II Word order
Although German certainly has several strict rules on word order, the order in which
words appear in a sentence does not by itself determine meaning. The rules which
follow therefore need to be considered alongside the case system (see 16–21).5 Simple sentences and main clauses
5.1 A simple sentence is a statement that contains no questions or direct commands (see
7 and 41 on imperatives). The basic rule to remember about word order in simple
sentences or main clauses is that the finite verb is always ‘second idea’ (see 5.2). The
finite verb is the one verb which can be either singular or plural, in the present or
past tense:
Sie spielen mit meiner kleinen Schwester.
They are playing with my little sister.Mein Mann schwimmt jeden Tag mindestens 500 Meter.
My husband swims at least 500 metres every day.spielen and schwimmt are the finite verbs here.There can be only one finite verb in each German sentence; infinitives and past
participles (see 33.1), for example, are not finite verbs:Sie werden wohl erst nachts ankommen.
You’ll probably not arrive until night-time.Wir hatten den Film schon gesehen.
We had already seen the film.Here werden and hatten are the finite verbs.(For exceptions to the ‘verb second’ rule, see 7.2 on direct questions, 7.3 on commands,
and 58.3 on informal conversational responses.)5.2 The verb’s second position applies even when some element other than the subject
stands in first position. This other element can be:
(a) One or more adverbs or adverbial phrases (for explanations on adverbs and
adverbial phrases, see also 50 ):Morgen wird es schon zu spät sein.
Tomorrow it will be too late.