In German, you can use adverbs of frequency to express how often an action or event takes place, took place, or will take place.
- Morgens trinke ich eine Tasse Kaffee.Translation: I drink a cup of coffee in the morning.
- Ich trinke meinen Kaffee fast immer schwarz, aber manchmal mit etwas Milch.Translation: Almost always I drink my coffee black, but sometimes with some milk.
In this article, we will go through some of the common German adverbs of frequency, discuss what they mean and where to place them in a sentence. Let’s get started!
Adverbs of frequency: what are they and when do you use them?
Adverbs of frequency are used to describe how often an action or event occurs. They are often used to discuss routines, patterns, habits or recurring activities and events. We can split them into groups based on whether they tell you exactly how often the action happens (e.g. weekly) or generally how often the action happens (e.g. occasionally). We call them adverbs of definite or indefinite frequency. Let’s dig a little deeper!
Adverbs of definite frequency
Adverbs of definite frequency are used to express frequency that specifies a particular time or time frame and is therefore measurable. It tells you the exact details about how often and when something happens.
Let’s talk about how these can be formed!
How to form adverbs like “daily” or “on Mondays”
Adverbs of definite frequency like “daily” or “on Mondays” come from nouns.
- Morgens putze ich mir die Zähne nach dem Aufstehen.Translation: Every morning I brush my teeth after getting up.morgens comes from der Morgen meaning morning
- Die Zeitschrift wird monatlich veröffentlicht.Translation: The magazine is published monthly.monatlich comes from der Monat meaning month
You can form them by either adding the letter -s or the suffix -lich to the stem of the origin noun. Unlike nouns, though, adverbs are not capitalized. Here are the rules to follow:
If the noun represents a time of day, add -s:
- der MorgenTranslation: the morningmorgensTranslation: in the morning
- der AbendTranslation: the eveningabendsTranslation: in the evening
If the noun represents a day of the week, add -s:
- der MontagTranslation: MondaymontagsTranslation: on Mondays
- der DienstagTranslation: TuesdaydienstagsTranslation: on Tuesdays
If the noun represents some other time period (e.g. day, week, month, or year), add -lich
- der TagTranslation: the daytäglichTranslation: daily
- die WocheTranslation: the weekwöchentlichTranslation: weekly
- der MonatTranslation: the monthmonatlichTranslation: monthly
Note that some of these come with a vowel change to an umlaut!
How to form adverbs like “once” or “three times”
Adverbs of definite frequency like “once” or “three times” are formed by adding the ending -mal to a number.
- Peter hat den Film schon dreimal gesehen.Translation: Peter has already watched the movie three times.
- Ich habe dir schon hundertmal gesagt, dass du dein Zimmer aufräumen sollst!Translation: I have already told you one hundred times that you have to clean up your room!
Adverbs of indefinite frequency
Adverbs of indefinite frequency are words like “always” or “sometimes,” that we use to express frequency in more general terms. In German, these mostly just need to be learned, there are no formation rules.
Here is a list of some of the most common ones. For a comprehensive list of German adverbs of indefinite frequency, please check out our list.
| German | English |
|---|---|
immer | always |
meistens | mostly |
häufig / oft | frequently / often |
manchmal / gelegentlich | sometimes / occasionally |
selten / kaum | seldom / rarely |
nie / niemals | never |
Where to put adverbs of frequency in a German sentence?
In German, the position of frequency adverbs is fairly flexible. They can all come at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. There are some generalizations you can follow, though, to help your German sound more natural.
Let’s look at some examples!
In the middle of the sentence — Neutral
The most neutral position for an adverb of frequency in German is probably in the middle of a sentence, directly after the conjugated verb, and before any objects. So the order here is:
Subject
Conjugated Verb
Adverb of Frequency
However, you can move the adverb to rest before the direct object as well:
- adverb of frequencydirect objectIch spiele nach der Arbeit oft Klavier.Translation: I often play piano after work.
- adverb of frequencyindirect objectdirect objectSie gibt mir manchmal Schokolade zum Frühstück.Translation: She sometimes gives me chocolate for breakfast.
If both objects are pronouns, though, the adverb should either follow the verb, or go after both object pronouns:
At the beginning of the sentence — Emphatic
German speakers put the adverb of frequency at the beginning of a sentence to add some emphasis.
At the end of the sentence — Emphatic
You can also put the frequency adverb at the end of the sentence for emphasis. When placing it at the end, it follows absolutely everything else in the sentence:
What if there is more than one frequency adverb?
If there is more than one adverb of frequency, you have the same options—depending on what your emphasis is. Usually, the adverbs of frequency should be clustered together:
✅Ich besuche oft montags meine Mutter.
However, if you want to put an adverb in first position, the second adverb of frequency goes in the middle or at the end.
Montags besuche ich meine Mutter oft.
Summary
Here are the major things to remember about German adverbs of frequency:
To create adverbs like “on Mondays,” “weekly,” or “monthly,” add -s or -lich to the appropriate noun
To create adverbs like “once” or “four times,” add -mal to the number
Adverbs of frequency are most neutrally used after the conjugated verb, but they can also come in a range of other locations, including at the beginning or end (for emphasis)
And now, head on over to our German adverbs of frequency activities to practice all about adverbs of frequency in German!
:quality(80))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))