CONTENT
  1. Adverbs of Place
  2. Adverbs of Time

Adverbien (adverbs) aka circumstance words tell how, where, when, to what degree, or how often something happens.

They describe the circumstances of a single word (a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but not a noun) or a whole sentence more precisely. They are placed close to the word they modify or at the beginning of the sentence.

Native

Translation

Heute gehe ich ins Kino.

Today I'm going to the cinema.

Rule 1: Adverbs are invariable it means that their ending does not change.

Native

Translation

Ich lese manchmal die Zeitung.

I sometimes read the newspaper.

Adverbs of Place

Rule 2: Adverbs of place answer the question Wo? (Where?). We use them to point out a specific location. Here are the main adverbs you'll use to indicate a place:

Native

Translation

hier

here

dort

there

links

left

rechts

right

oben

up

unten

down

hinten

behind

vorne

in front

überall

everywhere

irgendwo

anywhere

For example:

Native

Translation

Ich habe ihn dort gesehen.

I saw him there.

Adverbs of Time

Rule 3: We use the adverbs of time to indicate when something happens or how long something lasts. They answer the questions Wann? Wie lange? (When? How long?)

Here's a short list of the most common adverbs of time:

Native

Translation

bald

soon

jetzt

now

früher

earlier

vorher

before

jemals

ever

später

later

zuerst

first

nachher

afterwards

neuerdings

recently

seitdem

since then

damals

at that time

eben

just

heute

today

gestern

yesterday

morgen

tomorrow

For example:

Native

Translation

Wir sehen uns morgen.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Indicating the Time Without an Adverb

Rule 4: You can also express when something is going to happen or has happened without an adverb. In that case, use the following construction:

- preposition + article + noun

Native

Translation

Wir haben in einer Stunde einen Test.

We have a test in an hour.

Nach dem Mittagessen schauen wir fern.

After lunch we watch TV.