Questions & Answers about Wir machen oft zusammen Frühstück.
Why does oft come right after the verb instead of before it like in English?
In English, we usually say 'We often make...' but in German, the conjugated verb must stay in the strict second position of a regular statement. Because Wir is in position one, machen takes position two, and the frequency adverb oft follows right after it.
Could I put oft at the very beginning of the sentence?
Yes! You can emphasize how frequently you do this by starting the sentence with the adverb: Oft machen wir zusammen Frühstück. Just remember that the verb machen must stay in the second position, so the subject wir has to swap places and move after the verb.
Why is it oft zusammen and not zusammen oft?
German has a handy rule for ordering information in the middle of a sentence: Time usually comes before Manner. Since oft (often) tells us about time or frequency, it comes before zusammen (together), which tells us how the action is done.
Why is there no article like das or ein before Frühstück?
Just like in English ('make breakfast'), German drops the article when talking about routine daily meals as a general activity. You just say Frühstück machen. Also, notice that Frühstück is capitalized because all nouns in German are capitalized!