Am Wochenende kochen wir Rührei mit Lauch, aber meine Nichte isst lieber veganes Müsli.

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule: the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

So in:

Am Wochenende kochen wir Rührei ...

the first position is taken by the time expression Am Wochenende, and the verb kochen stays in second position. The subject wir comes after the verb.

You could also say:

Wir kochen am Wochenende Rührei ...

Both are correct. Starting with Am Wochenende just emphasizes the time.

Am is a contraction of an dem.

• an = a preposition
• dem = dative form of der/das

So:

am Wochenende = an dem Wochenende

In natural English, this is usually at the weekend or on the weekend.

German often uses am with time expressions like this:

• am Montag
• am Abend
• am Wochenende

Because the preposition an requires the dative here when it expresses time.

So:

• das Wochenende = nominative
• dem Wochenende = dative
• am Wochenende = an dem Wochenende

This is a very common pattern with time phrases.

German often leaves out the article with foods when talking about them in a general or menu-like way, especially after verbs like essen, trinken, or kochen.

So:

• Wir kochen Rührei. = We’re making scrambled eggs.
• Sie isst Müsli. = She eats muesli.

You could add an article in some contexts, but it would sound more specific:

• Wir kochen ein Rührei. = We’re cooking one portion/an omelet-like serving of scrambled egg.

Without an article, it sounds more natural here.

After mit, German often uses a noun without an article when talking about an ingredient or material in a general sense.

So:

• Rührei mit Lauch = scrambled eggs with leek

This sounds like the name or description of a dish.

If you said mit dem Lauch, it would sound more specific, as if you mean a particular leek already known in the conversation:

• mit dem Lauch aus dem Garten = with the leek from the garden

Also remember: mit always takes the dative.

Aber means but and is a coordinating conjunction.

That means it connects two main clauses and does not push the verb to the end.

So:

..., aber meine Nichte isst lieber veganes Müsli.

The second clause keeps normal main-clause order:

• meine Nichte = subject
• isst = verb in second position

Compare that with a subordinating conjunction like weil, which would send the verb to the end.

In German, clauses joined by conjunctions like aber, und, oder, etc. are often separated by a comma when they connect two full clauses.

Here both sides are complete clauses:

• Am Wochenende kochen wir Rührei mit Lauch
• meine Nichte isst lieber veganes Müsli

So the comma is standard and helpful for clarity.

Here lieber means rather or preferably.

So:

meine Nichte isst lieber veganes Müsli

means that your niece prefers vegan muesli instead.

It is related to preference words:

• gern = gladly / likes to
• lieber = rather / prefers
• am liebsten = most preferably / likes best

Examples:

• Ich esse gern Brot. = I like eating bread.
• Ich esse lieber Müsli. = I’d rather eat muesli.
• Am liebsten esse ich Obst. = I like fruit best.

Because Müsli is a neuter noun: das Müsli.

Here it is the direct object, so it is in the accusative. With no article before the noun, the adjective has to carry the grammatical ending itself. For a neuter accusative singular noun, that ending is -es.

So:

• veganes Müsli = correct

Compare:

• das vegane Müsli = with a definite article
• ein veganes Müsli = with an indefinite article

The endings change depending on the article pattern.

Isst comes from the verb essen = to eat.

This verb is irregular in the present tense:

• ich esse
• du isst
• er/sie/es isst
• wir essen
• ihr esst
• sie/Sie essen

So meine Nichte isst is the correct third-person singular form.

A useful thing to notice is the vowel change:

• e in essen
• i in isst

This kind of change happens in several common German verbs.

Because in German, all nouns are capitalized.

That is one of the most noticeable differences from English.

So in this sentence:

• Wochenende = noun
• Rührei = noun
• Lauch = noun
• Nichte = noun
• Müsli = noun

Adjectives like veganes and words like aber, wir, and isst are not capitalized unless they begin the sentence.

It can be either, depending on context.

• It can mean this/that weekend in a specific situation.
• It can also mean on weekends more generally.

German often uses the same phrase for both, and the broader context tells you which meaning is intended.

So Am Wochenende kochen wir Rührei mit Lauch could mean:

• This weekend we’re making scrambled eggs with leek, or
• At weekends we make scrambled eggs with leek

Grammatically, Rührei is singular: das Rührei.

Even though English often says scrambled eggs in the plural, German normally uses the singular form for the dish.

So:

• Rührei = scrambled eggs
• ein Rührei = a scrambled-egg dish / one serving of scrambled eggs

This is one of those places where German and English package the idea differently.