenende werde ich mein Lerntagebuch durchlesen.
However, in German the present tense is very often used for future events, especially when the time is clear from context:
- Am Wochenende lese ich mein Lerntagebuch durch.
This is usually preferred and sounds more natural unless you want to stress the planning/intent or contrast with something else. So for a simple statement of routine or plan, the present tense is the default choice.