Word Order: Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases

Word Order: Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases

Let's have now a closer look at the position of the adverbial prepositional phrases and the adverbs in the German sentence. But before we do that you have to know this: the adverbial specifications (whether adverbs or prepositional phrases) are divided into four groups according to their meaning.

  1. The first group consists of all specifications indicating time (heute, morgen, am Montag);
  2. the second of all those indicating a reason or a cause or goal (vor Angst, deshalb, aus Freundschaft);
  3. the third of all those indicating a manner or a method or a tool (gern, mit der Straßenbahn, pünktlich);
  4. the fourth group consists of those adverbs and propositional specification which indicate a location or a place or a direction (hier, auf dem Lindenhof, nach Heidelberg).

Those who write grammars also use the terms:

  • temporal,
  • causal,
  • modal,
  • local.

Let's study the following table to see in which order adverbs and prepositional phrases appear in a sentence:

Subject Verb time
temporal		 reason
causal		 manner
modal		 place
local
Ich fahre morgen wegen John mit dem Zug  nach Heidelberg.
Er geht   aus Angst nicht gern ins Theater.
Wir fahren morgen deshalb zusammen  an die Uni.

 

As you can see: the sequence is Time - Reason - Manner - Place (TRuMP).  But it is more complicated than that!

Now, what happens if one has adverbial and prepositional specifications plus a direct and/or indirect object?

Up until now, we have said that the "unmarked" order places adverbs after the objects. But that  isn't enough when sentences become more complex, with several kinds of adverbial specifications.

New_adverbs.gif


Subject Verb adverb of time
indirect object 		adverb of reason
adverb of manner 		adverb of place
direct object
Ich organisiere morgen John aus Freundschaft gern eine Wohnung auf dem Lindenhof
Ich organisiere John morgen gern aus Freundschaft auf dem Lindenhof eine Wohnung.
Er stellt am Montag John pünktlich   den Computer in das Zimmer.*
Er  stellt John am Montag pünktlich  
Wir fahren heute   gern   Anna nach Heidelberg.*

 

Let's slow that down! The following table gives you the normal distribution of objects and adverbial or prepositional specifications throughout the German sentence:

As you can see, the adverbial and prepositional specifications do not just follow the objects. As a matter of fact you have to think in terms of columns. The objects and adverbial or prepositional specifications have to be placed within their appropriate column but they may change places within a column.

  1. The dative object may follow or precede the adverbial specifications indicating time;
  2. the adverbial or prepositional specifications indicating reason and manner may change places;
  3. the direct object and the indication of place also change positions,
  4. *UNLESS the local adverb indicates a direction as in the third, fourth and fifth sentences above.