German Sentence Structure: Main Clauses, Subordinate Clauses, and Questions

In German, there are set rules for sentence structure. The most important rule is about the conjugated verb: it always comes in the second position in a main clause. All other parts of the sentence can be moved around. There are rules for their placement, but these can change depending on what you want to emphasize.

An example of this is the sentence: "Janusch hat immer im Kühlschrank ein Gurkenglas." Here, the verb "hat" is in the second position.

There are different ways to say the same sentence to emphasize different words. The sentence "Janusch hat immer im Kühlschrank ein Gurkenglas" can be written in three ways:

1. Janusch hat immer im Kühlschrank ein Gurkenglas. (The verb is in the second position)
2. Janusch hat im Kühlschrank immer ein Gurkenglas. (Here, "immer" is emphasized)
3. Im Kühlschrank hat Janusch immer ein Gurkenglas. (Here, "im Kühlschrank" is emphasized)

All three versions are correct and possible. You can move a part of the sentence to the front to emphasize it. For example, "immer" or "im Kühlschrank".

Rules for the Main Clause

There are three main rules for forming a German main clause:

1. The conjugated verb is always in the second position. This is the only fixed rule.
2. Indirect objects usually come before direct objects. This means the dative case almost always comes before the accusative case.
3. The "Time, Manner, Place" rule states that when adverbs describe certain circumstances, there is a standard order. For example: "Ich will heute (Time) mit dem Bus (Manner) nach Hause (Place) fahren."

Rules 2 and 3 are guidelines that you can break if you have a specific reason. Only the conjugated verb must always be in the second position.

Emphasis in a Sentence

Sometimes you want to emphasize a specific word in a sentence. For example, if you ask: "Wie gefällt Ihnen heute das Wetter?" (How do you like the weather today?) and the answer is "Heute gefällt mir das Wetter nicht so gut." (I don't like the weather so much today.), then "heute" is emphasized. This means that the weather might be liked on other days, but not specifically "today".

Another possibility would be: "Das Wetter gefällt mir heute nicht so gut." This is the standard version, where there is no special emphasis on "heute".

When the conjugated verb is in the second position, it does not always mean it is the second word in the sentence. It must be the second sentence part. Sentence parts can consist of several words, such as adverbs, subjects, or objects.

An example of this is the sentence: "An diesem Sonntagmorgen gefällt mir das Wetter nicht so gut." Here, "An diesem Sonntagmorgen" are three words, but together they form one sentence part, an adverbial phrase. The verb "gefällt" then comes after this sentence part, meaning it is in the second position in the sentence structure.

Subordinate Clauses

There are different rules for subordinate clauses. Subordinate clauses are parts of sentences that are connected to a main clause by conjunctions. There are two types of conjunctions:

1. Coordinating conjunctions connect two main clauses. This means the sentence structure remains the same as in a main clause. After the conjunction, another main clause follows with the verb in the second position. An example is the word "denn": "Janusch hat immer ein Gurkenglas im Kühlschrank, denn er liebt Gurken." (Janusch always has a jar of cucumbers in the fridge, because he loves cucumbers.) Here, the sentence "er liebt Gurken" has the same sentence structure as a main clause; the verb "liebt" is in the second position.

2. Subordinating conjunctions introduce a subordinate clause. In a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb is always in the last position. An example is the word "weil": "Janusch hat immer ein Gurkenglas im Kühlschrank, weil er Gurken liebt." (Janusch always has a jar of cucumbers in the fridge, because he loves cucumbers.) Here, the verb "liebt" is at the end of the subordinate clause.

You need to learn the conjunctions to know whether they are coordinating or subordinating.

Question Sentences

You can form questions in two ways:

1. With a question word (e.g., "wie", "was", "wann"). In this case, the conjugated verb is in the second position: "Wie gefällt Ihnen das Wetter heute?" (How do you like the weather today?) Here, "gefällt" is in the second position.

2. Without a question word. Then the verb is in the first position: "Gefällt Ihnen das Wetter heute?" (Do you like the weather today?) This type of question is possible with all sentences. You can turn a main clause into a question by putting the verb in the first position.

For example: "Hat Janusch immer Gurken im Kühlschrank?" (Does Janusch always have cucumbers in the fridge?) Here, "Hat" is in the first position. The question is correct and clear, even though it does not have a question word.