WORD ORDER (VERB & SUBJECT) - OVERVIEW
V = (CONJUGATED) VERB (bold)
S = SUBJECT (emphasis/italics)
MAIN CLAUSES
- Basic declarative STATEMENTS
- SUBJECT - VERB
= Ich fliege morgen nach Deutschland.
- Almost any element of a sentence can be in first position,
however, the verb must remain the second grammatical unit (not
necessarily word!):
| Morgen |
fliege ich um sieben Uhr nach München. |
| Um sieben Uhr |
fliege ich morgen nach Deutschland. |
| Nach Deutschland |
fliege ich morgen um sieben Uhr. |
Sometimes the part preceding the verb in such a sentence is
called FRONT FIELD (= something that is not the verb and
not the subject). [Note: Words such as "ja", "nein",
"ach", proper names, coordinating conjunctions,
etc. are not considered the "first grammatical unit" of a sentence].
- QUESTIONS
- With an interrogative (question word): the verb
remains in second position, with the question word in first.
= Wohin fliegen Sie morgen?
(This is like 1.B.; the question word functions as front
field.)
- No question word: verb first. (These are usually
questions which can be answered with "Ja" or "Nein").
= Fliegen Sie morgen nach Deutschland? (Ja!/Nein!).
- COMMANDS (imperative)
= Gehen Sie an die Tafel!
= Sprich laut!
Verb first (followed by a subject only if applicable).
MAIN/DEPENDENT CLAUSE STRUCTURES
- Main clause - dependent clause: (MAIN - DEPENDENT)
= Ich bin müde, weil ich wenig schlafe.
In both sentences you have SUBJECT - VERB, however: in the
dependent clause the verb is at the end: VERB LAST!
- Dependent clause - main clause: (DEPENDENT - MAIN)
= Weil ich wenig schlafe, bin ich müde.
Word order in the dependent clause remains (VERB LAST). In the
main clause we have VERB - SUBJECT. Again, this is like 1.B. The
entire dependent clause functions as "front field".
(==> inversion: V - S, verb and subject switch places).
SUMMARY OF THE ABOVE
All the above information in a chart, focusing on the position
of the verb (but note also the position of the subject!):
|
Er | kommt heute nicht. |
|
Heute | kommt er nicht. |
|
| Kommt er heute nicht? |
|
Warum | kommt er heute nicht? |
|
| Kommen Sie heute! |
|
| Komm heute! |
|
Er | kommt heute nicht, weil er krank ist. |
|
Heute | kommt er nicht, weil er krank ist. |
|
Weil er krank ist, | kommt er heute nicht. |
ATTENTION
- Modals:
- Du willst nach Hause gehen.
- Wohin willst du gehen?
- Willst du nach Hause gehen?
- Ich weiß, daß du nach Hause gehen willst.
Modals (usually) go with an infinitive which is at the end of a
main clause. In a dependent clause, the infinitive precedes the modal.
- Verbs with seperable prefixes:
- Der Zug fährt um 11 Uhr ab.
- Wann fährt der Zug ab?
- Er sagt, daß der Zug um 11 Uhr abfährt.
Seperated prefixes are at the end in a main clause. In a dependent
clause, they stay with the stem (as one word).
ÜBUNGEN
If you cannot enter special characters directly:
* Cut & Paste the appropriate character from here: ß -
Ä - ä - Ö - ö - Ü - ü
* Or, for the "ß" use the capital letter "B" (or an "sz"),
for umlauts use these transcriptions: ä = ae; Ä = AE;
ü = ue etc. |
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