Breakdown of Wir kaufen heute im Supermarkt kein Plastik.
kaufen
to buy
kein
no, not any
wir
we
heute
today
der Supermarkt
the supermarket
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
das Plastik
the plastic
Questions & Answers about Wir kaufen heute im Supermarkt kein Plastik.
Why does heute come before im Supermarkt?
In German, we usually follow a word order rule often called 'Time, Manner, Place' (TeKaMoLo). The time word heute (today) generally must come before the place phrase im Supermarkt (in the supermarket).
Why do we use kein instead of nicht here?
You use kein when you are negating a noun that doesn't have a definite article (like 'the') or has an indefinite article ('a'/'an'). Because you are saying you aren't buying 'plastic' in general, you negate the noun itself with kein (literally 'no plastic') rather than negating the verb with nicht.
Why is kein Plastik at the very end of the sentence?
In standard German word order, indefinite or negated direct objects like kein Plastik usually come after expressions of time and place. Placing the object at the end sounds much more natural here than putting it right after the verb.
Why is it im Supermarkt instead of in den Supermarkt?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Because the shopping is happening at a fixed location rather than showing movement towards a new destination, it takes the dative case. The word in plus the dative article dem contracts into im.
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