Wir streiten nur selten.

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Breakdown of Wir streiten nur selten.

• nur: only
• selten: rarely
• streiten: to argue

Questions & Answers about Wir streiten nur selten.

Do I need a reflexive pronoun—should it be Wir streiten uns nur selten?

Both are correct in modern standard German. You can say:

• Wir streiten nur selten.
• Wir streiten uns nur selten. The reflexive version is very common in everyday speech and emphasizes the reciprocal nature a bit, but there’s no real difference in meaning here.

What exactly does nur modify here?

Nur is a focus particle that limits the word or phrase immediately following it. In Wir streiten nur selten, it restricts selten (“rarely”), yielding “only rarely.” Placing nur elsewhere changes or breaks the meaning; e.g., Wir streiten selten nur is not idiomatic.

Can I move nur selten to the beginning?

Yes. Fronting for emphasis is natural:

• Nur selten streiten wir. The verb still stays in the second position (V2 rule), so the subject follows the verb.

Where do frequency adverbs like selten go in the sentence?

They typically sit in the “middle field” after the conjugated verb and before most other information:

• Wir streiten nur selten am Wochenende. Fronting is also fine for emphasis:
• Am Wochenende streiten wir nur selten.

Is there a difference between nur selten, selten, fast nie, and kaum?

• selten = rarely/seldom.
• nur selten = only rarely (slightly stronger than plain selten).
• fast nie = almost never (stronger).
• kaum (here: “hardly [ever]”) ≈ very infrequently, similar strength to fast nie, context-dependent.

Is argumentieren a good synonym for streiten?

Usually no. streiten (sich) = to quarrel/argue in the sense of a dispute. argumentieren = to argue in the sense of presenting arguments (e.g., in a debate or essay). For “to discuss” neutrally, use diskutieren. Colloquial alternatives for quarrelling: sich zoffen, sich zanken. Physical fighting: kämpfen, sich prügeln.

How do I add who we argue with and what we argue about?

Common patterns:

• With whom: mit
  • dative — Wir streiten (uns) nur selten mit unseren Nachbarn.
• About a topic: über
  • accusative — … über Geld.
• Over something contested: um
  • accusative — … um Kleinigkeiten.
• Because of: wegen
  • genitive (colloq. often dative) — … wegen des Haushalts / wegen dem Haushalt.

Is selten an adjective or an adverb? How is it different from seltsam?

selten is both:

• Adverb: Wir streiten selten.
• Adjective: eine seltene Krankheit (a rare disease). Do not confuse with seltsam (“strange/odd”). seltsam is about weirdness, not frequency.

Can I say Wir haben (nur) selten Streit instead?

Yes. Streit haben uses the noun der Streit and is very natural: Wir haben nur selten Streit. It means essentially the same as Wir streiten (uns) nur selten, though the noun version can sound slightly more event-like (“we rarely have a quarrel”).

How would I express the past?

streiten is a strong verb: simple past stritt, past participle gestritten, auxiliary haben.

• Wir stritten nur selten.
• Wir haben nur selten gestritten.

Is nicht oft the same as nur selten?

Close, but not identical. Wir streiten nicht oft (“we don’t argue often”) is a negated statement about frequency; Wir streiten nur selten (“we only rarely argue”) positively asserts very low frequency. In practice they’re similar, but nur selten can feel a touch stronger/clearer.

Do I need miteinander or einander?

Not necessary with wir; reciprocity is clear. You can add miteinander for emphasis or clarity: Wir streiten (uns) miteinander nur selten. einander doesn’t work directly with streiten here.

Can selten compare (more/most rarely)?

Yes: seltener (comparative), am seltensten (superlative).

• Wir streiten jetzt seltener als früher.
• Sie streiten am seltensten in den Ferien.