Breakdown of Ich trinke zwischendurch Wasser.
trinken
to drink
das Wasser
the water
ich
I
zwischendurch
from time to time
Questions & Answers about Ich trinke zwischendurch Wasser.
Why is there no article before Wasser? Why not Ich trinke das/ein Wasser?
In German, you normally leave out the article with uncountable / mass nouns when you mean them in a general, non‑specific way.
- Ich trinke Wasser.
= I drink water (in general, as a type of drink).
If you add an article, the meaning changes:
Ich trinke das Wasser.
= I am drinking the water (a specific water that we both know about: the water in this glass, the water from the tap here, etc.).Ich trinke ein Wasser.
= I’m drinking a water (usually understood as one glass/bottle of water, e.g. in a restaurant).
So in Ich trinke zwischendurch Wasser, you’re talking about water in general, not any particular glass of water, so there is no article.
What exactly does zwischendurch mean? Is it just “sometimes”?