Вечером я пью вишнёвый компот дома.

In the evening I drink cherry compote at home.

Breakdown of Вечером я пью вишнёвый компот дома.

• я: I
• пить: to drink
• вечер: the evening
• дома: at home
• компот: the compote
• вишнёвый: cherry

Questions & Answers about Вечером я пью вишнёвый компот дома.

Why is it вечером and not в вечер or в вечере? What case is вечером?

Вечером is the instrumental case of вечер (вечер → вечером). In Russian, the instrumental is often used adverbially to mean “in the evening / in the evening time” (same pattern as утром = in the morning, днём = in the daytime, ночью = at night).
You can also say в вечер only in very specific contexts (usually with an adjective/clarification, e.g., в тот вечер = that evening), but вечером is the standard neutral way.

Does Вечером mean “this evening” or “in the evenings (habitually)”?

By itself, вечером is often understood as a general time frame: in the evening (it can describe a routine or a typical time, depending on context).
If you want to clearly say “in the evenings (regularly)”, Russian often uses по вечерам:

• По вечерам я пью… = In the evenings (as a habit) I drink…
  If you want “this evening / tonight”, you’d typically say сегодня вечером.

Why is the verb пью (imperfective пить) used here? Could it be выпью?

Пью (from пить, imperfective) fits well for habits, repeated actions, or describing what you do in general: I drink (I usually drink).
Выпью (perfective, from выпить) would mean a single completed action: I will drink (and finish it) / I’ll have some (this one time).
So compare:

• Вечером я пью компот. = In the evening I drink compote (habitually / generally).
• Сегодня вечером я выпью компот. = This evening I’ll drink (have) compote (one-time).

Why is я included? Can it be dropped?

Yes, я is often optional because пью already shows 1st person singular.

• Вечером пью вишнёвый компот дома. is possible, especially in casual speech or when the subject is obvious.
  Keeping я can add clarity or emphasis/contrast (e.g., “I drink it, not someone else”).

Why is it вишнёвый компот—what form/case is that?

It’s the direct object of пью, so it’s in the accusative. For inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative looks the same as the nominative:

• компот (Nom.) → компот (Acc., inanimate)
  The adjective agrees with the noun in gender/number/case:
• вишнёвый (masc. sg. acc.) + компот (masc. sg. acc.)

Why is it written вишнёвый with ё? I often see вишневый.

The correct spelling is вишнёвый (stress falls on ё: ви-ш-нЁ-вый).
In many texts, ё is often replaced by е (вишневый) even though the pronunciation stays ё. Learners often prefer texts with ё because it shows the stress and correct sound.

What does дома mean grammatically? Why isn’t it в доме?

Дома is an adverb meaning “at home” (location as a general concept). It’s the most common way to say you’re at home.
В доме literally means “in the house/building” and focuses on being inside the building, not the idea of “home.”
So:

• Я дома. = I’m at home.
• Я в доме. = I’m in the house (inside the building).

Is the word order fixed? Could I move дома or вечером?

Russian word order is flexible; changing it shifts emphasis. All of these can be natural depending on what you want to highlight:

• Вечером я пью вишнёвый компот дома. (neutral: time first)
• Я вечером пью вишнёвый компот дома. (emphasizes I)
• Дома вечером я пью вишнёвый компот. (emphasizes at home)
• Вечером дома я пью вишнёвый компот. (time + place as a “setting” first)

How do you pronounce пью? Why does it have ь?

Пью is pronounced roughly like pyoo with a strong palatalized p (soft п). The ь signals that softness and helps create the пь sound cluster.
It’s one syllable: пью.

Is компот the same thing as “compote” in English?

Related idea, but in Russian компот usually means a sweet fruit drink (often homemade) made by simmering fruit/berries in water with sugar, then drinking the liquid (sometimes with fruit pieces). It’s very common in home cooking.