Breakdown of Ich trinke gern Tee, aber am liebsten trinke ich Kaffee.
ich
I
gern
gladly, like to
trinken
to drink
der Kaffee
the coffee
aber
but
am liebsten
most of all, best of all (superlative of gern)
Questions & Answers about Ich trinke gern Tee, aber am liebsten trinke ich Kaffee.
Why isn't there a word for "like" in Ich trinke gern Tee?
In German, you usually don't use a separate verb for "to like" when talking about actions. Instead, you use the action verb and add the word gern (gladly). So ich trinke gern literally means "I drink gladly," which is how you say "I like drinking."
How is am liebsten related to gern?
They are different levels of the same idea! gern means you like doing something. lieber means you prefer doing it (like it more), and am liebsten is the top level, meaning you like doing it most of all.
Why does the second part say trinke ich instead of ich trinke?
This happens because of the German "verb second" rule. In a regular statement, the verb must be the second piece of information. Because the phrase am liebsten is put first to emphasize what you like best, the verb trinke must stay in the second spot, forcing the subject ich to move to the third spot.
If the verb must be in the second spot, shouldn't aber count as spot one?
Connecting words like aber (but) and und (and) do not count towards the sentence position. They sit in what is sometimes called "position zero" between the two clauses. The counting starts fresh after aber, making am liebsten position one and trinke position two.
Learn Ich trinke gern Tee, aber am liebsten trinke ich Kaffee and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free