Between the finite verb in second position and whatever closes the clause at the end (a participle, an infinitive, a separated prefix) lies the Mittelfeld — the "middle field." This is where most of the sentence actually lives: the objects, the time and place phrases, the manner adverbs, the negation. English speakers find the Mittelfeld bewildering because it seems to have no fixed order. It does have one — a strong default tendency — and the memory hook for it is TeKaMoLo. Learn it and the middle of a German sentence stops feeling like a lottery.
What the Mittelfeld is
Recall the Satzklammer (sentence bracket): the finite verb opens the clause in position two, and a non-finite verbal element closes it at the very end. The Mittelfeld is everything caught between those two poles.
Ich habe gestern im Büro lange gearbeitet.
I worked late at the office yesterday. ('habe' opens, 'gearbeitet' closes, the rest is the Mittelfeld)
Here habe and gearbeitet are the two poles; gestern im Büro lange is the Mittelfeld. The question this page answers is: in what order do those middle elements line up?
TeKaMoLo: the default order of adverbials
When a clause contains several adverbials, German prefers them in this sequence:
| Abbreviation | Type | Asks | Example phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Te | Temporal | When? | morgen, um acht Uhr |
| Ka | Kausal | Why? / What for? | wegen der Arbeit, aus Angst |
| Mo | Modal | How? In what manner? | mit dem Auto, schnell, gern |
| Lo | Lokal | Where? / Where to? | nach Berlin, im Park |
Read it top to bottom: Temporal, then Kausal, then Modal, then Lokal. A sentence with all four slots filled lines them up exactly in that order:
Ich fahre morgen wegen der Arbeit mit dem Auto nach Berlin.
Tomorrow I'm driving to Berlin by car because of work. (Te: morgen / Ka: wegen der Arbeit / Mo: mit dem Auto / Lo: nach Berlin)
This single sentence is the whole rule in action. morgen (when) comes first, wegen der Arbeit (why) second, mit dem Auto (how) third, nach Berlin (where) last. Take any one of those out and the rest keep their relative order.
Wir treffen uns heute Abend vor dem Kino.
We're meeting in front of the cinema this evening. (Te: heute Abend before Lo: vor dem Kino)
Sie ist gestern aus Neugier heimlich ins Büro gegangen.
Out of curiosity she secretly went into the office yesterday. (Te: gestern / Ka: aus Neugier / Mo: heimlich / Lo: ins Büro)
The headline contrast: time before place
The single most useful takeaway is the Te before Lo rule. German puts time before place; English does the reverse, putting place before time. "I'm going to Berlin tomorrow" lists the destination first and the day last. German flips it: morgen nach Berlin — tomorrow, to Berlin.
Ich fliege morgen nach Madrid.
I'm flying to Madrid tomorrow. (German: time 'morgen' first, then place 'nach Madrid')
Wir kommen um sieben Uhr ins Restaurant.
We're coming to the restaurant at seven. (time before place again)
If you do nothing else with this page, retrain the instinct that wants to say nach Madrid morgen. In German the day comes first.
It is a tendency, not a law
TeKaMoLo is a default, not a rigid rule. German lets you move any adverbial for emphasis, and the most common reason to break the order is to front a constituent into the Vorfeld or to give one element extra weight. Crucially, whatever you front leaves the Mittelfeld, and the remaining elements keep their TeKaMoLo order.
Morgen fahre ich wegen der Arbeit nach Berlin.
Tomorrow I'm driving to Berlin because of work. (time fronted; the rest keeps Ka–Lo order)
Mit dem Auto fahre ich morgen nach Berlin.
By car I'm driving to Berlin tomorrow. (the means is fronted for contrast)
So TeKaMoLo describes the neutral, unmarked arrangement. Deviating from it is not an error; it is a choice that adds emphasis — but if you have no special reason, the default order is what sounds natural.
Two extra ordering principles inside the Mittelfeld
TeKaMoLo handles adverbials, but objects and pronouns also have a preferred position. Two principles govern them.
