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Grammar

Sentence Structure (Word Order)

In statements, the conjugated verb (as a predicate or part of a predicate) is the second part of the sentence
(sentence structure position) (=Second Verb Phrase).
1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Ich

frage

ihn

morgen

danach.

The first part of the sentence is usually the subject.

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Ich

frage

ihn

morgen

danach.

The subject and other sentence parts (additions, details) can be moved around between the 1st, 3rd etc.
parts of the sentence (permutation). The conjugated verb must remain in the second position.
The transfer of the subject from the first position to another (most often the third) position is called an
inversion (subject-verb inversion).

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Morgen

frage

ich

ihn

danach.

Danach

frage

ich

ihn

morgen.

There are two possibilities when it comes to questions:

The probe question has a question word (w-word) in the first part of the sentence and a conjugated verb in
the second part (= second verb phrase):
Wann fragst du ihn danach?

The yes-no question has a conjugated verb in the first part of the sentence (= first verb phrase).
Fragst du ihn morgen danach?

In a command or request sentence, the imperative verb form is in the first position (= first verb phrase), e.g.:
Komm(e) sofort zu mir!
Fragt ihn doch mal.
Gehen Sie b itte weiter.

If the predicate is a multiple predicate, the parts in the sentence form a Satzklammer (sentence bracket)
when other phrases are present. This means, the predicate elements spread out and take different sentence
structure positions, in a statement (second verb phrase) e.g.:

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13/3/2014

Grammar

[ 2nd

last ]

Separable Verb:

Ich

kaufe

heute

im Supermarkt

ein.

Present Perfect:

Ich

habe

schon

gestern

eingekauft.

Future:

Ich

werde

morgen

Gemse

einkaufen.

Modal Verb + Verb:

Ich

muss

am Freitag

Fleisch

einkaufen.

If an accusative object (acc.) and a dative object (dat.) occur in a sentence, the placement after the
conjugated verb form (from the 3rd sentence position) is as follows:
nouns as objects:
1. dat. (less emphasized) acc. (more emphasized), e.g.:
Man reserviert den Politikern (dat.) die besten Pltze (acc.).

2. acc. (less emphasized) dat. (more emphasized), e.g.:

Man reserviert die besten Pltze (acc.) den Politikern (dat.).

pronouns as objects:
always acc. dat., e.g.:
Man reserviert sie ihnen.

The conjugated verb form is usually found in the final sentence position (final verb phrase) in a subordinate
clause (subset of a complex sentence) when it has been introduced/initiated (e.g. by a conjunction or a
subjunction), e.g.:

Ich

wei,

1st

2nd

dass

er

morgen kommt.

last

If the subordinate clause comes before the main clause in a complex sentence, the conjugated verb form is
placed in the 1st position, e.g.:

Dass er morgen kommt,

1st

2nd

3rd

wei

ich

ganz
sicher.

If the subordinate clause is not introduced, the conjugated verb form is placed in the 2nd or 1st position, e.g.:
1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Er sagt, er

macht

das

b is morgen.

1st

3rd

Hast

2nd
du

Zeit,

dann besuch mich doch mal.

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