In a subordinate clause this final position excludes any infinitives (33.1), finite verbs
(5.1) or separable prefixes (36.2). Thus, in the following two examples, the phrases in
italics are being emphasized:
Es war klar, dass auf uns etwas ganz Unangenehmes wartete.
It was clear something very unpleasant awaited us.Ich weiß nicht, ob sie ihren Eltern dem neuen Direktor vorgestellt
hat.
I don’t know whether she introduced her parents to the new head
teacher.(c) The flexibility of German word order is reflected in the following. Apart from the
neutral Sie hat dem neuen Direktor ihre Eltern vorgestellt, these variations are also
possible: Dem neuen Direktor hat sie ihre Eltern vorgestellt, with its mild emphasis
on Eltern as the people of particular interest to whom she introduced the head teacher;
and Ihre Eltern hat sie dem neuen Direktor vorgestellt, with its slight emphasis on
Direktor as the person of particular interest to whom she introduced her parents.
15
WORD ORDER