Temporal adverbs indicate when something happens or how long something lasts. They are usually positioned in the middle of a German sentence. They do not replace a noun, but supplement the time information in the sentence.

Adverbs like 'today', 'yesterday', and 'tomorrow' name a clear point in time. They typically answer the question 'When?'. They function without a preposition and often stand before the verb or after the finite verb.

Adverbs like 'soon', 'immediately', 'already', and 'still' express short or expected time spans. They often connect an expectation with the time and sit close to the verb. Their exact meaning often depends on context and prosody.

Typically, in main clauses the temporal adverb sits in the middle field, i.e., after the subject and before the objects or complements. If the adverb is fronted for focus, it can also appear at the beginning of the sentence, with the finite verb remaining in position two. The meaning changes only slightly or not at all, but the focus does.

Temporal adverbs can be combined with details such as time of day or weekdays. Often the more general adverb comes first, followed by the more exact specification. Multiple time indications should be clearly separated to avoid misunderstandings.

Adverbs such as 'often', 'sometimes', 'rarely' and 'always' express frequency and belong to the temporal meaning layer. They answer the question 'How often?'. In sentence construction they appear similarly to other temporal adverbs.

'Already' signals that a state has been reached or occurred earlier than expected. 'Yet' signals that a state continues to hold and is not finished. In many sentences both words can occur, each directing the sense of time in a different direction.

Many temporal adverbs require context to be unambiguous. 'Now' refers to the current moment in the conversation but in class or theater it can also refer to a scene. 'Soon' and 'immediately' depend on what is understood as the reference time.

In questions and subordinate clauses the typical position of the temporal adverbs remains, usually in the middle field. In yes-no questions the adverb often comes directly after the finite verb. In subordinate clauses the temporal adverb sits in the middle before the verb, together with other middle-field elements.

Some temporal expressions have regional or colloquial variants, especially for 'very soon'. In Standard German, 'gleich' remains the neutral choice for 'in the near future'. In some regions, 'nachher' can also mean 'later in the day', not necessarily 'immediately after'.