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Questions & Answers about Осенью я надеваю шарф.
Why is it осенью instead of just осень?
Осень is the dictionary word for "autumn". To say "in autumn", Russian changes the word into the instrumental case, making it осенью. You do this with all seasons, for example, зима (winter) becomes зимой (in winter).
I often mix up надевать and одевать. Why is it надеваю here?
You use надевать (which надеваю comes from) when you are putting a specific item of clothing on a body, like yourself. You use одевать when you are dressing a whole person, like a child. Since you are putting a scarf onto yourself, надеваю is the correct choice.
Шарф (scarf) is the direct object here. Why doesn't its ending change?
You are right that шарф is in the accusative case because it is the object receiving the action. However, for masculine nouns that are non-living (inanimate), the accusative case form looks exactly the same as the dictionary form. That is why it stays шарф.
Why use the imperfective verb надеваю instead of its perfective partner?
The phrase "In autumn" shows that this is a general, repeated habit rather than a single, one-time completed action. In Russian, we use imperfective verbs for habits and recurring routines, so надеваю fits perfectly here.