Learn Hardcore German: Wir reisen gern zusammen und teilen den Rucksack. - We like to travel together and share the backpack.

gern is an adverb that means “gladly” or “with pleasure” – it indicates you like doing something. In Wir reisen gern zusammen… it tells us that traveling together is something you enjoy. You can freely use gerne instead of gern; they are completely interchangeable in meaning and usage.

What part of speech is zusammen, and why does it come after gern rather than somewhere else?

zusammen is an adverb meaning “together.” German word order for adverbs of manner (like gern) and place/manner adverbs (like zusammen) is fairly flexible, but a common neutral order is: Subject – Verb – adverb of manner – adverb of accompaniment. Hence Wir (S) reisen (V) gern (M) zusammen (A). You could also say Wir reisen zusammen gern or Wir reisen gerne zusammen without changing the meaning, though the emphasis shifts slightly.

Why is the verb reisen in second position, and why does teilen also appear immediately after und?

German main clauses follow the “verb-second” (V2) rule: the finite verb must occupy the second slot. In the first clause Wir is position 1, so reisen is position 2. In the second clause, und is a coordinating conjunction and does not count as a slot‑1 element; it simply links two main clauses. If you drop the repeated subject (see next Q), then teilen moves into the verb‑second slot of that second clause.

Why is there no subject pronoun wir in “und teilen den Rucksack”?

In coordinated main clauses with the same subject, German often omits the repeated pronoun for stylistic economy. Full form would be …und wir teilen den Rucksack, but because it’s clear from the first clause that wir remains the subject, you can leave it out.

Why is it den Rucksack? How do I know it’s accusative and masculine?

The verb teilen is transitive; it takes a direct object in the accusative case. The noun Rucksack is masculine (der Rucksack in the dictionary). In the accusative masculine, der becomes den, so you get den Rucksack.

Could I say einen Rucksack instead of den Rucksack, and what difference would that make?

Yes, you could say …und teilen einen Rucksack, which would imply “we share some backpack (not specified).” Using den Rucksack makes it definite – “the backpack we have” or a specific one known in context.

Can I move zusammen or gern to the front for emphasis?

Absolutely. German allows fronting of adverbs for emphasis. For example:

Gern reisen wir zusammen. (We especially enjoy traveling together.)
Zusammen reisen wir gern. (It’s together that we like to travel.)
Just remember the V2 rule: whichever element you choose as position 1, the verb stays in slot 2.