German Sentence Structure

Let's learn how to build sentences with confidence, in German.


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

Der Mann gibt dem Hund den Knochen.
Dem Hund gibt der Mann den Knochen.
Den Knochen gibt der Mann dem Hund.

All three of these sentences make sense and mean the same thing (The man gives the dog the bone). This is because each noun in the sentence plays a specific role, indicated by their article.

CaseNounRole
Nominativeder MannSubject
Accusativeden KnochenDirect Object
Dativedem HundIndirect Object

These roles are important to keep in mind, for this lesson:

Building BlockDescription
SubjectThe thing performing the action of the sentence
VerbThe action performed in the sentence
Direct ObjectThe receiver of the action of the sentence
Indirect ObjectThe receiver of the direct object

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 too. Only the emphasis is different; the noun at the beginning of the sentence is emphasised.

Der Mann gibt dem Hund den Knochen.

The man gives the dog the bone.
Dem Hund gibt der Mann den Knochen.

The dog is given the bone by the man.
Den Knochen gibt der Mann dem Hund.

The bone is given to the dog by the man.

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

Dem Hund den Knochen gibt der Mann.

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 slotted 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 use all five of them:

Position 1
Der Mann
1
Position 2
isst
2
den Apfel,
Position 3
weil
3
er
Hunger
End Position
hat.
end
Der Mann
isst
den Apfel,
Position 0
aber
0
er
hat
noch
Hunger.

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

Here are three common sentence structures that you'll use all the time. The first is the simplest:

Sentence Structure Number One: Default

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

Subject Noun
+
Conjugated Verb
+
Object Nouns
+
Verb

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

Subject
Die Frau
1
Conjugated Verb
isst
2
Object Noun
einen Apfel.
Subject
Die Frau
1
Conjugated Verb
will
2
Object Noun
einen Apfel
Verb
essen.

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

Sentence Structure Number Two: Reorder for Emphasis

This sentence structure is used whenever any of the 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.

Object Noun
+
Conjugated Verb
+
Subject Noun
+
Verb

So, for example:

Object Noun
Einen Apfel.
1
Conjugated Verb
isst
2
Subject
die Frau
Object Noun
Einen Apfel
1
Conjugated Verb
will
2
Subject
die Frau
Verb
essen.

Reorder these sentences using the Reorder for Emphasis Sentence Structure:

StatementQuestion
Der Künstler malt ein Bild für meine Mutter.Für meine Mutter malt der Künstler ein Bild.
Der Zahnarzt hat zwei Zähne gezogen.
Der Großvater schenkt dem Enkel eine Uhr.

Sentence Structure Number Three: The yes-no question

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.

Conjugated Verb
+
Subject Noun
+
Object Nouns
+
Verbs

Let's have a look at two examples:

Conjugated Verb
Hat
1
Subject
die Frau
2
Object Noun
den Apfel
Verb
gegessen?
Conjugated Verb
Will
1
Subject
die Frau
2
Object Noun
den Apfel
Verb
essen?

Reorder these sentences using the Yes-No Question Sentence Structure:

StatementQuestion
Der Löwe will das Zebra zum Abendessen essen.Will der Löwe das Zebra zum Abendessen essen?
Der Fisch schwimmt durch den See.
Du schenkst ihr Blumen.

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 can level-up, by connecting two independent clauses together, using coordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating Conjunctions

aber
but
und
and
oder
or
sondern
but rather
denn
because
entweder ... oder
either ... or

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

Example one:

Subject
Der Mann
1
Conjugated Verb
will
2
Object Noun
ein Bier
trinken,
Conjunction
aber
0
Subject
er
1
Conjugated Verb
ist
2
Adverb
krank.
end

Example two:

Conjugated Verb
Willst
1
Subject
du
2
Conjugated Verb
ausgehen,
Conjunction
oder
0
Conjugated Verb
willst
1
Subject
du
2
Object Noun
zuhause
Verb
bleiben?
end

In these sentences, the coordinating conjunction is placed just before the second independent clause, in position 0.

Hopefully, you'll find that these sentences are fairly straightforward to build.

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

Independent Clause + Subordinate Clause

A subordinate clause is a clause that does not make sense on it's own. It must be connected to an independent clause, and is done so with a subordinating conjunction.

Subordinating Conjunctions

als
when
als ob
as if
bevor
before
dass
that
ob
if / whether
weil
because

Coordinating conjunctions → connect two independent clauses.
Subordinating conjunctions → connect an independent and subordinating clause.

All interrogative words and relative pronouns can also be used as subordinating conjunctions.

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

Subject
Die Frau
1
Conjugated Verb
isst
2
Object Noun
den Apfel,
Conjunction
weil
3
Subject
sie
Object Noun
Hunger
Conjugated Verb
hat.
end

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

In these sentences, the subordinating conjunction is therefore 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.

Conjunction
Weil
1
Subject
sie
2
Object Noun
Hunger
Conjugated Verb
hat,
Conjugated Verb
isst
3
Subject
die Frau
Object Noun
den Apfel.
end

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

Well done! 🎉

We have covered some important German sentence structures.

Continue on to the next lesson on, where we'll learn how to Compare Things, in German.



Podcast

Explore Our Podcast

Explore our intermediate podcast about contemporary German culture, history, philosophy & more. Each episode is spoken at a slow pace, and includes a transcript.

About

Sloeful German is a language learning platform focused on immersive learning. We assist you in achieving fluency, through engaging content tailored to your level.
Downloads

Follow

Join Us