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German sentence structure is the structure to which the German language adheres. German is an OV (Object-Verb) language.[1] Additionally, German, like all west Germanic languages except English, uses V2 word order, though only in independent clauses. In dependent clauses, the finite verb is placed last.
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Declarative sentences use V2 (verb in the second position) word order: the finite verb is preceded by one and only one constituent (unlike in English, this need not be the subject); in Germanic tradition, the position occupied by this constituent is referred to as the prefield (Vorfeld). Coordinating conjunctions like und ('and') or aber ('but') precede both the prefield and the finite verb, and so do topicalised elements (similarly to "that" in English phrases such as "that I don't know"). The prefield is often used to convey emphasis.
Ich sehe den Baum.
ich
I.NOM
seh-e
see.PRS-1SG
den
the.ACC.SG.M
Baum
tree.ACC.SG
ich seh-e den Baum
I.NOM see.PRS-1SG the.ACC.SG.M tree.ACC.SG
'I see the tree.'
Den Baum sehe ich.
den
the.ACC.SG.M
Baum
tree.ACC.SG
seh-e
see.PRS-1SG
ich
I.NOM
den Baum seh-e ich
the.ACC.SG.M tree.ACC.SG see.PRS-1SG I.NOM
'I see the tree.'
Du siehst den Fluss, und ich sehe den Baum.
du
you.SG
siehst
see.PRS.2SG
den
the.ACC.SG.M
Fluss
river.ACC.SG
und
and
ich
I.NOM
seh-e
see.PRS.1SG
den
the.ACC.SG.M
Baum
tree.ACC.SG
du siehst den Fluss und ich seh-e den Baum
you.SG see.PRS.2SG the.ACC.SG.M river.ACC.SG and I.NOM see.PRS.1SG the.ACC.SG.M tree.ACC.SG
'You see the river, and I see the tree.'
Der König, der sah den Fluss.
der
the.NOM.SG.M
König
king.NOM.SG
der
DEM.NOM.SG.M
sah
see.PST.3SG
den
the.ACC.SG.M
Fluss
river.ACC.SG
der König der sah den Fluss
the.NOM.SG.M king.NOM.SG DEM.NOM.SG.M see.PST.3SG the.ACC.SG.M river.ACC.SG
'The king, who saw the river.'
Non-finite verbs as well as separable particles are placed at the end of the sentence:
Der König ist an der Burg angekommen.
der
the.NOM.SG.M
König
king.NOM.SG
ist
be.PRS.3SG
an
at
der
the.DAT.SG.F
Burg
castle.DAT.SG
an=ge-komm-en
on=PST.PTCP1-come-PST.PTCP1
der König ist an der Burg an=ge-komm-en
the.NOM.SG.M king.NOM.SG be.PRS.3SG at the.DAT.SG.F castle.DAT.SG on=PST.PTCP1-come-PST.PTCP1
'The King has arrived (lit. "is on-come") at the castle.'
Der König kam an der Burg an.
der
the.NOM.SG.M
König
king.NOM.SG
kam
come.PST.3SG
an
at
der
the.DAT.SG.F
Burg
castle.DAT.SG
an
on
der König kam an der Burg an
the.NOM.SG.M king.NOM.SG come.PST.3SG at the.DAT.SG.F castle.DAT.SG on
'The King arrived (lit. "on-came") at the castle.'
Der König wird an der Burg ankommen.
der
the.NOM.SG.M
König
king.NOM.SG
wird
will.PRS.3SG
an
at
der
the.DAT.SG.F
Burg
castle.DAT.SG
an=komm-en
on=come-INF
der König wird an der Burg an=komm-en
the.NOM.SG.M king.NOM.SG will.PRS.3SG at the.DAT.SG.F castle.DAT.SG on=come-INF
'The King will arrive (lit. "will on-come") at the castle.'
In the midfield (the part of the clause between the position of the finite verb and that of the clause-final verb cluster), German word order is highly variable.
