Breakdown of Heute schreibe ich meiner Schwester eine E-Mail.
ich
I
heute
today
die E-Mail
the email
die Schwester
the sister
Questions & Answers about Heute schreibe ich meiner Schwester eine E-Mail.
Why does the sentence start with Heute, and why is ich after the verb?
German is a verb-second language in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position, not necessarily after the subject.
So in:
Heute schreibe ich meiner Schwester eine E-Mail.
- Heute is in the first position
- schreibe must come second
- ich comes after the verb
This is very normal in German. English usually keeps the subject before the verb, but German often moves another element to the front for emphasis or topic.
A more neutral version is also possible:
Ich schreibe heute meiner Schwester eine E-Mail.
Both are correct.
What does Heute do in this sentence?
Heute means today and gives the time of the action.
Putting Heute first makes today the starting point or topic of the sentence. It often sounds like:
- As for today, I’m writing...
- Today, I’m writing...
German often puts time expressions early in the sentence.
Why is it meiner Schwester and not meine Schwester?