Mein Freund kann leider heute nicht kommen.

to come

Breakdown of Mein Freund kann leider heute nicht kommen.

• heute: today
• nicht: not
• der Freund: the friend
• können: can
• leider: unfortunately

Questions & Answers about Mein Freund kann leider heute nicht kommen.

Why is nicht placed before kommen in this sentence?

In German, nicht usually comes directly before the part of the sentence it negates. Since we’re negating the verb kommen, nicht is placed right before it. Other elements like leider (unfortunately) and heute (today) are placed earlier in the sentence to emphasize the circumstances (today, unfortunately) before the negation.

What does leider mean, and why is it used here?

Leider means unfortunately. It expresses regret or disappointment about something. Here, it adds the speaker’s regret that the friend cannot come. By including leider, the sentence shows sympathy or disappointment rather than just a plain statement of fact.

Why do we use kann (can) in German instead of kann nicht as two separate words to say “cannot”?

German treats kann nicht as two separate words in writing, but conceptually it’s simply cannot. When forming negative sentences with modal verbs (like können), you place nicht after the other parts of the sentence but before the main verb (in this case, kommen). In English, we combine can + not to form a single word cannot, but in German, you keep it as kann + nicht as two separate words.

Why does heute come after leider in the sentence?

Word order in German is flexible, but often time expressions (heute) appear near the beginning or middle of the sentence. Leider is an adverb that expresses an attitude or mood, and it can move around too. Placing leider right after the verb can add emphasis to the unfortunate situation. So the sentence structure Mein Freund kann leider heute nicht kommen is a natural way to sound fluent and highlight both the misfortune (leider) and the time (heute) before expressing the negation.