Word order with time, manner, place (temporal, causal, modal, local elements) - German Grammar

Overview: Time, Cause, Manner, Place (TeKaMoLo)

German adverbials (words or phrases that add information such as when, why, how, or where something happens) usually follow a preferred order in the middle of a sentence. The common mnemonic is TeKaMoLo:
- Te = Temporal (time: when?)
- Ka = Kausal (cause/reason: why?)
- Mo = Modal (manner: how?)
- Lo = Lokal (place: where?)

In practice this means: when you have several adverbials, put the time expression first, then the reason (if any), then the manner, and finally the place.

Example (simple):
Ich fahre morgen wegen des Regens mit dem Auto in die Stadt.
(I am driving to the city tomorrow because of the rain by car.)

Here: morgen (time) → wegen des Regens (cause) → mit dem Auto (manner) → in die Stadt (place).

When do I use this order?

The TeKaMoLo order is a general guideline for the mid-field (the part between the finite verb and any final verb cluster or object) in declarative main clauses and subordinate clauses. Use it when you list several adverbials in the same clause.

Common situations
- Statements (normal sentences): Ich komme morgen wegen der Prüfung mit dem Bus in die Schule.
- Subordinate clauses (verb-final): ...weil ich morgen wegen der Prüfung mit dem Bus in die Schule komme.
- Questions and imperatives: the order among adverbials still follows TeKaMoLo in the part of the sentence after the finite verb (or after the subject if the verb is in second position).

How do I form sentences with TeKaMoLo?

Basic pattern
- Subject + finite verb + (time) + (cause) + (manner) + (place) + (other complements) + (non-finite verbs).

Example: Ich (S) fahre (V) morgen (T) wegen des Wetters (Ka) mit dem Auto (Mo) in die Stadt (Lo).

If there is no cause, leave that position empty and keep the rest in order
Ich treffe ihn heute mit dem Fahrrad am Bahnhof.
(I am meeting him today by bike at the station.)

Short one-word adverbials or prepositional phrases both follow the order
Er kam gestern (time) aus Angst (reason) sehr spät (manner) nach Hause (place).
(He came home late yesterday because he was afraid.)

Adverbial clauses (weil, da) and coordinating words (denn, deshalb)
- weil/da (because) introduces a subordinate clause: the clause itself is verb-final and adverbials inside it still follow TeKaMoLo: "Weil es gestern regnete, bin ich wegen der Nässe mit dem Auto zur Arbeit gefahren." (Because it rained yesterday, I drove to work by car because of the wet roads.)
- denn is a coordinating conjunction and does not change word order: "Ich blieb zu Hause, denn es regnete." (I stayed home because it rained.)
- deshalb (therefore) is a mid-field adverb and behaves like a causal adverbial: "Er war krank, deshalb blieb er im Bett." (He was ill; therefore he stayed in bed.)

Examples: typical sentences showing TeKaMoLo

Single-sentence, full TeKaMoLo

Ich komme morgen (T) wegen eines Termins (Ka) mit der Bahn (Mo) in die Stadt (Lo). (I am coming to the city tomorrow because of an appointment by train.)

Sie hat gestern (T) aus Angst (Ka) sehr schnell (Mo) das Haus verlassen (Lo = here: location-oriented complement).
(She left the house very quickly yesterday out of fear.)

When one element is missing

Wir fahren am Samstag (T) mit dem Fahrrad (Mo) ins Schwimmbad (Lo). — no explicit cause. (We are going to the pool on Saturday by bike.)

With a causal clause (weil) and TeKaMoLo in the clause

Er blieb zu Hause, weil er gestern (T) wegen Kopfschmerzen (Ka) schlecht (Mo) gesehen (Lo?) hatte. (He stayed at home because yesterday, due to a headache, he was feeling bad.)

Word order with pronouns and objects (where adverbials fit in)

General tip
Personal pronouns (especially short ones: mich, dich, ihn, ihr, ihm) often come earlier than adverbials. If you have a pronoun object plus adverbials, put the pronoun close to the verb.

