Breakdown of Er kommt niemals pünktlich.
kommen
to come
pünktlich
on time / punctual
niemals
never (emphatic)
Questions & Answers about Er kommt niemals pünktlich.
This lesson is about nicht, so why is there no nicht in this sentence?
The word niemals (never) already makes the sentence negative. Just like in English, German avoids double negatives, so you don't need nicht when you already have a negating word like niemals, nie (never), nichts (nothing), or niemand (nobody).
Does niemals follow the same placement rules as nicht?
Yes! If you were to say "He is not on time" (Er kommt nicht pünktlich), the nicht would go exactly where niemals is. It sits right before the adverb pünktlich (on time) because it specifically negates how he arrives.
Is there a difference between niemals and nie?
They both mean "never" and can usually be used interchangeably. However, niemals is slightly stronger and more emphatic than nie. You could just as easily say Er kommt nie pünktlich.
Why use kommt (comes) instead of a word for "arrives"?
In German, the concept of being on time or arriving on time is almost always expressed with kommen rather than ankommen (to arrive) or sein (to be). You literally say that someone "comes on time".
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