First element Finite verb Subject Object and other
elements
Heute Abend gehe ich ins Kino.
Zur Arbeit fährt Peter immer mit dem Auto.The subject in subordinate clausesNote that in subordinate clauses the subject usually comes directly after
the conjunction:Ich hoffe, dass ichim Sommer nach Frankreich fahren kann.
I hope that I can travel to France this summer.Sie trank noch ein Bier, weil siegroßen Durst hatte.
She drank another beer because she was very thirsty.Position of direct and indirect objects
The sequence in which direct and indirect objects appear in a sentence
depends on their being either a noun or a pronoun:- If there are two nouns, the indirect object(in the dative case) comes
beforethedirect object(accusative):
Er kauft seinerFrau(indirect object)einenFerrari.(direct object)
He buys his wife a Ferrari.- When a noun appears together with a pronoun, the pronoun always
precedes the noun, regardless of the case:
Er kauft ihn(dir. obj.)seiner Frau.(ind. obj.)
He buys it for his wife.Er kauft ihr(ind. obj.)einen Ferrari.(dir. obj.)
He buys her a Ferrari.- If both objects appear as pronouns, the direct object comes first:
Er kauft ihn (dir. obj.)ihr.(ind. obj.)
He buys it for her.146 Unit 19: Word order and sentence structure