Pronouns come before nouns. Short, already-known elements crowd toward the front of the Mittelfeld, right after the finite verb. A pronoun object jumps ahead of a noun object.
Ich habe es meinem Bruder gegeben.
I gave it to my brother. (pronoun 'es' before the noun 'meinem Bruder')
Kannst du mir das Buch morgen mitbringen?
Can you bring me the book tomorrow? (pronoun 'mir' precedes the noun 'das Buch')
Known before new. German lines up information from given to new: definite, already-mentioned things come earlier; indefinite, newly-introduced things come later. This is why a definite article tends to precede an indefinite one.
Ich habe dem Kind ein Geschenk gekauft.
I bought the child a present. (known recipient 'dem Kind' before new 'ein Geschenk')
Why German orders the middle this way
The Mittelfeld order reflects a cognitive logic. A German clause is back-loaded: the decisive verbal element waits at the end of the bracket, so the speaker uses the middle to lay groundwork from most-given to most-new, ending on the freshest, most informative material right before the closing verb. Time anchors the scene first ("when are we talking about?"), cause and manner refine it, and the destination — often the real news — lands last, closest to the verb that completes the action. English, with its loose, verb-medial structure, scatters this information differently and leans on stress to mark what is new.
Common Mistakes
English place-before-time order — the classic transfer error.
❌ Ich fahre nach Berlin morgen.
Incorrect — German puts time before place; 'morgen' must precede 'nach Berlin.'
✅ Ich fahre morgen nach Berlin.
I'm going to Berlin tomorrow.
Putting a noun object before a pronoun object.
❌ Ich habe meinem Bruder es gegeben.
Incorrect — the pronoun 'es' should come before the noun 'meinem Bruder.'
✅ Ich habe es meinem Bruder gegeben.
I gave it to my brother.
Scrambling cause and manner out of order.
❌ Ich fahre mit dem Zug wegen des Staus.
Awkward — manner before cause; the neutral order is cause (Ka) before manner (Mo).
✅ Ich fahre wegen des Staus mit dem Zug.
I'm taking the train because of the traffic jam.
Letting the verbal element drift out of last place. TeKaMoLo orders the Mittelfeld, but the non-finite verb still closes the bracket after all of it.
❌ Ich bin gefahren gestern nach Berlin.
Incorrect — the participle 'gefahren' must close the clause, after the whole Mittelfeld.
✅ Ich bin gestern nach Berlin gefahren.
I went to Berlin yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- The Mittelfeld is everything between the finite verb (position two) and the clause-final verbal element.
- Adverbials follow the TeKaMoLo default: Temporal – Kausal – Modal – Lokal.
- The headline rule is time before place — the reverse of English's place-before-time.
- Pronouns precede nouns, and known information precedes new information.
- TeKaMoLo is a strong default, not a law; deviating from it adds emphasis.
Now practice German
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning German→Related Topics
- The Satzklammer (Sentence Bracket)A2 — How German wraps a clause in two verbal poles, pushing participles, infinitives, and prefixes to the very end.
- Word Order of Object PronounsB1 — When two objects meet: nouns put dative before accusative, but pronouns flip to accusative before dative, and pronouns always precede nouns.
- The Position of nichtB1 — Where 'nicht' sits decides what gets negated: late in the clause for whole-sentence negation, but right before any single element it contradicts.
- Topicalization, Focus, and Information StructureC1 — How German manages topic and focus through word order — fronting marks the topic, the late, stressed Mittelfeld marks the new information, and given precedes new.
- Perfekt Word Order: Placing the ParticipleB1 — How the Perfekt fills a German sentence: the auxiliary at V2, the participle at the clause end, and how everything flips in subordinate clauses.
- The Vorfeld: What Can Come FirstB1 — The slot before the finite verb is German's topic spotlight — what you put there signals emphasis, and exactly one constituent fits.