Im Sommer esse ich Mango lieber kalt.

In summer I prefer to eat mango cold.

Breakdown of Im Sommer esse ich Mango lieber kalt.

• essen: to eat
• ich: I
• lieber: rather
• kalt: cold

Questions & Answers about Im Sommer esse ich Mango lieber kalt.

Why is it im Sommer and not in Sommer?

Im is a contraction of in dem.

With seasons used as time expressions, German normally says:

• im Sommer
• im Winter
• im Herbst
• im Frühling

So im Sommer means in the summer / during summer.

This is a very common fixed pattern. Saying in Sommer would be ungrammatical here.

Why is the word order esse ich instead of ich esse?

Because German main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

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

• Im Sommer | esse | ich | Mango lieber kalt.

So the subject ich moves after the verb.

Compare:

• Ich esse im Sommer Mango lieber kalt.
• Im Sommer esse ich Mango lieber kalt.

Both are grammatical, but when Im Sommer comes first, esse must stay in second position.

Why is there no article before Mango?