Why is the word order in this sentence is this way:
Wir bringen den Stuhl zur Schwester.
I was learning on duolingo and I came across this sentence which has a word order different than all the other similar sentence in the same lesson but I dont understand why. Why is it not
Wir bringen der Schwester den Stuhl.
The anwer guidot gave, already stated that “there is no single word order in German”, and that's why it is so important that the flexion endings clarify the relation.
The emphasis part seems not quite correct to me. As it is usually hard to understand emphasis from telling “the rules” alone, here two realistic Q&A examples to help you understand:
Q: Wohin bringen wir den Stuhl? A: Wir bringen den Stuhl zur Schwester.
Q: Was bringen wir der Schwester? A: Wir bringen der Schwester den Stuhl.
From my perspective, the emphasis in both answers lies on the end. Typically beginnings and endings of things we observe over time get the most attention. In the Q&A examples shown above, the emphasis is placed on that part of the sentence that answers the question.
There is also a difference in meaning between der (Wem?) and zu der (=zur, Wohin?), that I try to explain with two alternative answer sentences with the emphasis in the beginning of the answer:
Q: Wem bringen wir den Stuhl? A: Der Schwester bringen wir den Stuhl.
Q: Was bringen wir zur Schwester? A: Den Stuhl bringen wir zur Schwester.
In all four answer sentences the emphasis is given to that part that isn't already known from the question.
I assume that the problem is that, while the sentences feel roughly synonymous, the word order is different. The interesting part of the sentences is the one I put in square brackets, the so-called Mittelfeld (Wikipedia).
Wir haben [ den Stuhl zur Schwester ] gebracht.
Wir haben [ der Schwester den Stuhl ] gebracht.
While it is true that German word order in the Mittelfeld is somewhat flexible, there is almost always a neutral word order. In the given instance, both sentences are in neutral order and the difference between the two has absolutely nothing to do with emphasis.
Rather, the difference is grammatical: der Schwester is a dative object, whereas zur Schwester is a prepositional phrase specifying a direction. The two rules that guide word order in these sentences are:
Prepositional phrases specifying a direction occur on the right edge of the Mittelfeld
Dative objects precede accusative objects (for nouns)
It we introduce some additional rules, we can have some new variations:
Accusative objects precede dative objects (for pronouns)
Pronouns before nouns, at the left edge of the Mittelfeld
Wir haben [ ihn ihr ] gebracht. (ihn=den Stuhl, ihr=der Schwester)
Wir haben [ ihn der Schwester ] gebracht.
Wir haben [ ihr den Stuhl ] gebracht.
Some further reading regarding the subject of word order is provided by Dartmouth College.
There is no single order in German.
Both sentences are possible, depending on what was talked about earlier. (I would guess, that this is more likely to be Schwester, so the second example is then more appropriate, since it mentions Schwester early giving it more emphasis.)
There is basically one "constant" in German. The second position of the sentence must be occupied by a verb (bringen, in this case).
Otherwise, the order of the sentence is flexible. Example:
The noun modifier endings do the rest of the work. "Den" is accusative and makes Stuhl the direct object. "Zur" is dative, and makes Schwester the indirect object. Wir is the subject. Because of these facts, the order of these items doesn't matter.
