This lesson covers two concepts that contribute to ordering words/phrases in a sentence: the ordering of dative and accusative objects and the TeKaMoLo rule for adverbial phrases.
Ordering Dative and Accusative Objects
When a sentence contains both a dative object and an accusative object, their order depends on whether the objects are nouns or pronouns.
Default Word Order when both are Nouns
Dative before Accusative
Subject – Verb – Dative Object – Accusative Object
When both objects are nouns, the dative object comes before the accusative object:
Example | Translation |
Ich gebe dem SchĂĽler den Bleistift. | I give the student the pencil. |
Die Lehrerin erklärt den Kindern die Aufgabe. | The teacher explains the task to the children. |
Er schenkt seiner Mutter Blumen. | He gives his mother flowers. |
When Pronouns Are Involved
The rules change when one or both objects are pronouns. Pronouns want to be as close to the verb as possible.
When one object is a pronoun and the other is a noun, the pronoun always comes first, regardless of case:
Scenario | Example | Translation |
Dative pronoun + Accusative noun | Ich gebe ihm den Bleistift. | I give him the pencil. |
Accusative pronoun + Dative noun | Ich gebe ihn dem SchĂĽler. | I give it to the student. |
When both objects are pronouns, the order reverses: Accusative before Dative
Subject – Verb – Accusative Pronoun – Dative Pronoun
German | English | Order |
Ich gebe es ihm. | I give it to him. | Acc → Dat |
Sie zeigt sie mir. | She shows them to me. | Acc → Dat |
Er schenkt es ihr. | He gives it to her. | Acc → Dat |
TeKaMoLo – Ordering Adverbial Phrases
TeKaMoLo is a widely used short-form that helps you remember the correct order of adverbial information in German sentences. It stands for:
Code | German | English | Question Word |
Te | Temporal | Time | Wann? (When?) |
Ka | Kausal | Reason/Cause | Warum? (Why?) |
Mo | Modal | Manner | Wie? (How?) |
Lo | Lokal | Place/Location | Wo? / Wohin? (Where?) |
When a sentence contains multiple adverbial elements, they should appear in this order:
Time → Reason → Manner → Place
Consider this English sentence:
Josh spoke loudly at the kitchen table yesterday out of consideration for his grandmother.
In English the order is somewhat flexible. But in German, using TeKaMoLo is recommended as it gives the sentence the most natural order:
Element | Question | German |
Te | Wann? (When?) | gestern (yesterday) |
Ka | Warum? (Why?) | aus RĂĽcksicht auf seine Oma
(out of consideration for his grandma) |
Mo | Wie? (How?) | sehr laut (very loudly) |
Lo | Wo? (Where?) | am KĂĽchentisch (at the kitchen table) |
Correct German sentence:
Josh hat gestern aus RĂĽcksicht auf seine Oma sehr laut am KĂĽchentisch gesprochen.
More Examples
German (TeKaMoLo order) | English |
Ich lerne jeden Tag wegen meiner PrĂĽfung mit groĂźer Motivation zu Hause. | I study at home every day with great motivation because of my exam. |
Wir fahren am Wochenende aus Langeweile mit dem Auto in die Stadt. | We're driving to the city this weekend out of boredom. |
Er geht morgen schnell zum Supermarkt. | He's going quickly to the supermarket tomorrow. |
Common Adverbial Expressions by Category
Category | Examples |
Temporal | heute, gestern, morgen, jetzt, später, am Montag, jede Woche, um 8 Uhr, im Sommer |
Kausal | wegen + Gen., aus + Dat., deshalb, darum, deswegen, aus Angst, vor Freude |
Modal | schnell, langsam, gern, gut, schlecht, mit dem Auto, zu FuĂź, allein, zusammen |
Lokal | hier, dort, zu Hause, in der Schule, nach Berlin, zum Arzt, ins Kino |
You may move one element to Position 1 (before the verb) for emphasis. The remaining elements keep their TeKaMoLo order.
Sentence | Emphasis |
Wir können morgen mit dem Auto nach Berlin fahren. | Neutral (standard TeKaMoLo) |
Morgen können wir mit dem Auto nach Berlin fahren. | Emphasizes when |
Mit dem Auto können wir morgen nach Berlin fahren. | Emphasizes how |
Remember: When you move an element to Position 1 for emphasis, the verb stays in Position 2, and the subject moves after the verb (inversion).
Multiple Time or Place Elements
When you have multiple elements of the same category, order them from general to specific:
- Time: vor 10 Jahren im September an einem Samstag (10 years ago in September on a Saturday)
- Place: in Deutschland in Berlin in der FriedrichstraĂźe (in Germany in Berlin on FriedrichstraĂźe)
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