Word Order (Wortstellung)

Note: The following description of German word order is conceptual in nature. Those who would prefer to follow a more mechanical - but ultimately less complete - set of rules would be better served by linking to these prescriptive instructions for German word order. Both sites overlap considerably.

English vs. German Sentence Construction. English tends to rely mostly on word order to indicate the grammatical function of a word or phrase. Note the difference between "The village gives the dragon the virgin" and "The village gives the virgin the dragon" (Not to mention: "The virgin gives the dragon the village").

German relies more on inflections to show function. Endings, such as those indicating the nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive cases in three different genders, allow for some greater flexibility in clause construction. Hence "Der Hund beißt den Mann" and "Den Mann beißt der Hund" both mean "The dog bites the man" (as opposed to "The man bites the dog"). But this flexibility is far from absolute. Appropriate German word order is important. On the one hand, it plays a major role in how a foreigner's command of the language is evaluated. On the other, and more importantly, each deviation from the "standard" or "expected" order carries significant information of its own.

That said, word order is a complex aspect of language, never wholly mastered by non-native speakers. Very few rules cover all possibilities, and context often trumps other considerations. When Robert Frost writes, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall," it's poetic; if someone with a foreign accent says the same thing in conversation, it sounds like Yoda.

A. The Declarative Sentence (der Aussagesatz)

I. The Predicate (= Verb Phrase):

The most important concept for determining word order in German is the predicate. Sometimes called the "verb phrase" or "the verbal idea", the predicate can be a complex entity, especially in German. In a declarative sentence, its most basic form contains a finite verb, i.e, the one that changes with the subject: "Der Mann beißt den Hund" (The man bites the dog); "Die Männer beißen den Hund" (The men bite the dog).

a. The Position of the Finite Verb:
In a German declarative sentence, the finite verb always stands in the second position, while other elements can be moved around to indicate emphases in meaning: "Der Mann beißt den Hund"; "Den Hund beißt der Mann."

This rule is so firm that when someone in conversation says, "Weiß ich nicht" or "Tut er nicht," it is clear to everyone that the initial word, "das," has been omitted and that the finite verb is still in the second position.

b. Verb Complements:
But the predicate can comprise more than just the finite verb. When it contains other elements, such as past participles, infinitives, or modal auxiliaries, these elements go to the end of the clause, while the finite part stands in the second position:

Der Mann hat den Hund gebissen (or: Den Hund hat der Mann gebissen.)

The man bit the dog.

Der Mann wird den Hund beißen (or: "Den Hund wird der Mann beißen)

The man will bite the dog.

Der Mann will den Hund beißen (or: "Den Hund will der Mann beißen)

The man wants to bite the dog.

Der Mann wird den Hund beißen wollen. (or: "Den Hund wird der Mann beißen wollen).

The man will want to bite the dog.

Sie geht heute einkaufen. (or: Heute geht sie einkaufen).

She is going shopping today.

Mein Bruder lernt jetzt fahren. (or: Jetzt lernt mein Bruder fahren).

My brother is learning to drive now.

Wann geht Ihr Kind schlafen?

When does your child go to bed?

If the finite verb has a separable prefix, that, too, goes to the end:

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Wir holen meine Mutter am Bahnhof ab.  We're picking my mother up at the train station.

c. Verb Complements Made from Other Parts of Speech:
To some degree in English, but much more so in German, the predicate can contain other parts of speech that combine with the verb conceptually. These "verb complements" are necessary parts of the predicate's meaning, not just augmentations. Here are three common examples: