Heute trinke ich nur Wasser.

Today I drink only water.

Breakdown of Heute trinke ich nur Wasser.

• trinken: to drink
• das Wasser: the water
• ich: I
• heute: today
• nur: just

Questions & Answers about Heute trinke ich nur Wasser.

Why does the sentence start with Heute and not with Ich?

German main clauses normally have the finite verb in second position. Everything else around it is flexible.

In this sentence:

• Heute = first element
• trinke = second element (the verb, in its required position)
• ich nur Wasser = everything after the verb

You could also say:

• Ich trinke heute nur Wasser.
• Nur Wasser trinke ich heute.

All are grammatically correct. Starting with Heute emphasizes today (as opposed to some other day).

Why is trinke in second place, even though it looks like the third word could also be “second”?

In German, “second position” means second sentence element, not second word.

In Heute trinke ich nur Wasser:

1. Heute = element 1
2. trinke = element 2 (finite verb – must stand here in a main clause)
3. ich = element 3
4. nur Wasser = element 4

Even if Heute were longer (for example Heute Morgen um acht), it would still count as one element, and the verb would still come right after it:

• Heute Morgen um acht trinke ich nur Wasser.

Can I also say Ich trinke heute nur Wasser or Ich trinke nur Wasser heute?

Yes, both are possible, but they sound slightly different:

• Ich trinke heute nur Wasser.
  – Very natural, neutral word order.
  – Common everyday version.

• Ich trinke nur Wasser heute.
  – Also grammatical.
  – Puts a bit more emphasis on nur Wasser (“only water”), with heute sounding almost like an afterthought.

The safest and most natural choices are:

• Heute trinke ich nur Wasser.
• Ich trinke heute nur Wasser.

Why is it trinke and not trinkt or trinken?

Because the subject is ich (I), and trinke is the ich-form of the verb trinken.

Present tense conjugation of trinken:

• ich trinke – I drink / I am drinking
• du trinkst – you drink (singular, informal)
• er / sie / es trinkt – he / she / it drinks
• wir trinken – we drink
• ihr trinkt – you (plural, informal) drink
• sie trinken – they drink
• Sie trinken – you drink (formal, singular or plural)

So with ich, it must be trinke.

Can I drop ich and say Heute trinke nur Wasser?

No, not in normal standard German. You normally must state the subject pronoun:

• ✅ Heute trinke ich nur Wasser.
• ❌ Heute trinke nur Wasser.

German does not usually allow you to drop subject pronouns the way Spanish or Italian can. You only leave it out in special cases (imperatives, headlines, notes, very informal speech where context is obvious), but not in a full normal sentence like this.

Why is there no article before Wasser? Why not ein Wasser or das Wasser?

Wasser is being used as an uncountable (mass) noun here, meaning “water in general”:

• Ich trinke nur Wasser. = I drink only water (as a substance).

You add an article when you mean a specific water or one portion of water:

• Ich trinke das Wasser. = I drink the water (that we are talking about).
• Ich trinke ein Wasser. = I drink a water (one glass/bottle of water, usually in a restaurant context).

In your sentence, we’re talking about water in general, so no article is used.

What exactly does nur mean here, and why is it placed before Wasser?

nur means “only / just / nothing but”.

Its position shows what is limited:

• Ich trinke heute nur Wasser.
  → The only thing I drink today is water (not juice, not beer, etc.).
  → nur is right before Wasser, so water is limited.

Compare:

• Ich trinke nur heute Wasser.
  → I only drink water today (not on other days).
  → Now nur limits heute (only today).

So: nur usually stands directly in front of the word or phrase it limits.

Can the present tense trinke also mean “will drink” (future)?

Yes. German often uses the present tense with a time expression for future meaning.

• Heute trinke ich nur Wasser.
  → Most naturally: Today I am only drinking water.
  → But it can also mean: I will only drink water today, if it’s about a plan or decision.

Context decides whether it’s present or near future. The time word heute shows when it happens, so a separate future tense is not necessary here.

How would I negate this sentence properly? Where do nicht and kein go?

For Wasser (a noun without an article), you normally use kein, not nicht, to negate it:

• Heute trinke ich kein Wasser.
  → I am not drinking any water today.

Use nicht if you want to negate something other than the bare noun, for example:

• Heute trinke ich nicht Wasser, sondern Saft.
  → I am not drinking water, but juice.
  (Here, nicht negates the choice of drink; “it’s not water, it’s juice.”)

Basic idea:

• kein + noun (usually when the noun has no article): kein Wasser
• nicht to negate the verb, adjectives, adverbs, or whole clauses: nicht trinken, nicht heute, nicht gern, etc.

Is Heute capitalized because it’s a noun?

No. Heute is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.

• heute is an adverb meaning today and is usually written with a lowercase h.
• All nouns are capitalized in German, for example das Wasser.

Inside a sentence, you would write:

• Ich trinke heute nur Wasser.
  (here heute is lowercase, Wasser is uppercase as a noun)

How do you pronounce trinke and Wasser?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

• trinke → [ˈtʁɪŋkə]

  • tr: like English tr in tree, but with a more German r.
  • i: short, like the i in bit.
  • nk: like nk in think.
  • Final e: a short, unstressed sound (like the a in sofa).

• Wasser → [ˈvasɐ]

  • W: pronounced like English v.
  • a: like u in cut or a in father, depending on accent; in standard German it’s more like father but short.
  • ss: sharp s (like in kiss).
  • Final er: often pronounced [ɐ], similar to a weak uh sound, not like a strong English “er” in water.

What case is Wasser in here, and how can I tell?

Wasser is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb trinken.

• Subject (nominative): ich – the one doing the drinking.
• Verb: trinke – the action.
• Direct object (accusative): Wasser – the thing being drunk.

You cannot see the case from the noun form itself here, because Wasser is a neuter noun, and its nominative and accusative forms are identical. You know it’s accusative by its role in the sentence (what is being drunk).

Can I say Nur Wasser trinke ich heute? How does that sound compared to the original?

Yes, you can. It’s grammatically correct and has a stronger emphasis:

• Nur Wasser trinke ich heute.
  → Focuses strongly on nur Wasser (“only water, nothing else at all”).
  → Sounds a bit more emphatic or contrastive, like you’re stressing a restriction.

Compare:

• Heute trinke ich nur Wasser.
  → More neutral: today, the only thing I drink is water.
• Nur Wasser trinke ich heute.
  → “As for today: it’s only water I’m drinking (not anything else).”

How would I turn this sentence into a yes/no question or a “wh-” question?

For a yes/no question, put the verb first:

• Statement: Heute trinke ich nur Wasser.
• Question: Trinke ich heute nur Wasser?
  → Am I only drinking water today?

For a wh-question, put the question word first, then the verb:

• Was trinke ich heute?
  → What am I drinking today?
• Wann trinke ich nur Wasser?
  → When do I drink only water?

Pattern:

• Statement: [element] – verb – subject – …
• Yes/no question: verb – subject – …
• Wh-question: question word – verb – subject – …