Word
Sie kauft selten ein.
Meaning
She rarely shops.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
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Questions & Answers about Sie kauft selten ein.
Why does selten come after kauft instead of before it like in English?
In English we say 'She rarely shops', putting the frequency adverb before the verb. In German, the conjugated verb (kauft) must stay in the second position of the sentence. Adverbs of frequency like selten usually go right after that verb.
Why is the word ein at the very end of the sentence?
The verb here is einkaufen (to shop), which is a separable verb. The core part (kauft) takes the second position, and the prefix (ein) is pushed to the very end of the sentence, wrapping around the adverb selten.
Is selten in the same group as immer and nie?
Yes! selten means 'rarely' or 'seldom'. It is an adverb of frequency, so it follows the exact same word order rules as immer (always), oft (often), manchmal (sometimes), and nie (never).
Could Sie also mean 'they' or the formal 'You' in this sentence?
No, we know it means 'she' because of the verb ending. The verb is conjugated as kauft for 'she'. If Sie meant 'they' or formal 'You', the verb would have an -en ending: Sie kaufen selten ein.