Breakdown of Nachmittags höre ich Musik.
ich
I
hören
to hear / to listen
die Musik
the music
nachmittags
in the afternoon
Questions & Answers about Nachmittags höre ich Musik.
Why is the verb höre before ich instead of after it?
In German, the main verb must always be the second piece of information in a statement. Because the time word Nachmittags takes up the first spot, the verb höre must come next, pushing the subject ich into the third spot.
Why does Nachmittags end with an s?
Adding an s to a time of day turns it into an adverb meaning it happens regularly. While der Nachmittag means the afternoon, Nachmittags means in the afternoons or every afternoon.
The lesson is about verbs that change their vowel. Does hören change its vowel?
No, hören is a regular verb, so its stem vowel never changes. Also, remember that even if we used a vowel-changing verb here, it wouldn't change in this exact sentence: the vowel change only happens with du (you) and er/sie/es (he/she/it), never with ich (I).
Why isn't there a word for "to" in the German sentence?
In English, we say we listen to music, but the German verb hören directly means to hear or to listen. It connects directly to the noun without needing an extra connecting word.
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