Lesson 41: Daily Routine Word Order

In this lesson, you’ll learn how German word order works when you talk about your daily routine. You already know some routine verbs and time phrases, so now the goal is to put them in the right order.

What you’ll learn

• How to start a sentence with ich
• How to start a sentence with a time phrase
• Why the verb still comes second
• How a time phrase counts as one sentence part
• How separable verbs like aufstehen work with time phrases
• A few new routine words you can use

A quick review

You already know simple sentences like these:

Ich lerne Deutsch am Abend.
I study German in the evening.

Ich arbeite am Nachmittag.
I work in the afternoon.

Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
I get up at seven o’clock.

These sentences are useful. But German also lets you move the time phrase to the beginning.

That means you can also say:

Am Abend lerne ich Deutsch.
In the evening, I study German.

Am Nachmittag arbeite ich.
In the afternoon, I work.

Um sieben Uhr stehe ich auf.
At seven o’clock, I get up.

The meaning is almost the same. The word order changes.

Pattern 1: Start with ich

The easiest beginner pattern is:

ich + verb + more information

Examples:

Ich lerne Deutsch am Abend.
I study German in the evening.

Ich arbeite am Nachmittag.
I work in the afternoon.

Ich frühstücke um halb acht.
I eat breakfast at 7:30.

In this pattern, ich comes first. The verb comes right after it.

Look at the sentence:

Ich lerne Deutsch am Abend.

You can break it into parts like this:

For beginners, this is the safest pattern.

Pattern 2: Start with a Time Phrase

German also often starts with the time phrase.

Pattern:

time phrase + verb + subject + more information

Examples:

Am Abend lerne ich Deutsch.
In the evening, I study German.

Am Nachmittag arbeite ich.
In the afternoon, I work.

Um halb acht frühstücke ich.
At 7:30, I eat breakfast.

This sounds very natural in German.

Why the Verb Still Comes Second

This is one of the most important German word order rules:

In a normal German statement, the verb usually comes in the second position.

But this does not always mean the second word.

It means the second sentence part.

That is very important.

Look at this sentence:

Am Abend lerne ich Deutsch.

You might think:

• Am = first word
• Abend = second word
• lerne = third word

But German does not count it that way.

German treats am Abend as a single time phrase. That whole phrase counts as the first sentence part.

So the verb lerne is still in the second position.

Not the second word.
The second sentence part.

Time Phrases Count as One Unit

A time phrase can be one word or several words.

Examples:

So all of these can come at the beginning of a sentence.

Examples:

Heute lerne ich Deutsch.
Today, I study German.

Am Abend lerne ich Deutsch.
In the evening, I study German.

Um sieben Uhr lerne ich Deutsch.
At seven o’clock, I study German.

Am Montag lerne ich Deutsch.
On Monday, I study German.

Jeden Tag lerne ich Deutsch.
Every day, I study German.

In every sentence, the time phrase is first. The verb comes second.

Compare the Two Patterns

Both versions are correct.

The meaning is very similar.

The difference is focus.

Ich lerne am Abend.
This focuses more on what I do.

Am Abend lerne ich.
This focuses more on when I do it.

New Routine Vocabulary

Here are a few useful routine words for this lesson:

Some of these are separable verbs. You will see that in the next section.

Separable Verbs in Routine Sentences

Some German verbs split into two parts.

You already know:

aufstehen = to get up

In a sentence, it becomes:

Ich stehe auf.
I get up.

The first part changes like a normal verb:

stehen → stehe

The small extra part goes to the end:

auf

So:

Ich stehe auf.

If you add a time phrase, auf still goes at the end.

Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
I get up at seven o’clock.

Time-First Sentences with Separable Verbs

Now look at what happens when the time phrase comes first:

Um sieben Uhr stehe ich auf.
At seven o’clock, I get up.

Break it down:

The verb stehe is in the second position.
The separable part auf stays at the end.

That is the pattern.

More Separable Verbs

Here are a few more useful separable verbs:

einkaufen = to go shopping
aufräumen = to tidy up
fernsehen = to watch TV

Examples:

Ich kaufe am Samstag ein.
I go shopping on Saturday.

Am Samstag kaufe ich ein.
On Saturday, I go shopping.

Ich räume am Abend auf.
I tidy up in the evening.

Am Abend räume ich auf.
In the evening, I tidy up.

Ich sehe am Abend fern.
I watch TV in the evening.

Am Abend sehe ich fern.
In the evening, I watch TV.

Notice the pattern:

• the main verb comes early
• the small separable part goes to the end

A Note About spazieren gehen

spazieren gehen means to go for a walk.

It is useful for daily routine sentences.

Examples:

Ich gehe am Abend spazieren.
I go for a walk in the evening.

Am Abend gehe ich spazieren.
In the evening, I go for a walk.

Here, gehe comes early, and spazieren comes later.

For now, learn it as a useful phrase:

spazieren gehen = to go for a walk
Ich gehe spazieren. = I go for a walk.

A Simple Daily Routine

Read this short text slowly.

Mein Tag

Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
Um halb acht frühstücke ich.
Am Morgen dusche ich.
Am Nachmittag arbeite ich.
Am Abend lerne ich Deutsch.
Danach sehe ich fern.
Um zehn Uhr schlafe ich.

Fill-in-the-Blank Sentences