German Word Order For Beginners
Word order in German is follows stricter rules than other European languages. That’s why we introduce beginner German courses German syntax early on. In this blog post, we will teach you everything beginners need to learn about German word order.
The golden rule for the sequence of words in simple German sentence is that the conjugated verb must be in second grammatical position, irrespective of whether the sentence begins the subject (as it usually does) or with the time or location (for reasons of emphasis).
Ich spiele gern Tennis (I like to play tennis)
Er liest jetzt ein Buch (He is reading a book)
Sie wohnt in Deutschland (She lives in Germany)
Jetzt liest er ein Buch (Now he is reading a book)
In Deutschland wohnt sie (She lives in Germany)
There is no difference in meaning between the sentences that begin with the subject and those that begin with either time or location. The same word order is used in questions with a question word.
Wie heißen Sie? (What is your name)
Was sind Sie von Beruf? (What is your profession)
Woher kommst du? (Where do you come from)
We said the conjugated verb must be in second grammatical position. Now we can look at the only exception in simple German sentences, which are yes/no questions. In such questions, the conjugated verb goes first.
Sprichst du Deutsch? (Do you speak German?)
Wohnen Sie in London? (Do you live in London)
Arbeitet ihr in Berlin? (Do you all work in Berlin)
Taking yes/no questions as exceptions into account, we can summarise by saying:
The conjugated verb in German must be in second position, unless it’s a yes/no question where the conjugated verb goes first.
Of course, things will get a bit more complicated at higher levels. So if you’re already at A2 level or beyond, check out our complete guide on German word order.
This article is a revised version of my earlier blog post on a beginner guide to German word order.
