FormVerb (Position 2) + Zeit + Ort
Meaning and usage
German sentences often put time before place when both come after the verb. The order is usually time, then place. For example, Ich gehe heute ins Kino means I am going to the cinema today. The time word heute comes before the place ins Kino.
Learners often put the place first because English allows both orders. Saying Ich gehe ins Kino heute sounds wrong in German. Keep the time before the place unless you want to emphasize the place, which is rare at A1.
Examples 5
Die Kinder gehen heute an den Strand.
The children are going to the beach today.
Wir sehen uns morgen in der Bibliothek.
See you tomorrow in the library.
Ich bin gestern in den Park gegangen.
I went to the park yesterday.
Kann ich morgen in dein Büro kommen?
Can I come to your office tomorrow?
Ich ging früh am Morgen nach draußen.
I went outside early in the morning.
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Ich fahre .
Show answer
Correct answer: morgen nach Berlin
The time expression morgen comes before the place nach Berlin. This is the usual order in German.
- nach Berlin morgen Place before time is not the usual order in German, so nach Berlin morgen sounds wrong.
- Berlin nach morgen Both the time and the place are in the wrong order, so Berlin nach morgen does not work.
- morgen Berlin nach The preposition nach must come before Berlin, so morgen Berlin nach is not correct.
In this topic: Word order
- Verb an Position 2 The conjugated verb comes second in a statement
- Heute lerne ich … Time first, then verb, then subject
- Ich will morgen … fahren. Two verb parts, one second, one last
- und, aber, oder, denn und, aber, oder, denn: verb stays in position 2
- morgen nach Berlin time before place in the middle of a sentence
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.