Conventional German syntax presents information within a sentence in the following order:[citation needed]
Wir gehen am Freitag miteinander ins Kino. Literally, 'We go on Friday together to the movies.'[dubious – discuss]
Wegen ihres Jahrestages bereiten wir unseren Eltern einen Ausflug nach München vor. Literally, 'Because of their anniversary plan we our parents a trip to Munich.'
In conversational past tense, comparisons can be put after both parts of the verb. So:
Er ist größer gewesen als ich. / Er war größer als ich.
OR
Er ist größer als ich gewesen
'He was greater than me.'
German often structure a sentence according to increasing importance of the phrase towards the conversation. So:
Wir gehen am Donnerstag ins Kino. 'We're going to the movies on Thursday.'
BUT
An welchem Tag gehen wir ins Kino? '(On) What day are we going to the movies?'
Am Donnerstag gehen wir ins Kino. 'On Thursday we're going to the movies.'
OR
Wir gehen am Donnerstag ins Kino. 'We're going on Thursday to the movies.'
In ditransitive sentences, pronouns usually go between the verb and all other elements of the sentence:
Florian gibt mir morgen das Buch. 'Florian is giving me tomorrow the book.'
BUT
Florian gibt es mir morgen. 'Florian is giving it to me tomorrow.'
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An inversion is used to emphasize an adverbial phrase, a predicative, an object, or an inner verbal phrase in a sentence. The subject phrase, at the beginning of an indicative unstressed sentence, is moved directly behind the conjugated verb, and the component to be emphasized is moved to the beginning of the sentence. The conjugated verb is always the second sentence element in indicative statements.
Example 1:
Example 2:
Example 3:
Questions are generally divided into yes–no questions and wh-questions.
Specific questions are similar to inverted statements. They begin with a question word, which is followed by the conjugated verb, followed by the subject (if there is one), and then the rest of the sentence.[citation needed]
In yes–no questions, V1 (verb-first) word order is used: the finite verb occupies the first position in the sentence; here, there is no prefield.
Siehst du den Baum?
siehst
see.PRS.2SG
du
you.SG
den
the.ACC.SG.M
Baum
tree.ACC.SG
siehst du den Baum
see.PRS.2SG you.SG the.ACC.SG.M tree.ACC.SG
'Do you see the tree?'
However, conjunctions and topicalised elements still precede the finite verb:
Aber hast du den Baum gesehen?
aber
but
hast
have.PRS.2SG
du
you.SG
den
the.ACC.SG.M
Baum
tree.ACC.SG
ge-seh-en
PST.PTCP1-see-PST.PTCP1
aber hast du den Baum ge-seh-en
but have.PRS.2SG you.SG the.ACC.SG.M tree.ACC.SG PST.PTCP1-see-PST.PTCP1
'But have you seen the tree?'
Den Baum, hast du den gesehen?
den
the.ACC.SG.M
Baum
tree.ACC.SG
hast
have.PRS.2SG
du
you.SG
den
DEM.ACC.SG.M
ge-seh-en
PST.PTCP1-see-PST.PTCP1
den Baum hast du den ge-seh-en
the.ACC.SG.M tree.ACC.SG have.PRS.2SG you.SG DEM.ACC.SG.M PST.PTCP1-see-PST.PTCP1
'The tree, have you seen it?'
Wh questions work in much the same way as they do in English. Like English, German also has Wh-movement:
Welchen Baum hast du gesehen?
welchen
INTERR.DET.ACC.SG.M
Baum
tree.ACC.SG
hast
have.PRS.2SG
du
you.SG
ge-seh-en
PST.PTCP1-see-PST.PTCP1
welchen Baum hast du ge-seh-en
INTERR.DET.ACC.SG.M tree.ACC.SG have.PRS.2SG you.SG PST.PTCP1-see-PST.PTCP1
'What tree have you seen?'
Wohin gehen wir?
wohin
whither
geh-en
go.PRS-1PL
wir
we.NOM
wohin geh-en wir
whither go.PRS-1PL we.NOM
'Where are we going?'
