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Although we speak of
"word order", what is involved is often the various
elements of a sentence
rather than individual words and their sequence in a sentence.
1. Word order in statements
The conjugated verb is always the second element (although not
necessarily the second word) in a statement, e.g.
| subject |
2nd element
conjugated verb |
expression of time |
expression of place |
|
| Sie |
fährt
|
am Freitag |
nach Berlin. |
She’s going to Berlin on Friday.
|
| Meine Schwester |
fährt |
am Freitag |
nach Berlin. |
My sister’s going to Berlin on Friday. |
| Meine Schwester und ihre Freundin |
fahren |
am Freitag |
nach Berlin. |
My sister and her friend are going to Berlin in Friday. |
The subject is not always the first element of a statement.
It is also very common to start with another element such as an
expression of time or place to emphasize this element.
This element is not separated by a comma from the rest of
the sentence.
The position of the conjugated verb, however,
remains the same. It is always the second element. Whenever an element
other than the subject begins the statement, the subject follows the
conjugated verb as the third element, e.g.
|
1st element |
2nd element
conjugated verb |
3rd element
subject |
|
|
|
Am Freitag |
fährt |
meine Schwester |
nach Berlin. |
My sister’s going to Berlin on Friday. |
|
Nach Berlin |
fährt |
meine Schwester |
am Freitag. |
My
sister’s going to Berlin on Friday. |
If there is an expression of time (when?) and an expression
of place (where?/where ....to?/where ..... from?) in a sentence and
neither of them is the first element, the expression of time comes
before the expression of place, e.g.
|
subject |
2nd element
conjugated verb |
expression of time |
expression of place |
|
|
Sie |
fährt
|
am Freitag |
nach Berlin. |
She’s going to Berlin on Friday. |
If there are two expressions of time in a sentence and neither of
them is the first element, the general time precedes the specific time,
e.g.
| subject |
2nd element
conjugated verb |
more general expression of time |
more specific expression of time |
expression of place |
|
| Sie |
fährt
|
jeden Abend |
um 6 Uhr |
nach Hause |
She’s going home every evening at 6 p.m. |
If the verb consists of more than one component, it is split: the
conjugated part remains the second idea while the rest of the verb (e.g.
an infinitive) is at the end of the sentence, e.g.
| subject |
2nd element
conjugated verb |
expression of time |
expression of place |
rest of verb |
|
| Wir |
gehen |
am Samstag |
|
einkaufen. |
We go shopping on Saturday. |
| Sie |
muss |
um 6 Uhr |
nach Hause |
gehen. |
She must go home at 6 p.m. |
2. Conjunctions and word order
There are 3 types of conjunctions.
|
Co-ordinating conjunctions have to effect on the word
order of the clause that follows the conjunction. |
Sie ist müde. Sie arbeitet sehr hart
Sie ist
müde, denn sie arbeitet sehr hat. |
|
Adverbial conjunctions form the first idea of the
clause that follows the conjunction, therefore it must be followed by
the conjugated part of the verbs of that clause. |
Sie ist müde. Sie arbeitet sehr hart.
Sie ist
müde, trotzdem arbeitet sie sehr hart. |
|
Subordinating conjunctions send the conjugated part of
the verb of the clause that follows the conjunction to the end of that
clause. |
Sie ist müde. Sie arbeitet sehr hart.
Sie ist
müde, weil sie sehr hart arbeitet. |
3. Word order in questions
There are two types of questions:
a. yes/no-questions which can be answered
by a simple “yes” or “no”
b.
questions that start with question
words (where, when, who, how many etc.)
| statement: |
|
Er |
wohnt |
in Dublin. |
| yes/no-question: |
|
Wohnt
|
er |
in Dublin? |
| questions with a
question word: |
Wo |
wohnt
|
er? |
|
a.
yes/no-questions
In a yes/no-question, the conjugated verb
(= the verb that has its ending changed in such a way that it
corresponds with the subject) is always the first element of
the question, it is followed by the
subject (= who or what performs the
action in the sentence) e.g.
Kommt
er aus Irland?
|
Does he
come from Ireland? / Is he coming from Ireland?
|
Lernst
du Deutsch?
|
Do you
learn German? / Are you learning German?
|
Studieren
Anna und Tim in Berlin?
|
Do Anna
and Tim study in Berlin? / Are Anna and Tim studying in Berlin?
|
Heißt
sie Annette?
|
Is she
called Annette?
|
b. questions with
question words
In these type of questions the
question word(s) is (are) placed
before the conjugated verb, e.g.
Woher
kommt
er?
|
Where
does he come from? / Where is he coming from?
|
Wo
wohnen
Sie?
|
Where do
you live? / Where are you living?
|
Was
lernst
du?
|
What do
you learn? / What are you learning?
|
Wer*
studiert in Berlin?
|
Who studies in Berlin? / Who is studying in Berlin?
|
*In this question,
you want to find out what the subject is.
4. Word order in imperatives
In an imperative statement,
the conjugated verb comes first, e.g.
-
formal: Tragen Sie eine
Maske! (Wear a mask!)
-
informal singular: Trag
eine Maske! (Wear a mask!)
-
informal plural: Tragt
eine Maske! (Wear a mask!)
|