Deutsch · B1 · grammar · 4 minutes
Order in the German middle field
Arrange pronouns, time, cause, manner, and place without breaking the verb bracket.
Understand the choice
German word order inside the bracket is flexible but not random. Pronouns tend left, while TeKaMoLo—temporal, causal, modal, local—offers a neutral baseline for several adverbials.
Core rule: Unstressed pronouns usually come early; a useful neutral adverb order is time–cause–manner–place, but emphasis and definiteness can shift it.
Notice it in context
Ich habe ihm gestern wegen des Problems ausführlich im Büro geantwortet.
I answered him in detail at the office yesterday because of the problem.
Ihm comes early; gestern–wegen…–ausführlich–im Büro follows time, cause, manner, place; geantwortet closes.
Wir schicken es dir morgen per E-Mail nach Hause.
We will send it to you tomorrow by email to your home.
Accusative pronoun es precedes dative pronoun dir; the adverbials follow.
Sie ist heute wegen des Wetters mit dem Zug nach Köln gefahren.
She traveled to Cologne by train today because of the weather.
The middle follows time–cause–manner–place before final gefahren.
What to remember
- Known/definite information tends earlier than new/heavy information.
- TeKaMoLo is a default, not an inviolable law; focus can move elements.
Common trap: Do not treat TeKaMoLo as more important than the verb bracket or pronoun order.