Word Order of Sentences and Clauses: Sentences are grammatically independent units of expression. A sentence comprises one or more clauses. A clause has both a subject (sometimes understood) and a predicate ( verb) and it functions either as an independent unit (main clause) or as a dependent unit (subordinate clause used as an adverb, an adjective, or a noun).
Sentences are classified according to structure and function.
| SIMPLE: COMPOUND: COMPLEX: COMPOUND-COMPLEX: | Ich weiß. Ich weiß aber sie wissen auch. Ich weiß daß sie wissen. Ich weiß und sie wissen daß ich weiß. | (I know.) [main clause] (I know but they know also.) [two main clauses] (I know that they know.) [main clause/sub. clause] (I know and they know that I know.) [two main clauses/subordinate clause] |
| DECLARATIVE: IMPERATIVE: INTERROGATIVE: EXCLAMATORY: | Ich gehe nach Hause. Gehe (Gehen Sie) nach Hause! Gehst du (Gehen Sie) nach Hause? Ginge ich auch nach Hause! | (I'm going home.) [statement] (Go home!) [command] (Are you going home!) [question] (Would I were also going home!) [exclamatory] |
emphasized other elements | (objects, adverbs, adverbial phrases) | or separable prefixes | |
The above pattern is varied to shift emphasis as shown below:
e r b a l P r e f i x | Participle | |||||
Object | Adverbs, Prepositional Phrases etc. | |||||
Object | ||||||
Phrase | ||||||
clause | ||||||
Take the simple declarative sentence Der Mann gibt dem Kind den Brief. (The man gives the child the letter.) This sentence can be varied as follows:
Dem Kind Den Brief | gibt gibt | der Mann der Mann | den Brief dem Kind |
The finite verb is move to the first position in simple imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences. When it is expressed, the subject follows the verb. When interrogative adverbs or adverbial expressions are used, they precede the finite verb. Typical interrogative adverbs and adverbial expression are as follows:
Interrogative pronouns are used in the same way as adverbs but they are inflected to indicate declension:
| wer (who) wen (whom) wem (whom) wessen (whose) | Wer sind Sie? (Who are you?) Wen sahen Sie? (Whom did you see?) Wem gab Sie das Buch? (To whom did you give the book are you?) In wessen Haus wohnst du? (In whose house do you live?) |
Interrogative adjectives are used somewhat differently:
| was für ein (what kind of) wie viele(how many) | Was für ein Mensch bist du? (What sort of person are you?) Wie viele Kinder haben sie? (How many children do they have?) |
Compound and complex sentences usually joined clauses with conjunctions.
Conjunctions: There are two types of conjunctions; coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions join two main clauses of equal grammatical value. Subordinating conjunctions joins a dependent clause to another clause. Coordinating conjunctions do not affect the regular word order of either clause. Subordinating conjunctions change the word order of the dependent clause. The coordinating conjunctions are as follows:
| aber (but) denn (for) oder (or) sondern (but*) und (and) | Ich mußte lernen, aber er ging ins Kino. Ich gehe nicht mit, denn ich muß lernen. Ich muß lernen, oder ich falle durch. Ich ging nicht mit, sondern ich blieb zu Hause. Ich blieb zu Hause und er ging ins Kino. | I had to study but he went to the movies. I'm not going along for I must study. I must study or I will fail. I didn't go along but (instead) I stayed at home. I stayed at home and he went to the movies. |
Several coordinating conjunctions come in pairs. Each term in the pair may be followed by a single word or a clause. The word order in these clauses may vary to change emphasis. The word order is not changed if the two terms of the coordinate pair occur in the same clause. If neither clause is emphasized or if emphasis is on the objects of the verbs, these conjunctions (except oder) are treated as adverbs and come after the finite verb. If the subjects are emphasized, they are placed first in each clause. If the verbs are emphasized, they are placed first. These conjunction pairs are:
Entweder du holst ihn ab oder ich hole ihn ab. (Either you pick him up or I pick him up.) Entweder geht er zu Fuß oder er geht nicht. (Either he goes on foot or he doesn't go.) Du bist entweder sehr dumm oder sehr schlau. (You are either very stupid or very sly.) |
Weder Sie noch ich gehen mit. (Neither you nor I am going along.) Er ist weder reich noch arm. (He is neither rich nor poor.) Weder lachte er noch weinte er. {He neither laughed nor cried.) |
Ich bin nicht nur arbeitslos sondern auch obdachlos. (Not only am I unemployed, but also homeless.) Er war nicht nur ein Bösewicht, sondern auch gefährlich. (He was not only a villain but also dangerous.) Nicht nur du, sondern auch ich fühle mich nicht wohl. (Not only you but I also don't feel well [either].) |
Je mehr ich fluchte, desto lauter lachte sie. (The more I cursed, the louder she laughed.) Je mehr, desto besser. (The more the better.) Je mehr man Deutsch hört, desto besser versteht man es. (The more you hear German, the more you understand.) |