Examples:
Ich habe es gestern im Supermarkt gekauft. (correct)
(I bought it yesterday at the supermarket.)

Ich gab ihm gestern das Buch. (correct: pronoun ihm before the time adverbial)
(I gave him the book yesterday.)

If both objects are full noun phrases (not pronouns), you can be more flexible but TeKaMoLo for adverbials usually still holds: Ich gab meiner Schwester gestern das Buch im Büro. (I gave my sister the book at the office yesterday.)

Stacking time expressions: which time goes first?

When you combine several time expressions, natural order usually runs from larger span to smaller span (broad → specific) or from general to particular, but native usage can vary. Typical safe order:
- Year → Month → Day/date → Part of day → Clock time

Examples:
Im Jahr 2024 (year) im Juli (month) am Montag (day) um 8 Uhr (time) beginnt der Kurs.
(The course starts in 2024, in July, on Monday at 8 o'clock.)

More natural simplified forms are common: Am Montag, den 7. Juli 2024, um 8 Uhr ...

Fronting and emphasis: when order changes

You can move any adverbial to the first position of the sentence to emphasize it. This changes the element in the "first position" (Vorfeld) but the relative order of other adverbials generally remains TeKaMoLo.

Example — fronting time:
Morgen fahre ich wegen eines Termins mit dem Auto in die Stadt.
(Tomorrow I am driving to the city because of an appointment by car.)

Fronting place for emphasis:
In die Stadt fahre ich morgen mit dem Auto wegen eines Termins.
(To the city I am driving tomorrow by car because of an appointment.)

Note: fronting affects verb/subject order in main clauses (verb remains second). It does not mean the TeKaMoLo principle disappears — it only reorders what’s in the middle field.

Comparison with English (to avoid direct-translation errors)

English often uses Manner–Place–Time (I drove carefully to the city yesterday), while German prefers Time–(Cause)–Manner–Place.

Wrong literal translation (English order):
"Ich fahre mit dem Auto in die Stadt morgen." — sounds unnatural in German.

Correct German:
"Ich fahre morgen mit dem Auto in die Stadt." (TeKaMoLo ordering)

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

1. Using English word order

Mistake: Ich fahre mit dem Auto in die Stadt morgen. Fix: Ich fahre morgen mit dem Auto in die Stadt.

2. Putting a pronoun after adverbials

Mistake: Ich habe gestern es gekauft. Fix: Ich habe es gestern gekauft. (object pronoun directly after verb)

3. Mixing up cause and manner positions

Mistake: Ich bleibe dort mit dem Auto, weil ich krank bin gestern. Fix: Ich bleibe gestern wegen Krankheit mit dem Auto dort. or better: Ich bleibe wegen Krankheit gestern dort.

Quick cheats and practical tips

- Learn the mnemonic TeKaMoLo (Temporal → Kausal → Modal → Lokal).
- Place pronoun objects close after the verb (they often come before adverbials).
- If you want to emphasize an element, put it in the sentence-initial position — the verb stays in second position in main clauses.
- For stacked time expressions, use general → specific (year → month → day → time).
- When in doubt, put time earlier than manner and place.

Glossary (simple definitions)

Temporal (time) — When? (morgen, gestern, am Montag, um 8 Uhr)
Kausal (cause/reason) — Why? (wegen des Regens, aus Angst, weil ...)
Modal (manner) — How? (mit dem Auto, schnell, leise)
Lokal (place) — Where? (in die Stadt, zu Hause, am Bahnhof)
Adverbial — A word or phrase that adds information about time, cause, manner, or place.
V2 (verb-second) — In main clauses the finite verb normally appears in second position.

Summary: the practical rule to remember

When you place adverbials in German, follow TeKaMoLo: put time first, then reason (if any), then manner, and finally place. Keep pronoun objects close to the verb. Use fronting to emphasize, but keep the relative TeKaMoLo order for the remaining adverbials.

If you practice forming sentences with different adverbials and check whether time comes before manner and place, you'll quickly develop a natural feel for German word order.