Breakdown of Morgen gehe ich zur Paketstation und hole mein Paket ab.
Questions & Answers about Morgen gehe ich zur Paketstation und hole mein Paket ab.
German main clauses usually follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here gehe) must be in position 2.
Morgen is taking position 1, so the subject ich moves after the verb:
- Morgen | gehe | ich … This is normal and doesn’t indicate a question.
Yes, both are correct:
- Morgen gehe ich … (puts emphasis on tomorrow / sets the time frame first)
- Ich gehe morgen … (more neutral, “I’m going tomorrow …”) German often moves time expressions to the front for emphasis or style, while still keeping the verb in position 2.
zur is a contraction of zu der:
- zu + der → zur It’s used because Paketstation is feminine (die Paketstation), and zu requires the dative case:
- zu der Paketstation = zur Paketstation
zu expresses going to a destination in a general sense (similar to “to” in English).
in focuses on going into something (entering an interior space). A Paketstation is treated as a destination/service point, so zu is very natural:
- zur Paketstation gehen = go to the parcel station
You could say in die Paketstation gehen only if you really mean going inside a building/room called Paketstation, which is usually not the idea.
A Paketstation is a parcel pickup/drop-off station (a locker or service point). In Germany, the well-known branded term is die Packstation (DHL).
Learners will often see Packstation more frequently in real life; Paketstation is more generic.
holen means to fetch / pick up—you go somewhere and bring something back. That matches the situation of picking up a parcel at a station.
- nehmen = take (doesn’t include the “go and fetch” idea)
- bekommen = receive/get (focuses on receiving, not the action of going to pick it up)
abholen is a separable-prefix verb: ab + holen = “pick up / collect.”
In a main clause, the prefix ab splits off and goes to the end:
- Ich hole mein Paket ab. In an infinitive or subordinate clause it stays attached:
- Ich will mein Paket abholen.
- …, weil ich mein Paket abhole.
For collecting a parcel, abholen is the standard word.
aufheben usually means pick up from the ground or keep/save (e.g., keep a receipt), so it would be wrong here.
Because Paket is neuter: das Paket.
In the accusative case:
- neuter mein Paket
- masculine would be meinen … (e.g., meinen Koffer)
Because holen takes a direct object (what you fetch). That direct object is typically accusative:
- ich hole (verb) mein Paket (direct object)
A common guideline is TeKaMoLo: Temporal – Kausal – Modal – Lokal.
This sentence starts with time (Morgen) and then includes place (zur Paketstation). With separable verbs, the prefix goes to the end:
- Morgen (time) gehe (V2 verb) ich (subject) zur Paketstation (place) und hole … ab (separable prefix at end)
und simply links two actions: you go there and you pick it up. It doesn’t necessarily mean two separate trips; it’s understood as one plan.
dann would add a clearer “then/after that” sequence:
- Morgen gehe ich zur Paketstation, dann hole ich mein Paket ab. Both are fine; und is more compact.
Yes, that’s exactly what the sentence does: it omits the repeated subject in the second coordinated clause. It’s common when both parts share the same subject:
- Morgen gehe ich … und hole … ab. You can also repeat it for clarity/emphasis:
- Morgen gehe ich … und ich hole … ab.
In German, you normally don’t use a comma before und when it connects two main parts in a simple way:
- … gehe ich … und hole … ab. A comma can appear if the structure is more complex (e.g., inserting extra clauses), but here it’s standard without one.
In a subordinate clause, the finite verb goes to the end, and separable prefixes usually stay attached:
- …, weil ich morgen zur Paketstation gehe und mein Paket abhole. Notice gehe at the end of its clause and abhole staying together.