Breakdown of Abends sehen wir zusammen fern.
wir
we
zusammen
together
abends
in the evening
fernsehen
to watch TV
Questions & Answers about Abends sehen wir zusammen fern.
Why is the verb split into sehen and fern, and why is fern at the very end?
This sentence uses the separable verb fernsehen (to watch TV). In a standard German main clause, the verb splits. The core part (sehen) is conjugated and takes the second position in the sentence, while the prefix (fern) gets kicked to the very end.
Why is the order sehen wir instead of wir sehen?
In German, the conjugated verb must always take the second position in a statement. Because the time word Abends takes the first position, the verb sehen comes second, and the subject wir (we) has to move right after it. You could also say Wir sehen abends zusammen fern.
Why does Abends have an "s" at the end?
Adding an -s to parts of the day turns them into words describing a regular routine. While der Abend means "the evening", abends means "in the evenings" or "every evening". It is capitalized here only because it is the first word of the sentence.
Does fernsehen literally mean "to see far"?
Exactly! The prefix fern means "far" or "distant", and sehen means "to see". Put them together and you get "far-seeing", which is a fun way to remember the German word for watching television.
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