Je mehr er aß, um so dicker wurde er. (The more he ate, the fatter he became.) Je eher, um so lieber [besser]. (The sooner the better.) Je länger ich meine Frau kannte, um so lieber hatte ich sie. (The longer I knew my wife the more I loved her.) |
| Note: The verb comes at the end of the je clause and at the beginning of the desto or um so clause. |
Subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses which are separated from the main clause by a comma. The verb of a dependent clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction is found at the end of the dependent clause. When the dependent clause is the first element in the sentence, the subject of the main clause follows its finite verb. The most common subordinating conjunctions follow:
| als (when) als ob (as if) bevor (before) bis (until) da (since, as) damit (so that) daß (that) ehe (before) nachdem (after) ob (if, whether) obgleich (although) obwohl (although) seit (since) seitdem (since) sobald (as soon as) trotzdem (despite) während (while) weil (because) wenn (when, if) wann (when?) | Als er ins Zimmer kam, stand der Student auf. Sie sehen aus, als ob Sie krank gewesen wären. Du mußt mir helfen, bevor du gehst. Ich muß warten, bis er ankommt. Ich mußte warten, da er noch nicht da war. Ich rufe ihn an, damit er nicht kommt. Ich weiß, daß er nicht kommt. Gehen wir nach Hause, ehe es regnet. Er schlief ein, nachdem er gegessen hatte. Sie wollten wissen, ob sie gehen dürfen. Obgleich ich nicht gehen kann, gehen Sie allein. Ich muß noch lernen, obwohl es spät ist. Er ist immer müde, seit er keine Ruhe hat. Seitdem er arbeitet, hat er keine Zeit. Wir gingen nach Hause, sobald er kam. Ich lernte, während er spielte. Ich muß hier bleiben, weil ich kein Geld habe. Wenn er zurückkommt, essen wir. Wissen Sie, wann er kommt? | When he came in the room, the student stood up. You look as if (like) you've been sick. You must help me before you go. I must wait until he arrives. I had to wait since he still wasn't there . I'll call him so he won't come. I know that he is not coming. Let us go home before it rains. He fell asleep after he had eaten. They wanted to know if (whether) they might go. Although I can't go, you go alone. I must still study although it is late. He is always tired since he gets no peace. Since he has been working he has no time. We went home as soon as he came. I studied while he played. I must stay here because I have no money. When (if) he comes back we'll eat. Do you know when he is coming? |
When is expressed three ways in German.
- Als refers to events in the past. Als ich jung war... (When I was young..)
Wann as a question. Wann kommst du zurück? (When do you return?)
Wenn is used for future events or means "whenever." Wir essen, wenn er kommt. (We eat when he comes.)
Wenn can also mean "if," especially when used with the conditional. Wir werden ihn ja sehen, wenn er kommt. (We will see him if he comes.)
The complex sentence follows the following pattern when the main clause comes first:
Verb | Elements | Other elements | |||
*Germans usually use present tense in such sentences. | |||||
If the dependent clause precedes the main clause, the subject and verb in the main clause are reversed:
Other elements | Verb | Elements | |||
The subordinating conjunction daß (that) can be omitted in German as it can in English. For example, one can say; "I know that he will come" or one can say "I know he will come." When the subordinating conjunction is omitted in German, the dependent clause becomes a main clause, and the word order is changed appropriately. The subject is followed immediately by the (inflected) verb. Examine the following:
| Ich weiß, daß er kommen wird. | (I know that he will come.) |
| Ich weiß, er wird kommen. | (I know he will come.) |
Direct and indirect objects have an order of precedence although there is some freedom allowed for emphasis. This order of precedence is as follows. If both the direct and indirect objects are nouns, the indirect object comes first:
Der Kellner brachte dem Gast[indirect object] das Bier[direct object]. (The waiter brought the guest the beer.)
If either the direct object of the indirect object is a pronoun, it will precede the noun:
Der Kellner brachte ihm[indirect object] das Bier[direct object]. (The waiter brought him the beer.)
Der Kellner brachte es [direct object] dem Gast[indirect object]. (The waiter brought it [to] the guest.)
If both the direct and indirect objects are pronouns, the accusative (direct object) precedes the dative (indirect):
Der Kellner brachte es[direct object] ihm[indirect object]. (The waiter brought it [to] him.)
Pronoun objects may precede or follow a noun subject if the subject is not in the first position:
Ich weiß, daß ihm[indirect object] der Kellner[subject] ein Glas Bier[direct object] gebracht hatte .
Ich weiß, daß der Kellner[subject] ihm[indirect object] ein Glas Bier[direct object] gebracht hatte .
(I know that the waiter had brought him a glass of beer.)
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