For commands, the imperative mood is used. Like questions, commands use V1 word order:
Reich(e) mir das Salz!
reich-(e)
pass-IMP.SG
mir
I.DAT
das
the.ACC.SG.N
Salz
salt.ACC.SG
reich-(e) mir das Salz
pass-IMP.SG I.DAT the.ACC.SG.N salt.ACC.SG
'Pass me the salt!'
In contemporary German, the imperative singular ending -e is usually omitted. The second-person-singular pronouns du 'you (sg)' and ihr 'you (pl)' are always omitted, except in highly formal or literary language:
Bringe du mir das Buch!
bring-e
fetch-IMP.SG
du
you.SG
mir
I.DAT
das
the.ACC.SG.N
Buch
book.ACC.SG
bring-e du mir das Buch
fetch-IMP.SG you.SG I.DAT the.ACC.SG.N book.ACC.SG
'Fetch me the book!'
Like in English, nouns or non-finite verb forms can sometimes be used to give commands:
Achtung Stufe!
Achtung
attention.NOM.SG
Stufe
step.NOM.SG
Achtung Stufe
attention.NOM.SG step.NOM.SG
'Mind the step!'
Warm anziehen nicht vergessen!
warm
warm.ADJ
an=zieh-en
on=pull-INF
nicht
not
vergess-en
forget-INF
warm an=zieh-en nicht vergess-en
warm.ADJ on=pull-INF not forget-INF
'Don't forget to dress warmly!'
Subordinate clauses use Vfinal word order.
Using dass 'that':
Ich weiß, dass er hier ist.
Ich
I.NOM
weiß
know.PRS.1SG
dass
that
er
he.NOM
hier
here
ist
be.PRS.3SG
Ich weiß dass er hier ist
I.NOM know.PRS.1SG that he.NOM here be.PRS.3SG
'I know that he's here.'
Wer hat dir erzählt, dass ich nach England ziehen werde?
wer
who.NOM
hat
have.PRS.3SG
dir
you.DAT.SG
erzähl-t
tell.PST.PTCP
dass
that
ich
I.NOM
nach
to
England
England.NOM
zieh-en
move.INF
werd-e
will.PRS.1SG
wer hat dir erzähl-t dass ich nach England zieh-en werd-e
who.NOM have.PRS.3SG you.DAT.SG tell.PST.PTCP that I.NOM to England.NOM move.INF will.PRS.1SG
'Who told you that I'm moving to England?'
Dass zwei größer als eins ist, ist selbstverständlich
dass
that
zwei
two
größer
greater
als
than
eins
one
ist,
be.PRS.3SG
ist
be.PRS.3SG
selbstverständlich
obvious
dass zwei größer als eins ist, ist selbstverständlich
that two greater than one be.PRS.3SG be.PRS.3SG obvious
'That two is greater than one is obvious.'
Sie schrieb es nieder, sodass sie es nicht vergessen würde.
sie
she.NOM
schrieb
write.PRET.3SG
es
it.ACC
nieder
down
sodass
so.that
sie
she.NOM
es
it.ACC
nicht
not
vergess-en
forget.INF
würd-e
will.SUBJII-3SG
sie schrieb es nieder sodass sie es nicht vergess-en würd-e
she.NOM write.PRET.3SG it.ACC down so.that she.NOM it.ACC not forget.INF will.SUBJII-3SG
'She wrote it down so that she would not forget it.'
Wir sollten uns beeilen, damit wir rechtzeitig ankommen.
wir
we.NOM
soll-t-en
shall-PRET-1PL
uns
we.REFL
beeil-en
hurry-INF
damit
in.order.that
wir
we.NOM
rechtzeitig
in.time
an=komm-en
on=.come-INF
wir soll-t-en uns beeil-en damit wir rechtzeitig an=komm-en
we.NOM shall-PRET-1PL we.REFL hurry-INF in.order.that we.NOM in.time on=.come-INF
'We should hurry so that we arrive in time.'
Ich helfe dir, weil ich dich mag.
ich
I.NOM
helf-e
help.PRS-1SG
dir
you.SG.DAT
weil
because
ich
I.NOM
dich
you.ACC
mag
like.PRS.1SG
ich helf-e dir weil ich dich mag
I.NOM help.PRS-1SG you.SG.DAT because I.NOM you.ACC like.PRS.1SG
'I help you because I like you.'
