UNIT NINETEEN
Unit 19 Word order and sentence structure
German word order – rules and patterns
This unit gives you an overview of the basic principles regarding word
order in German and deals with the following:- the position of the verbin various sentence structures
- the position of the subjectand the directandindirectobjects
- the sequence of different elements in a sentence.
Position of verb in different sentence structures
The position of the verb depends on the type of sentence used. There are
four basic types:Main clauses Jürgenarbeitetbis fünf Uhr.
Subordinate clauses Ich hoffe, dass wir den Zug nicht verpassen.
Imperative GehenSie jetzt!
Questions Kommt sie bald?In the next sections all the above structures are shown in more detail.Verbs in main clauses
Principal feature – the finite verb is the second element
A main clause is a sentence that can stand on its own. The finite verb- the verb that takes the personal ending – is usually the second
element.