Subject Finite verb Other elements
Katja beginnt heute ihren Englischkurs.
Unsere Freunde kommen nach dem Essen zu Besuch.
Subject–verb inversion
The finite verb also remains in second position when a sentence starts
with an element other than the subject:
First element Finite verb Subject Other elements
Heute beginnt Katja ihren Englischkurs.
Nach dem Essen kommen unsere Freunde zu Besuch.
This change of word order is called the subject–verb inversion. Note that
the first element can consist of one word like heute‘today’, or several
words such as nach dem Essen‘after the meal’.
Word order with two verbs
When there are two verbs in a main clause, the second verb moves to the
end while the finite verb still forms the second element. This pattern can
be found in various structures, for instance in sentences with modal verbs,
in the present perfect tense and in passiveconstructions:
Subject Finite verb Other elements Second verb
Katja kann heute ihren Englischkurs beginnen.
Nach dem Essen sind unsere Freunde zu Besuch gekommen.
Das Haus wurde vor 10 Jahren gebaut.
Constructions with three verbs
When three verbs are part of a main clause, the finite verbs stays in the
second position and the other two verbs move to the end:
Subject Finite verb Object and other Final verbs
elements
Ich habe leider nicht helfen können.
Du wirst wohl mehr Sport treiben müssen.
Note that sentences with three verbs usually contain a modal verb, which
takes the infinitive form and appears in the final position. For more details,
see Unit 7, pages 54–6.
142 Unit 19: Word order and sentence structure
111
2 3 4 5 6 7
8111
9
1011
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2011
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
3011
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4011
1
2
3
41111
