Breakdown of Ich fliege selten, aber morgen fliege ich nach Berlin.
ich
I
nach
to
morgen
tomorrow
aber
but
fliegen
to fly
selten
seldom
Berlin
Berlin
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ich fliege selten, aber morgen fliege ich nach Berlin.
Why is fliege in the present tense when talking about tomorrow?
In German you often use the present tense for future actions if there’s a clear time marker like morgen. So Ich fliege morgen really means “I’m flying tomorrow.” You could make it more explicit with ich werde fliegen, but it’s not necessary.
Where does the frequency adverb selten belong in the first clause?
Adverbs of frequency in German normally follow the conjugated verb. Since fliege is the finite verb in Ich fliege selten, selten comes right after it. The order is Subject – Verb – Frequency.
Why is there a comma before aber?
When you join two independent main clauses with a coordinating conjunction like aber, you place a comma before it. Each clause could stand alone:
• Ich fliege selten.
• Morgen fliege ich nach Berlin.
The comma ties them together.
Why does morgen come at the very beginning of the second clause?
German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be the second element. If you put the time adverb morgen first (position 1), the verb fliege goes into position 2.
Why does the verb come before the subject in morgen fliege ich?
This is called inversion. Because morgen is in the first slot, the verb stays in the second slot and the subject ich shifts to third. That’s standard whenever you front anything other than the subject.
Why do we say nach Berlin and not in Berlin when expressing movement?
For cities (and most countries without an article), German uses nach to indicate direction or destination. In Berlin would describe being or going inside Berlin (e.g. entering a building there), not traveling to the city.
Can I drop the second fliege and just say Ich fliege selten, aber morgen nach Berlin?
In casual speech you might hear that elliptical form, but standard German requires a conjugated verb in each main clause. Keeping fliege makes the sentence clear and grammatically complete.
What if I want to emphasize how rarely I fly—can I say Selten fliege ich?
Yes. Fronting selten (position 1) gives extra emphasis to the rarity, but it triggers inversion: Selten fliege ich, aber morgen fliege ich nach Berlin.