B1-93 · Say how often things happen
The countryside
Describe village and farm life with frequency adverbs such as selten, meistens and fast nie, and put them in the right place.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
How often?
Frequency adverbs say how often something happens. From most to least often: immer, meistens, oft, manchmal, selten, nie. Meistens means usually or most of the time, and selten means rarely.
| Meaning | German |
|---|---|
| always | immer |
| usually, most of the time | meistens |
| often | oft, häufig |
| sometimes | manchmal |
| rarely | selten |
| never | nie |
Wir fahren selten in die Stadt, nur ungefähr zweimal im Jahr.
We rarely go into town, only about twice a year.
Meistens stehe ich um fünf Uhr auf, nur am Sonntag schlafe ich länger.
I usually get up at five; only on Sundays do I sleep longer.
Mein Nachbar ist Bauer und arbeitet immer, auch am Wochenende.
My neighbour is a farmer and always works, even at the weekend.
Manchmal regnet es tagelang, dann können wir nicht ernten.
Sometimes it rains for days, and then we can't bring in the harvest.
Oft and häufig both mean often. Das Dorf is the village, der Bauer the farmer and das Feld the field.
02
Where does the adverb go?
In a main clause the frequency adverb usually comes after the conjugated verb: Der Tierarzt kommt meistens am Vormittag. If the adverb starts the sentence, the verb still comes second and the subject follows it. In a weil- or dass-clause, the verb goes to the end.
Selten kommt ein Bus in unser Dorf.
A bus rarely comes to our village.
Der Tierarzt kommt meistens am Vormittag.
The vet usually comes in the morning.
Ich wohne gern auf dem Land, weil es hier selten laut ist.
I like living in the countryside because it's rarely noisy here.
Meistens hilft mein Sohn bei der Ernte.
My son usually helps with the harvest.
Never put the subject between a fronted adverb and the verb: Selten kommt ein Bus, not Selten ein Bus kommt. Der Tierarzt is the vet and die Ernte the harvest.
03
Life in the village
Frequency adverbs are useful for describing farm and village routines. Ab und zu means now and then, much like manchmal. Fast nie means hardly ever.
Wir melken die Kühe meistens um sechs Uhr morgens.
We usually milk the cows at six in the morning.
Im Hofladen verkaufen wir Eier, Käse und ab und zu auch Honig.
In the farm shop we sell eggs, cheese and now and then honey too.
Junge Leute bleiben selten im Dorf, die meisten ziehen in die Stadt.
Young people rarely stay in the village; most move to the city.
Ein Kino gibt es hier nicht, deshalb gehen wir fast nie ins Kino.
There's no cinema here, so we hardly ever go to the cinema.
Melken means to milk. Der Hofladen is a farm shop where farmers sell their own products. Die meisten means most of them.
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