German grammar › A2

Adverbs & word order — TeKaMoLo

Level A2 · heute, hier, gern · woher / wohin · Time → Cause → Manner → Place

What is an adverb?

An adverb adds information about when, why, how or where something happens: Ich arbeite heute zu Hause. Many German adjectives work as adverbs without any ending — gut means good and well.

When you use them

  • When: heute, morgen, oft.
  • How: schnell, gern, allein.
  • Where: hier, dort, oben.

Usual order in the middle

Te (when) → Ka (why) → Mo (how) → Lo (where)

What changes

nothing in the adverb itself — only its place in the sentence

Examples

  • Ich fahre **morgen mit dem Zug nach Berlin**. — when → how → where
  • Er singt **gut**. — He sings well.

Remember: TeKaMoLo is the usual order, not a strict law — it’s your safe default.

First big difference from English

German usually does not add an English-style “-ly”.

schnell = fast / quickly · gut = good / well

Same word — different job

Adjective
  • Das Auto ist schnell.

schnell describes the car.

Adverb
  • Das Auto fährt schnell.

schnell describes how it drives.

Common adverb groups

Time — when?: heute, morgen, gestern, immer, oft, manchmal, nie, jetzt, bald, dann

Place — where?: hier, dort, oben, unten, drinnen, draußen, überall, nirgendwo

Manner / attitude: gern, leider, vielleicht, natürlich, wirklich

Direction — hin vs her

Imagine yourself as the reference point

  • away from here / toward another place: hin →
  • toward here / toward the speaker: ← her
  • Woher kommst du? — Where do you come from?
  • Wohin gehst du? — Where are you going?

TeKaMoLo — the memory rule

Time → Cause → Manner → Place

  • Temporal: Te — When?
  • Kausal: Ka — Why?
  • Modal: Mo — How?
  • Lokal: Lo — Where?
One sentence, four details

Ich fahre | morgen | wegen der Arbeit | mit dem Auto | nach München

morgen = Time · wegen der Arbeit = Cause · mit dem Auto = Manner · nach München = Place

Ich fahre morgen wegen der Arbeit mit dem Auto nach München.

Don’t memorise “TeKaMoLo” as random letters — attach one question to each part
  • Time — When?
  • Cause — Why?
  • Manner — How?
  • Place — Where?
TeKaMoLo helps
  • heute → wegen des Wetters → mit dem Bus → zur Arbeit

A very useful default order when several details appear together.

But it isn’t a prison
  • Morgen fahre ich nach München.

German can move information to the front for emphasis. TeKaMoLo is the safe neutral pattern.

Final full picture

Summary

  • adverb form — usually the same word as the adjective (schnell)
  • time — when? (heute · morgen · oft)
  • place — where? (hier · dort · draußen)
  • direction — away / toward (hin · her)
  • manner — how / attitude (gern · leider · wirklich)
  • sentence order — Time → Cause → Manner → Place (TeKaMoLo)
One sentence to remember

When? → Why? → How? → Where?

TeKaMoLo = the safe neutral order for extra information in a German sentence.

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