Questions & Answers about Nachmittags arbeite ich.
Why is it "arbeite ich" instead of "ich arbeite"?
In German, the main verb must always be in the second position in a statement. Because we started the sentence with the time word Nachmittags (position 1), the verb arbeite must come next (position 2). The subject ich then moves to the third position.
Why does "Nachmittags" have an "s" at the end?
Adding an -s to a time of day turns it into a word that describes a regular habit. While am Nachmittag means "in the afternoon", nachmittags means "in the afternoons" or "every afternoon".
This lesson is about verbs that change their vowel. Does "arbeiten" change its vowel too?
No, arbeiten (to work) is a regular verb, so its stem vowel doesn't change to an "i" or "ie". However, because its stem ends in a -t, it has its own special rule: it adds an extra -e- before the endings for du, er/sie/es, and ihr (like du arbeitest and er arbeitet) so that it is easier to pronounce.
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