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Im September macht unsere Verwandtschaft oft einen Ausflug aufs Land.

Im September macht unsere Verwandtschaft oft einen Ausflug aufs Land.
In September our relatives often take a trip to the countryside.
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Questions & Answers about Im September macht unsere Verwandtschaft oft einen Ausflug aufs Land.

Why is it Im September and not just In September?

Im is a contraction of in dem.

  • in = in
  • dem = the (dative masculine/neuter)

Since September is masculine in German (der September), the phrase becomes:

  • in dem September → im September

For time expressions with months, im September is the normal idiomatic form in this kind of sentence.

What case is September in here?

It is in the dative case.

That is because the preposition in is being used for a time expression here, and with this meaning it takes the dative:

  • im September
  • im Winter
  • im Jahr 2025

So even though English just says in September, German shows the case through im.

Why is the verb macht before unsere Verwandtschaft?

This is because German is a verb-second (V2) language in main clauses.

The first position in the sentence is taken by Im September. Once that happens, the finite verb must come next:

  • Im September | macht | unsere Verwandtschaft ...

So the basic idea is:

  • first element: Im September
  • second element: macht
  • then the subject: unsere Verwandtschaft

If you started with the subject instead, you could also say:

  • Unsere Verwandtschaft macht im September oft einen Ausflug aufs Land.

That is also correct, but the emphasis is a little different.

What does Verwandtschaft mean here? Is it the same as Familie?

Verwandtschaft means relatives or extended family / kin.

It is related to verwandt = related.

Compared with Familie:

  • Familie often means your immediate family or family as a general concept.
  • Verwandtschaft focuses more specifically on people you are related to.

So unsere Verwandtschaft is something like:

  • our relatives
  • our extended family
Why is Verwandtschaft singular even though it refers to several people?

Because Verwandtschaft is a collective noun in German.

Grammatically, it is singular, even though the meaning can refer to a group of people. That is why the verb is singular too:

  • unsere Verwandtschaft macht ... not
  • unsere Verwandtschaft machen ...

English does this too sometimes with words like the family, depending on variety of English.

Why is it einen Ausflug?

Because Ausflug is a masculine noun:

  • der Ausflug

And it is the direct object of macht, so it must be in the accusative case:

  • nominative: ein Ausflug
  • accusative: einen Ausflug

That is why both words change:

  • ein → einen
  • Ausflug stays the same
Why does German say macht einen Ausflug instead of using a simple verb like goes?

This is just a very common German expression:

  • einen Ausflug machen = to go on a trip / outing / excursion

German often uses a verb + noun combination where English might prefer a simpler verb.

Similar examples:

  • eine Reise machen = take a trip
  • einen Spaziergang machen = take a walk
  • Urlaub machen = go on vacation / be on vacation

So macht einen Ausflug is completely natural German.

What exactly does Ausflug mean?

Ausflug usually means a short trip, outing, or excursion.

It often suggests:

  • not a long journey
  • usually for pleasure
  • often there and back again the same day

So in this sentence, the family/relatives are not going on a major vacation. They are going on a smaller outing.

What does aufs Land mean?

Aufs Land means to the countryside or out into the country.

Here, Land does not mean a country in the political sense, like a nation. It means rural areas as opposed to the city.

So:

  • aufs Land fahren
  • aufs Land gehen
  • einen Ausflug aufs Land machen

all suggest going out to a rural area.

Why is it aufs Land and not auf dem Land?

Because aufs Land expresses movement toward the countryside.

  • aufs = auf das
  • this is accusative, often used with a change of location / direction

Compare:

  • aufs Land = to the countryside
  • auf dem Land = in the countryside / on the countryside side of things, meaning already there

Examples:

  • Wir fahren aufs Land. = We’re going to the countryside.
  • Meine Großeltern wohnen auf dem Land. = My grandparents live in the countryside.

So in your sentence, the outing is toward the countryside, not already located there.

Why is it aufs and not auf das?

Aufs is simply the common contraction of auf das.

German often contracts certain preposition + article combinations:

  • an dem → am
  • in dem → im
  • zu dem → zum
  • auf das → aufs

So:

  • aufs Land = auf das Land

The full form is grammatically possible, but the contracted form is much more natural here.

Where does oft go in the sentence?

Oft is an adverb of frequency, and in this sentence it appears in a very natural middle-field position:

  • Im September macht unsere Verwandtschaft oft einen Ausflug aufs Land.

It comes after the subject and before the object phrase.

A rough guide is that adverbs like oft commonly appear somewhere after the finite verb, often before objects or other complements. German word order is flexible, but this placement is very normal.

Could the sentence be worded differently and still be correct?

Yes. German allows some flexibility, especially with adverbials.

For example:

  • Unsere Verwandtschaft macht im September oft einen Ausflug aufs Land.
  • Oft macht unsere Verwandtschaft im September einen Ausflug aufs Land.

These are all grammatically possible, but they highlight different parts of the sentence.

The original sentence puts Im September first, so it gives that time information a bit more prominence.