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When adding multiple details to a German sentence—such as *when*, *why*, *how*, and *where* an action happens—they usually go in the middle of the sentence (the *Mittelfeld*).

To keep this information organized, German uses a strict default word order known by the acronym **TeKaMoLo**.

### The TeKaMoLo Rule

The acronym stands for four types of adverbial phrases, in the exact order they should appear:
- **Te**mporal (Time): When? or How often? (e.g., *morgen*, *heute*)
- **Ka**usal (Cause): Why? (e.g., *wegen des Sturms*, *sicherheitshalber*)
- **Mo**dal (Manner): How? (e.g., *sicher*, *zusammen*)
- **Lo**kal (Place): Where? or Where to? (e.g., *im Hafen*, *auf das Deck*)

Notice how the adverbs in this example are perfectly sequenced between the conjugated verb (*muss*) and the infinitive at the end (*ankern*):

{{item:883076}}

The sequence is exactly TeKaMoLo:
1. **Time:** *morgen*
2. **Cause:** *wegen des Sturms*
3. **Manner:** *sicher*
4. **Place:** *im Hafen*

This rule applies to all sentences, including those with separable verbs:

{{item:883078}}

{{item:883081}}

*(Note: If a sentence doesn't need all four types of information, simply skip the missing ones and keep the rest in their relative TeKaMoLo sequence.)*

The TeKaMoLo logic strictly dictates the flow even with longer adverbial phrases, such as using *vor der Ankunft* (before arrival) instead of a single word:

{{item:883093}}

Adverb word order (TeKaMoLo)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the cruise ship	das Kreuzfahrtschiff
to anchor	ankern
The cruise ship must anchor safely in the port tomorrow because of the storm.	Das Kreuzfahrtschiff muss morgen wegen des Sturms sicher im Hafen ankern.
for safety reasons	sicherheitshalber
The cruise ship is sailing slowly into the port at a quarter to eight for safety reasons.	Das Kreuzfahrtschiff fährt um Viertel vor acht sicherheitshalber langsam in den Hafen.
the shore excursion	der Landgang
on schedule	planmäßig
The shore excursion is taking place on schedule in the city today despite the rain.	Der Landgang findet heute trotz des Regens planmäßig in der Stadt statt.
to cast off	ablegen
We must cast off quickly from here today because of the storm, otherwise we will lose time.	Wir müssen heute wegen des Sturms schnell von hier ablegen, sonst verlieren wir Zeit.
the maritime pilot	der Lotse
the deck	das Deck
The pilot is putting the device carefully onto the deck now for safety reasons.	Der Lotse stellt das Gerät jetzt sicherheitshalber vorsichtig auf das Deck.
the shipyard	die Werft
The ship has to anchor in the shipyard on schedule at the moment because of the repair.	Das Schiff muss im Moment wegen der Reparatur planmäßig in der Werft ankern.
the arrival	die Ankunft
Before the arrival, we can hardly cast off there in the mornings because of the fog.	Vor der Ankunft können wir morgens wegen des Nebels kaum dort ablegen.
The cruise ship is sailing directly into the shipyard next week for safety reasons, otherwise it will become dangerous.	Das Kreuzfahrtschiff fährt nächste Woche sicherheitshalber direkt in die Werft, sonst wird es gefährlich.
The pilot is doing the shore excursion alone on the island today because of the heat.	Der Lotse macht den Landgang heute wegen der Hitze allein auf der Insel.
We are putting the tools onto the deck together for safety reasons before the arrival.	Wir legen das Werkzeug vor der Ankunft sicherheitshalber zusammen auf das Deck.