Ich komme erst am Abend nach Hause.

I don’t come home until the evening.

Breakdown of Ich komme erst am Abend nach Hause.

• kommen: to come
• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• das Haus: the house
• ich: I

Questions & Answers about Ich komme erst am Abend nach Hause.

What does erst mean in this sentence?

Here erst means not until or only as late as.

So Ich komme erst am Abend nach Hause means something like:

• I won’t get home until the evening
• I only get home in the evening

It adds the idea that this happens later than expected or not before that time.

Compare:

• Ich komme am Abend nach Hause. = I come home in the evening.
• Ich komme erst am Abend nach Hause. = I don’t come home until the evening.

So erst is very important for the nuance.

Why is it am Abend?

Am is a contraction of an dem:

• an dem Abend → am Abend

In German, am is very common with parts of the day when talking about time:

• am Morgen = in the morning
• am Nachmittag = in the afternoon
• am Abend = in the evening

So am Abend is the normal way to say in the evening here.

Why is it nach Hause and not zu Hause?