Word order with Adverbs
In this post we are looking at the word order of German adverbs. It might also be a good idea to read our blog about German adverbs and German adverbs of place. In English, adverbs can appear in different places within a sentence. That’s the same in German. For example:
Tomorrow is my birthday.
My birthday is tomorrow.
Adverbs of time
- Adverbs of time can be placed at the beginning of the sentence.
For example:
Heute fliegen wir in Urlaub. ⇨ We fly on holiday today.
Morgen spielen wir Fußball. ⇨ We’ll play football tomorrow.
- But this is not fixed.
For example:
Wir fliegen heute in Urlaub.
Wir spielen morgen Fußball.
Adverbs of place
- Adverbs of place can be placed at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis.
For example:
Hier haben wir uns getroffen. ⇨ We have met here.
Dort hat er gewohnt. ⇨ He lived there.
- But they don’t have to be at the beginning.
For example:
Wir haben uns hier getroffen.
Er hat dort gewohnt.
Note: Object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn, sie, uns etc) come before the adverb as shown in the above sentence.
More than 2 adverbs
If there are more than two adverbs in a sentence, the following rule applies:
adverb of time + adverb of place
For example:
Wir sind gestern dort gewesen. ⇨ We’ve been there yesterday.
Tom und Pete gehen heute dahin. ⇨ Tom and Pete will go there today.