Breakdown of Wir wollen am Nachmittag Musik hören, aber niemand tanzt.
aber
but
wir
we
hören
to hear / to listen
die Musik
the music
tanzen
to dance
wollen
to want
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
niemand
no one
der Nachmittag
the afternoon
Questions & Answers about Wir wollen am Nachmittag Musik hören, aber niemand tanzt.
Why do we use am for Nachmittag instead of in or um?
In German, you use the preposition an (which combines with dem to make am) for days of the week and parts of the day, like am Nachmittag (in the afternoon). You use um for specific clock times, and in for months or seasons.
Is niemand considered singular or plural for the verb ending?
niemand (nobody) is always singular, just like in English. That is why the verb takes the third-person singular ending, becoming tanzt (just like er/sie/es tanzt).
Do I need to use nicht with niemand?
No, niemand already means 'nobody' or 'not anybody'. German does not usually use double negatives, so you just say niemand tanzt without adding nicht.
Why is hören at the very end of the first part of the sentence?
This is because of the modal verb wollen (want to). When you use a modal verb, it takes position 2 and pushes the main action verb (hören) to the very end of the clause in its dictionary form (infinitive).
Why is the verb tanzt in position 2 after aber? Does aber change the word order?
aber (but) is a coordinating conjunction. These connecting words take 'position zero', meaning they do not count towards the word order. Therefore, the subject niemand is in position 1, and the verb tanzt stays where it belongs in position 2.
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