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).

1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th
Ich	*frage*	ihn	morgen	danach.

The first part of the sentence is usually the subject.

1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th
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).

1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th
*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 bitte 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.:

		[ 2nd			last ]
Separable Verb:	Ich	*kaufe*	heute	im Supermarkt	ein.
Present Perfect:	Ich	*habe*	schon	gestern	eingekauft.
Future:	Ich	*werde*	morgen	Gemüse	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 Plätze (acc.).

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

Man reserviert die besten Plätze (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.:

		0	1^st	2^nd	last
Ich	weiß,	dass	er	morgen	kommt.

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.:

		1^st	2^nd	3^rd
Dass er morgen kommt,		*weiß*	ich	ganz sicher.

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

	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th
Er sagt,	er	*macht*	das	bis morgen.

1^st	2^nd	3^rd
*Hast*	du	Zeit,	dann besuch mich doch mal.