Learn Hardcore German: Abends liest die Dozentin im Garten. - In the evening the lecturer reads in the garden.

German main clauses normally follow the “verb‑second” rule (V2): the finite verb is always in second position in the sentence, no matter what comes first.

Element 1: Abends (a time adverb)
Element 2: liest (the finite verb)
Then the rest: die Dozentin im Garten

When you put something other than the subject in first position (here: Abends), the subject often moves after the verb. This is called inversion.

So the two sentences are both possible, but have different structures:

Die Dozentin liest abends im Garten. – Subject first, still V2.
Abends liest die Dozentin im Garten. – Time first, still V2 via inversion.

„Abends die Dozentin liest…“ is ungrammatical in standard German because the verb is no longer in second position.

What exactly is „Abends“? Is it a noun, and why is it not capitalized?

Abends here is a temporal adverb meaning “in the evenings / at night (as a habit)”.

It comes from the noun der Abend (evening), but in this form it functions as an adverb.
Adverbs are not capitalized in German, so it is abends, not Abends, in standard spelling.

Your sentence would normally be written:

abends liest die Dozentin im Garten.

It is capitalized only if it starts the sentence (as any first word in a sentence is), not because it is a noun.

What is the difference between „abends“ and „am Abend“?

Both refer to the evening, but they differ in specificity and habitual meaning:

abends
- Means “in the evenings / in the evening (generally, habitually)”
- Implies something happens regularly, usually every evening or on typical evenings.
- Example: Abends liest die Dozentin im Garten. – She usually reads there in the evenings.
am Abend
- Literally “on the evening / in the evening”
- More often used for a specific or one particular evening, or within a specific time frame.
- Example: Am Abend liest die Dozentin im Garten. – On that evening / in the evening (of that day), she reads in the garden.

In everyday speech, the distinction can blur a bit, but „abends“ = habitual, whereas „am Abend“ is more concrete / situational.

Can I also say „Die Dozentin liest abends im Garten.“? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can absolutely say that, and it is very natural.

Die Dozentin liest abends im Garten.
- Neutral word order: Subject – Verb – (Time) – (Place)
- Slightly neutral emphasis: more about what she does.
Abends liest die Dozentin im Garten.
- Fronts the time expression for emphasis.
- Emphasizes when she does it (in the evenings), and can sound a bit more narrative or contrastive: “In the evenings, (and not at other times,) she reads in the garden.”

Meaning-wise they describe the same situation; the difference is mainly focus/emphasis.

What does „Dozentin“ mean exactly? Is it the same as „teacher“ or „professor“?

Dozentin is a female academic teacher, most commonly:

a lecturer or instructor at a university or college
sometimes also someone who teaches adult education / courses outside school

It’s not exactly the same as:

Lehrerin – female teacher, usually at school (primary/secondary)
Professorin – female professor (a specific academic rank)

So:

Dozent – male lecturer
Dozentin – female lecturer

Why is it „die Dozentin“ and not „der Dozentin“ or „das Dozentin“?

The article „die“ here shows:

Grammatical gender:
- Dozentin is feminine (it ends in ‑in, which usually marks a female person), so its definite article in the nominative singular is die.
Case:
- In this sentence, die Dozentin is the subject (the one who reads), so it is in the nominative case.
- Feminine nominative singular article = die.

Mini table for Dozentin:

Nominative: die Dozentin – subject
Accusative: die Dozentin – direct object
Dative: der Dozentin
Genitive: der Dozentin

What case is „die Dozentin“, and how do I know?

„die Dozentin“ is in the nominative case.

You can tell because:

It answers the question “Who is doing the action?” → Who reads? – Die Dozentin.
In simple sentences with one verb, the subject is normally in the nominative.
The article die is the nominative singular form for feminine nouns.

So die Dozentin is the subject of the sentence and therefore nominative.

What does „im“ mean in „im Garten“?

„im“ is a contraction of:

in + dem → im

So im Garten literally means:

in dem Garten = “in the garden”

German often contracts preposition + article:

in dem → im
an dem → am
zu dem → zum
bei dem → beim, etc.

You could say in dem Garten and it’s still correct, but im Garten is more natural.

Why is it „im Garten“ and not „in den Garten“?

This is about case and the meaning of movement vs. location with in:

im Garten = in dem Garten → dative case
- Used for location: where something happens.
- Here, the reading takes place in the garden (no movement into it is expressed).
in den Garten → accusative case
- Used for direction / movement towards: into where someone is going.
- Example: Die Dozentin geht in den Garten. – She goes (into) the garden.

In your sentence there is no movement, just a location where the action happens, so German uses dative: im Garten.

What case is „Garten“ in „im Garten“, and how can I see that?

Garten is in the dative case:

im = in + dem
dem is the dative singular article for masculine der Garten.

So the full underlying form is:

in dem Garten → preposition in + dative → im Garten

Because it’s a location („where?“), in takes the dative here.

How would I say this sentence in the past tense?

Two common past forms:

Simple past (Präteritum) – more written style, but fine:
- Abends las die Dozentin im Garten.
- In the evenings, the lecturer used to read / read in the garden.
Present perfect (Perfekt) – very common in spoken German:
- Abends hat die Dozentin im Garten gelesen.
- In the evenings, the lecturer has read / used to read in the garden.

The choice depends on style and context; the Perfekt is more typical in conversation.

If I want to negate it, where do I put „nicht“?

It depends on what you want to negate:

Negate the place (she doesn’t read in the garden, but somewhere else):
- Abends liest die Dozentin nicht im Garten.
Negate the whole action (she doesn’t read at all in the evenings):
- Abends liest die Dozentin nicht.
Negate the time (not in the evenings, but at another time):
- Nicht abends liest die Dozentin im Garten, sondern morgens.

General rule: „nicht“ usually comes before the part of the sentence it negates, and after the verb and subject.

How do you pronounce „liest“ and „Dozentin“?

Approximate English-based pronunciation (not IPA-perfect, but close):

liest
- Like “leest” in English.
- Long ie → one long “ee” sound: lee-st.
Dozentin
- Do- like English “dough” (but often a bit shorter)
- ‑zen‑ like “tsen” (German z sounds like ts)
- ‑tin like “tin” in English
- So roughly: doh‑TSEN‑tin (stress on ‑zen‑).

Why is „Dozentin“ capitalized, but „im Garten“ only capitalizes Garten?

German capitalization rules:

All nouns (names of things, people, places, concepts) are capitalized.
- Dozentin – noun → capitalized.
- Garten – noun → capitalized.
Articles, prepositions, verbs, adjectives, adverbs are not capitalized (except at the beginning of a sentence).
- im (in + dem) → preposition + article → lowercase
- abends (adverb) → lowercase (unless first word in the sentence)
- liest (verb) → lowercase

So: Abends liest die Dozentin im Garten. – only the nouns (Dozentin, Garten) are capitalized (plus the first word of the sentence).

Can I also front „im Garten“: „Im Garten liest die Dozentin abends“? Is that correct?

Yes, that is correct and sounds natural.

Im Garten liest die Dozentin abends.
- Element 1: Im Garten
- Element 2: liest (verb – still in second position)
- Then die Dozentin abends

This order emphasizes where the action happens: “In the garden, the lecturer reads in the evenings.”

German word order is relatively flexible as long as you keep the finite verb in second position and the sentence frame (verb parts together where needed). Different orders mainly change the emphasis, not the core meaning.