There are two varieties of relative clauses. The more common one is based on the definite article der, die, das, but with distinctive forms in the genitive (dessen, deren) and in the dative plural (denen). Historically, this is related to the English that. The second, which is typically used in more literary contexts and used for emphasis, is the relative use of welcher, welche, welches, comparable with English which. As in most Germanic languages, including Old English, both of these varieties inflect according to gender, case and number. They take their gender and number from the noun which they modify, but the case from their function in their own clause.
The relative pronoun dem is neuter singular to agree with Haus, but dative because it follows a preposition in its own clause. On the same basis, it would be possible to substitute the pronoun welchem.
However, German uses the uninflecting was ('what') as a relative pronoun when the antecedent is alles, etwasornichts ('everything', 'something', 'nothing'.).
In German, all relative clauses are marked with commas.
Alternatively, particularly in formal registers, participles (both active and passive) can be used to embed relative clauses in adjectival phrases:
Unlike English, which only permits relatively small participle phrases in adjectival positions (typically just the participle and adverbs), and disallows the use of direct objects for active participles, German sentences of this sort can embed clauses of arbitrary complexity.
Asubordinate clause (Nebensatz) is always incorporated in a main clause (or another subordinate clause). Any part of the main clause can be replaced by it, but some conjugated verb must remain. However, subclauses are generally moved to the end of the sentence if it can be done without inconvenience and they do not take the first place because of importance. As for word order, it differs in two things from the main clause:
Question words (in the following example, 'wohin') have the same effect as subordinating conjunctions within a sentence:
Wohin ist er gelaufen? Niemand wusste, wohin er gelaufen ist.
'Where did he run (to)? No one knew where he ran (to).'
Unlike in English, a subordinate or dependent clause is always separated from the independent clause (Hauptsatz) by a comma.
Exceptions:
Just as in English, a subordinate clause may be used at the beginning or end of a complete expression, so long as it is paired with at least one independent clause. For instance, just as one could say either:
so can one also say in German:
In German when the independent clause comes after a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb comes before the subject. This arises from the rule that always places the conjugated verb in a sentence in the second position, even if that puts it ahead of the sentence's subject.
Subordinate clauses beginning with dass [thus, so, that] enable the speaker to use statements like nominal phrases or pronouns. These sentences are singular, neuter and either nominative or accusative. For example:
Whereas the word dass indicates that the statement is a fact, ob starts an indirect yes/no question.
The outer nominal phrase the relative clause relates to can be any nominal phrase in any case. The clause begins with a form of the relative pronoun derived from and largely identical to the definite pronoun (der/die/das), or the interrogative pronoun (welchem/welcher/welches), the remaining words are put after it. Using the interrogative pronoun without a specific reason is considered typical for legalese language.
The outer nominal phrase can also be the possessor of a noun inside. The genitive case of a relative pronoun matching the outer nominal phrase in gender and number is used:
Prepositions/postpositions are attached to these phrases in the relative clause if necessary:
If the relative pronoun is identical to the definite article several identical forms may follow each other:
Such constructions are generally avoided by using forms of welch- as relative pronouns:
or rather
Otherwise, welcher is rarely used (never in the genitive), and without a difference in meaning. If the relative pronoun refers to a thing as yet unknown or a whole sentence and not a part of it, was is used instead, always equivalent here to an English "which":
From sentences such as this which is altogether correct, being a locational adverb:
Colloquial usage extends this to other quasi-locational prepositional expressions:
In slang, this extends to all relative clauses:
This form is never used in Bavaria. Southern Germans have constructed a double form "der wo, die wo, das wo" which, however, is almost necessary in the Bavarian dialect. "Wo" may here be replaced by "was", which occurs mostly in the feminine gender.
An adverbial clause begins with a conjunction, defining its relation to the verb or nominal phrase described.
Some examples of conjunctions: als, während, nachdem, weil.