Word Order in the Middle of the Sentence
Learn what happens between the two verb positions: the TeKaMoLo order for time, reason, manner and place, the placement of nicht, and how pronouns push to the front of the middle field.
The middle field
You have long known the two fixed points of a German sentence: the conjugated verb in second position and the rest of the verb — participle, infinitive or separable prefix — at the end. Everything between those two poles is called the middle field, and until now you have filled it mostly by instinct.
At B1 the sentences grow: a single statement may carry a time, a reason, a manner and a place all at once. German has a preferred order for these, remembered with the formula TeKaMoLo: Temporal (when), Kausal (why), Modal (how), Lokal (where or where to). Ich fahre morgen wegen eines Termins mit dem Zug nach Berlin — tomorrow, because of an appointment, by train, to Berlin.
TeKaMoLo is a strong habit of the language, not a law of nature. Native speakers bend it for emphasis, and so may you — but when in doubt, the formula always produces a sentence that sounds right.
Ich fahre morgen mit dem Zug nach Berlin.
I am going to Berlin by train tomorrow.
Temporal before modal before local: morgen — mit dem Zug — nach Berlin.
Sie ist gestern wegen des Streiks mit dem Fahrrad zur Arbeit gefahren.
Yesterday she rode her bicycle to work because of the strike.
All four slots in order: gestern (Te) — wegen des Streiks (Ka) — mit dem Fahrrad (Mo) — zur Arbeit (Lo).
Wir treffen uns am Samstag um zehn Uhr vor dem Kino.
We are meeting on Saturday at ten o'clock in front of the cinema.
TeKaMoLo in detail
Each letter answers a question. Temporal answers wann — gestern, im Sommer, nach der Arbeit. Kausal answers warum — wegen des Wetters, aus Zeitgründen. Modal answers wie — mit dem Bus, ohne Hilfe, gern. Lokal answers wo or wohin — zu Hause, nach Berlin, ins Büro. Few sentences use all four slots; the rule simply tells you the order of whichever ones appear.
Remember that the first position of the sentence is always available for emphasis. Move one element there, and the rest of the middle field keeps its TeKaMoLo order: Morgen fahre ich mit meiner Familie an die Ostsee. Fronting the time expression like this is extremely common and instantly makes your German sound more natural than starting every sentence with ich.
The order also holds in the Perfekt and in the passive, where the middle field is framed by two verb parts: Das Paket wird morgen mit der Post an Ihre Adresse geschickt.
Er fährt heute wegen des Wetters mit dem Bus zur Arbeit.
He is taking the bus to work today because of the weather.
Morgen fahre ich mit meiner Familie an die Ostsee.
Tomorrow I am going to the Baltic Sea with my family.
The time expression is fronted for emphasis; the rest keeps its order.
Ich habe letzte Woche aus Zeitgründen nur kurz im Supermarkt eingekauft.
Last week I only shopped briefly at the supermarket for reasons of time.
Das Paket wird morgen mit der Post an Ihre Adresse geschickt.
The parcel will be sent to your address by post tomorrow.
Where nicht goes
The position of nicht follows two rules. When you negate the whole statement, nicht moves as far to the right as possible — to the very end, or directly before any verb part waiting there: Ich habe den Vertrag noch nicht unterschrieben.
When you negate one particular element, nicht stands immediately before that element — and the sentence usually continues with a correction introduced by sondern: Er kommt nicht heute, sondern morgen. Wir fahren nicht ans Meer, sondern in die Berge.
nicht also stands directly before adjectives after sein or werden and before most prepositional phrases: Die Wohnung ist nicht groß. Ich bin nicht aus Berlin. If you are unsure, ask yourself what exactly you are denying — the whole sentence, or one piece of it — and place nicht accordingly.
Ich habe den Mietvertrag noch nicht unterschrieben.
I have not signed the rental contract yet.
Whole-sentence negation: nicht stands right before the participle at the end.
Er kommt nicht heute, sondern morgen.
He is coming not today but tomorrow.
nicht negates only heute, so it stands directly before it.
Die Wohnung ist nicht groß, aber sehr gemütlich.
The flat is not big, but very cosy.
Wir fahren dieses Jahr nicht ans Meer, sondern in die Berge.
This year we are going not to the sea but to the mountains.
Pronouns push forward
One more force shapes the middle field: pronouns want to stand early, right after the conjugated verb. With two noun objects the order is dative before accusative: Ich gebe meinem Nachbarn den Schlüssel. Replace one noun with a pronoun and the pronoun jumps forward: Ich gebe ihm den Schlüssel.
When both objects are pronouns, the order flips — accusative before dative: Ich gebe ihn ihm, I give it to him. This surprises many learners, so it is worth drilling the three-step chain out loud: meinem Nachbarn den Schlüssel — ihm den Schlüssel — ihn ihm.
Pronouns even overtake TeKaMoLo elements: Ich habe es ihr gestern gegeben, not gestern es ihr. A compact rule of thumb for the whole middle field, then: pronouns first, then TeKaMoLo, then nicht, then the waiting verb parts.
Ich gebe meinem Nachbarn den Schlüssel.
I am giving my neighbour the key.
With two nouns: dative before accusative.
Ich gebe ihm den Schlüssel.
I am giving him the key.
Ich gebe ihn ihm.
I am giving it to him.
Two pronouns: accusative before dative — the order flips.
Hast du deiner Kollegin die E-Mail geschickt? — Ja, ich habe sie ihr gestern geschickt.
Did you send your colleague the e-mail? — Yes, I sent it to her yesterday.
Check yourself
Quick checks on this lesson. Get at least three quarters right to mark it as completed.
Which sentence follows the TeKaMoLo order?
Practise what you learned