German Sentence StructureHow To Form A Sentence

Important building blocks:

subject - the thing performing the action of the sentence verb - the action performed in the sentence direct object - the receiver of the action of the sentence indirect object - the receiver of the direct object

Sentence structure is pretty flexible in German, because of the German case system. Take a look at these three sentences:

All 3 of these sentences make total sense and mean the same thing (The man gives the dog the bone). Each noun in the sentence plays a specific role, indicated by their article.

Even though the positions of the nouns change in each sentence, the roles always stay the same, and so the meaning conveyed stays the same. Only the emphasis is different (the noun at the beginning of the sentence in emphasised).

However, the sentence below, which uses all the same nouns, in the same roles, doesn't make sense:

But why?

Well, although German sentence structure is flexible, there are still rules and patterns to follow in order to make sure the sentence is properly structured. In this case, the correct sentence structure requires for the verb to be placed directly after the first noun.

So, how can we confidently put sentences together, knowing that all the elements are in an order that makes sense?

Let's continue, to find out.

Sentence Positions

A sentence is made up of several elements, each of which can be swapped around and slot into different positions, in a sentence. When is comes to German sentence structure, there are five important such positions to learn.

Here are two sentences that a couple example sentences that use all five of them:

For now, let's just focus on position 1 and 2, that make up the starting blocks of a sentence.

We'll talk about these positions in the next section.

3 Simple German Sentence Structures

Now let's turn our attention to learning three common sentence structures that you'll use all the time. The first is the simplest:

1. The Default Sentence Structure:

This is the go-to sentence structure; the most commonly used.

When using this structure, the subject must be next to the conjugated verb, and the verb must be in position 2.

Use the word picker to build a sentence using the default sentence structure:

@COMPONENT: word picker component with correct answer and english translation of correct answer: die Katze fängt den Vogel Ich will meine Kinder ernähren der Regisseur filmt die Schauspieler

2. The Reorder for Emphasis Sentence Structure

This sentence structure is used whenever any of the other nouns in the sentence other than the subject noun is to be emphasised. To create emphasis, this noun can be placed at the beginning of the sentence, in position 1.

So, for example:

Use the word picker to reorder these sentences using the Reorder for Emphasis Sentence Structure

3. The yes-no question Sentence Structure

When a yes-no question is asked, we can just take the default sentence structure and swap the positions of the subject noun and verb around, so that the verb is at position 1 and the subject is at position 2.

Let's have a look at two examples:

@CHANGE_TEXT Use the word picker to reorder these sentences using the yes-no question Sentence Structure

Well done! 🎉

We have covered the three basic sentence structures. Now let's learn how to built longer, more complex sentences.

Independent Clause + Independent Clause

You may have noticed that all three of the simple sentence structures are used to build main clauses (aka independent clauses).

Now we may level-up, by connecting two independent clauses together, using coordinating conjunctions.

Independent Clauses

Here are some examples of independent clauses combined together, with the use of coordinating conjunctions:

Here, two independent clauses using the default sentence structure are joined with the coordinating conjunction: aber:

Here, two independent clauses using the yes-no question sentence structure are joined with the coordinating conjunction: oder.

In these sentences, the coordinating conjunction is placed just before the second independent clause, in position 0. These sentences are fairly simple to build.

Now, let's take a look at something a little more complication: subordinate clauses.

Independent Clause + Subordinate Clause

A subordinate clause is a clause that cannot make sense on it's own. It must be joined to a main clause, and is done so with a subordinating conjunction.

Subordinating Conjunctions

When using subordinating clauses, the conjugated verb must be placed in the END position.

Here, the independent clause is combined with the subordinating clause, using the subordinating conjunction: weil. The conjugated verb hat, is placed in the END position.

In these sentences, the subordinating conjunction is placed just before the second independent clause, in position 3.

We may also swap the clauses around. When we do this, however, we must place the conjugated verb of the independent clause in position 3.

Here, the independent clause is combined with the subordinating clause, using the subordinating conjunction: weil. The conjugated verb hat, is placed in the END position.

Well done! 🎉

We have covered some important German sentence structures! Now, you'll be ready to form more complex, nuanced sentences than before!

Continue on to the next lesson on connectors, to take a closer look at the special German words that glue clauses together.