LILT:Word order (German)

Headword	Word order (Die Wortreihe)
Level	B, C, D
Language	German
Topic	Grammar
Definition	German has much stricter rules than English as to the sequence in which the various components in a sentence must be ordered. These rules concern (a) the position of the verb, (b) the order in which adverbs must be presented, and (c) the order of pronouns and nouns in different cases.
Notes	1. The most distinctive and important word order rule in German concerns the position of the verb in a main clause. This is often called the ‘verb second’ rule, as the verb must always be the second idea (not necessarily the second word) of the main clause. In normal word order the verb is the second idea, following usually the subject of the verb, e.g. Mein Freund fuhr letzten Sommer nach Italien. (My friend went to Italy last year). If the main clause begins with something other than the subject (for example to give emphasis to the time phrase), then the verb must remain the second idea and the subject must come after the verb (often called the rule of inversion): e.g. Letzten Sommer fuhr mein Freund nach Italien. Sometimes it is a subordinate clause which precedes the main clause and thereby becomes the first idea of the sentence. Again in this case, the verb of the main clause must remain the second idea and the subject is inverted to follow the verb: e.g. Weil er 17 Jahre alt ist, fuhr mein Freund nach Italien (Because he is 17 my friend went to Italy last month). 2. If the verb is made up of a primary auxiliary verb (haben/sein/werden) plus a past participle or a modal auxiliary verb (such as wollen, können etc.) plus infinitive, it is the auxiliary verb which remains the second idea and the past participle or infinitive goes to the end of the clause: e.g. Letzten Sommer ist er nach Italien gefahren (Last summer he went to Italy); Nächsten Sommer will er nach Italien fahren (Next year he wants to go to Italy). 3. The verb in a subordinate clause does not remain the second idea but goes to the end of the clause: e.g. Obgleich er nach Italien fahren will, ist er immer zu jung (Although he wants to go to Italy he is still too young). 4. The ‘time>manner>place’ rule is used to ensure that, if there are several adverbs in the one sentence, then they must be sequenced in that order: e.g. Ich fahre jeden Tag (time) mit dem Bus (manner) in die Stadt (place) (I travel every day by bus into town). If two adverbs of the same type come together, then the more general comes before the more precise: e.g. Ich fahre jeden Tag um 9 Uhr in die Stadt (I travel every day at 9 o’clock into town). 5. If the sentence contains both a direct and an indirect object, then the following rules apply: If the objects are two nouns, then the indirect object (dative case) comes before the direct object (accusative case): e.g. Ich gab dem Jungen das Buch (I gave to the boy the book). If the objects are one noun and one pronoun, the pronoun comes before the noun: e.g. Ich gab ihm den Ball (to him) / Ich gab es dem Jungen (it). If the objects are two pronouns, then the direct object (accusative case) comes before the indirect object (dative case): e.g. Ich gab es ihm (I gave it to him).
Compare	Word order in English
Concept	Structure
See also	Adverb, Case, Conjunction, Modal auxiliary verb, Primary auxiliary verb