Breakdown of Der Paketdienst kommt heute spät.
kommen
to come
heute
today
spät
late
der Paketdienst
the parcel service
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Questions & Answers about Der Paketdienst kommt heute spät.
What does Paketdienst mean, and how is this word formed?
Paketdienst is a compound noun meaning “parcel service” or “parcel carrier.” It’s formed from Paket (“package/parcel”) + Dienst (“service”). In German, you often combine two (or more) nouns into one longer noun, and the meaning is usually a straightforward “service related to parcels.”
Why is the article der and not das or die?
In German, every noun has a gender: masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das). Compound nouns always take the gender of their last component. Here the last part is Dienst, which is masculine. Hence der Paketdienst.
Why is heute placed before spät?
German prefers the order Time–Manner–Place (TMP) for adverbial modifiers. Heute is a specific time adverbial (“today”), and spät describes manner or a general timing (“late”). So you say heute (time) first, then spät (manner/time).
Why is the verb kommt in second position?
In a German main clause, the finite verb must occupy the second position (the famous V2 rule). Whatever occupies “first position” (subject, adverbial, object) comes before the verb, and the rest follows. Here the subject Der Paketdienst is first, so kommt is second.
Can I start with Heute instead of Der Paketdienst?
Yes! You can front the time adverbial for emphasis. Then you invert subject and verb:
Heute kommt der Paketdienst spät.
That still respects the V2 rule (verb in second position).
Why not say Der Paketdienst kommt heute zu spät?
Zu spät means “too late” (beyond an acceptable time), implying a fault or deadline missed. Simply spät means “late” in a neutral sense: “later than usual/planned,” without necessarily “too” late.
Why don’t we use a progressive tense like “is coming” in German?
German does not have a dedicated progressive aspect. The simple present (kommt) covers both “comes” and “is coming.” If you need emphasis on the ongoing nature, you might add context (e.g., Der Paketdienst ist gerade unterwegs “The parcel service is currently on its way”), but there’s no separate “-ing” form.
Could I say Der Paketdienst kommt spät heute?
No—this sounds unnatural in German. You can’t stack two time adverbs in the same slot. If you really wanted to shift emphasis, you’d swap order by fronting one:
- Heute kommt der Paketdienst spät.
- Der Paketdienst kommt spät am Nachmittag. (using a more specific time phrase)