Time expressions (Zeitangaben)
Zeitangaben
German time expressions say when, how often or for how long something happens: jeden Tag, morgens, vor einem Jahr.
The ways of saying when something happens, how often, or for how long it has been going on.
The big picture: three ways to mark time
ShortcutGerman has three basic tools for time: 1. Akkusativ of time (expressions with no preposition: jeden Tag), 2. -s adverbs (repeated times: morgens) and 3. time prepositions (vor, seit, ab, bis).
- jeden Tag · nächsten Monat time without a preposition (Akkusativ) EVERY DAY · NEXT MONTH
- morgens · montags repeated actions IN THE MORNINGS · ON MONDAYS
- vor · seit · ab · bis time prepositions AGO · SINCE · FROM · UNTIL
Ich arbeite jeden Tag.
I work every day.
Morgens trinke ich Kaffee.
In the mornings I drink coffee.
Ich lerne seit einem Jahr Deutsch.
I have been learning German for a year.
You already do this in English (with different tools)
English does the same thing: “every day”, “next week”, “all day” need no preposition, while “in the evening” or “on Mondays” do. German solves the same job with cases and adverbs.
| English | German | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| I work all day. | Ich arbeite den ganzen Tag. | Akkusativ of time |
| I’m going next week. | Ich fahre nächste Woche. | Akkusativ of time |
| I read in the evenings. | Ich lese abends. | -s ending |
If a time word (Tag, Woche, Monat) has no preposition (an, in, etc.) in front of it, that word must be Akkusativ. This is called the “Akkusativ der Zeit”.
Ich arbeite jeder Tag.
I work every day.
Ich arbeite jeden Tag.
I work every day.
Table: time prepositions and their rules
Whatever case the time preposition demands, the word after it goes into that case.
| Preposition | Meaning | Case | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| vor | ago (in the past) | Dativ | vor einem Jahr (a year ago) |
| seit | since · for (still going) | Dativ | seit einem Monat (for a month now) |
| ab | from (in the future) | Dativ | ab nächster Woche (from next week) |
| bis | until | Akkusativ | bis nächsten Montag (until next Monday) |
Reminder: for am, um, im, take a look at the pages on the preposition an, the preposition um and the preposition in.
Ich lerne seit ein Jahr Deutsch.
I have been learning German for a year.
Ich lerne seit einem Jahr Deutsch.
I have been learning German for a year.
Two places where people slip
Using Nominativ in expressions without a preposition
Ich bleibe ein Monat hier.
An expression of time can’t be left in the basic (Nominativ) form.
Ich bleibe einen Monat hier.
With no preposition it has to be Akkusativ (den Monat → einen Monat).
Capitalising -s adverbs
Ich gehe Montags schwimmen.
Inside a sentence montags is an adverb (every Monday) and is written in lower case; it is not a noun.
Ich gehe montags schwimmen.
Adverbs start with a small letter (unless it is the first word of the sentence).
der Morgen is a noun and is capitalised. But morgens (in the mornings) is an adverb and is written in lower case.
What you just learned
Ich arbeite ___ Tag.
Show the answer
jeden — Time expressions without a preposition are Akkusativ. der Tag -> jeden Tag.
Wir fliegen nach Paris heute. — this word order sounds natural.
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False. In a neutral sentence the time (heute) comes before the place (nach Paris): Wir fliegen heute nach Paris. The reverse order is only heard when the time is specially stressed.
Ich wohne ___ einem Jahr in Berlin.
Show the answer
seit. For situations that began in the past and are still going, seit (Dativ) is used.
The part nobody tells you: the TeKaMoLo rule
Where time expressions sit in the sentence matters. Courses teach the TeKaMoLo reminder for this (Temporal, Kausal, Modal, Lokal): in a neutral sentence, time (Temporal) normally comes before the other information (reason, manner, place). It is not a hard law but a safe default — a speaker who wants to stress something can change the order. A direction (nach Berlin) is tied closely to the verb, so it usually stays near the end. English is looser (“I’m going to Berlin on Monday”); German prefers the time first.
Ich fahre nach Berlin am Montag.
In a neutral sentence the place (Berlin) doesn’t come before the time.
Ich fahre am Montag nach Berlin.
Neutral order: time first, then place.
If you want to stress it, you can also move the time expression to the very start of the sentence: Am Montag fahre ich nach Berlin.
Build the sentence yourself
Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.
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Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- Time expressions without a preposition are Akkusativ
Time words with no preposition in front of them are always in the Akkusativ.
jeden Tag, letzten Monat, dieses Jahr
- -s adverbs start with a small letter
Adverbs that show an action is repeated, such as morgens, abends, montags, are written in lower case (except at the start of a sentence).
Ich lese abends.
- The TeKaMoLo rule
In German the time expression (Temporal) normally comes before the place expression (Lokal).
Ich gehe heute ins Kino. (not: ins Kino heute)
Ich bin hier seit ein Jahr.
Ich bin hier seit einem Jahr.
seit always takes Dativ (das Jahr → einem Jahr).
Ich arbeite jede Tag.
Ich arbeite jeden Tag.
Tag is der. Its Akkusativ form has to be den Tag → jeden Tag.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
Ich lerne Tag Deutsch.
I learn German every day.
Ich wohne einem Jahr in Berlin.
I have been living in Berlin for a year.
Wir haben uns einem Monat getroffen.
We met a month ago.
Ich habe ganzen Tag gearbeitet.
I worked all day.
Which one is correct?
Which one follows the TeKaMoLo rule?
Practice done — –
To finish the topic, take the full test: score 60% and it is marked as done on your level path.
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Time expressions worksheet
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
Adverbs
heute · hier · schnell
German adverbs describe a verb, an adjective or a whole sentence and never take an ending: heute, hier, schnell.
Numbers · time · date
21 = einundzwanzig
German numbers, clock times and dates work like this: 21 = einundzwanzig, 10 Uhr, am 5.
seit
seit zwei Jahren
seit is a preposition that always takes the Dativ and describes something that is still going on: seit zwei Jahren, seit Montag.