Questions tagged [word-order]
Satzstellung – Questions on how to structure group of words to fit grammatical rules.
519
questions
2
votes
2
answers
573
views
"Da" position in subordinate clauses
Why does da change the position in this subordinate clause?
Meine Tante wohnt in Berlin, weil … Sie hat da eine große Wohnung.
Meine Tante wohnt in Berlin, weil sie eine groβe Wohnung da hat.
- 125
2
votes
1
answer
47
views
Etwas wurde kein Partizip Perfekt vs. Kein etwas wurde Partizip Perfekt (word order)
Why would you say "Zahlen wurden aber keine genannt." instead of "Keine Zahlen wurden aber genannt."? To me it sounds wrong. Or maybe they could have opted for Zahlen wurden aber ...
- 516
0
votes
1
answer
97
views
Word order in "Er sagt das mir" or "Er sagt mir das"
I don't understand the word order in "Er sagt das mir" or "Er sagt mir das"
Which one is correct or are both correct?
- 139
1
vote
2
answers
135
views
What determines the order of words when giving a sign impatiently?
I wanted to translate this:
He motioned impatiently for silence.
and said:
Er gab ein Zeichen ungeduldig, um um Ruhe zu bitten.
But I was corrected with:
Er gab ungeduldig ein Zeichen, um um Ruhe ...
- 3,923
2
votes
2
answers
166
views
Translating "Droht Niederösterreich bald Demokratie?"
I read the following headline in a satirical newspaper:
ÖVP nur bei 39%: Droht Niederösterreich bald Demokratie?
Initially, I read it as "ÖVP at only 39%: Is Lower Austria threatening democracy ...
- 23
2
votes
2
answers
757
views
Why does the position of the verb vary?
Why is the verb not consistently in the 2nd position in these sentences?
So weit ich weiß.
So weit das Auge reicht.
So weit ich zurückdenken kann.
So weit reichen meine Fähigkeiten nicht.
So weit ...
- 3,923
1
vote
2
answers
94
views
"Lassen" plus modal verb plus double infinitive
Why is it correct to say:
Ich habe das machen lassen müssen.
Why is it not correct to say:
Ich habe das müssen machen lassen.
- 19
0
votes
3
answers
121
views
Is my translation correct?
The sentence is:
Is your brother well now?
My answer:
Ist deinem Bruder (Dative) besser jetzt.
Correct answer:
Geht es deinem Bruder jetzt besser.
In my answer I feel now that "deinem ...
0
votes
2
answers
86
views
Why does accusative pronoun come before dative pronoun?
So according to my grammar book, when a sentence consists of two pronouns objects the accusative pronoun always precedes the dative pronoun:
Ich kaufe dem Mann die Uhr.
Ich kaufe sie ihm.
Is there ...
1
vote
1
answer
109
views
Grammatical accuracy with re-arranged parts of a sentence
Consider the following English sentence:
Yesterday, I drove in the city with my mother.
I believe the correct way of saying it in German is:
Gestern bin ich mit meiner Mutter in die Stadt gefahren.
...
- 111
1
vote
2
answers
96
views
Komm mit zum Surfen oder Komm zum Surfen mit?
Komm mit zum Surfen!
Komm zum Surfen mit!
I figured out that we either write them in the Mittelfeld or the Nachfeld, and the Particle stays in the Rechte Klammer. Are these two just options you have, ...
- 332
4
votes
1
answer
103
views
Word Order of expressions like Urlaub machen, Deutsch üben
I came across two sentences:
Wir machen jeden Sommer am See Urlaub.
Mein Vater übt gern mit dem Pferd Deutsch
I've looked at some explanations of word order, and they are respectively:
since many ...
- 187
0
votes
3
answers
179
views
Is this word order correct? Why?
I'm studying with Duolingo and occasionally check with other sources for grammar.
For complements, I have read, as a general rule, that
in German the direct object is obligatorily placed before the ...
- 187
5
votes
5
answers
729
views
Word Order for complex sentences?
In the sentence
Die Tests gibt euch dann morgen der Markus zurück.
the structure is
[Objekt] [Verb] [Objekt] [Adverbiale] [Subjekt] [Rest of the Verb]
Is it possible and grammatically correct, ...
- 59
4
votes
4
answers
383
views
Is the word order after "denn" correct?
In the following sentence, is the word order after "denn" correct? I thought that after the word "denn", the verb is supposed to be in the second position?
Als Hassobjekt war er ...
- 43
4
votes
5
answers
335
views
Is the sentence "Er trifft seine Mitbewohner im Café jeden Tag" wrong ? Why?
On a German teaching website, the sentence Er trifft seine Mitbewohner im Café jeden Tag was marked wrong as the translation of He meets his roommates at the coffee shop every day. On the other hand, ...
- 143
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What does "her" at the end of a sentence mean?
Jetzt ist das fünf Jahr her.
I found this sentence in a documentary I was seeing. What does "her" at the end mean? What grammatical object is it?
Some source say it is adverb, if so, ...
- 1,490
2
votes
1
answer
71
views
Placement of genitive of proper names
Among others exhibiting similar variations, these sentences appear in DWDS:
Um eine echte Atmosphäre aus Partikeln und Gas festzuhalten, ist Merkurs Schwerkraft einfach zu schwach.
"Wir nehmen ...
- 3,923
1
vote
1
answer
121
views
Can you break up a sentence or clause in a poem in order to put the verb in the right position.?
I am writing a poem, the key line of which could be,
Mein Liebling ist vertraute.
A verb is supposed to occupy the second position of a sentence. The above follows this pattern. So does an ...
- 12.6k
1
vote
2
answers
113
views
What can I put on the first place in a narrative sentence, if a subject is on the third place?
From the beginning of my German learning way I've always heard that anything can be put on the first or on the third position in a narrative sentence and the only thing you have to do is just to put a ...
- 51
3
votes
1
answer
209
views
Why "alle" is supposed to be put after a declensioned pronoun, but not before?
Writing a practical letter I've faced with next very simple sentence:
Er liebt uns alle.
And why is the only right word order "uns alle" and can't be written as "alle uns"?
For ...
- 51
3
votes
1
answer
205
views
"Sagt dir das etwas?" — warum steht das Dativobjekt vor dem Subjekt?
Normalerweise steht das Subjekt in Ja/Nein-Fragen an zweiter Stelle, sofort nach dem Verb.
Hast du einen Wagen?
Aber im folgenden Satz kommt das Objekt vor das Subjekt:
Sagt dir das etwas?
Ich ...
- 130
1
vote
4
answers
229
views
What determines the placement of weiter?
I have had the impression that adverbs stay close to the verb in German word order. So why is this incorrect (as I was told):
Der Traktor rollte weiter 10 Fuß.
and this is instead correct?
Der ...
- 3,923
3
votes
4
answers
165
views
"keine Zähne putzen" oder "die Zähne nicht putzen"?
Wie ich verstanden habe, es gibt einige Verben/Konstruktionen, die immer ein Objekt oder eine adverbiale Bestimmung brauchen. Ich habe mich daran gewöhnt, diese Objekte/Bestimmungen als trennbare ...
- 130
5
votes
1
answer
198
views
Is there any difference between "jetzt schon" and "schon jetzt"?
Are "jetzt schon" and "schon jetzt" interchangeable? Is one more commonly used than the other? Is one more "formal"?
For example:
Ich freue mich jetzt schon auf das ...
- 1,230
1
vote
1
answer
298
views
Can I rewrite this sentence in this way?
Wir haben nur eine kleine Wohnung, sind aber damit zufrieden.
Can I rewrite the above sentence in this way:
Wir haben nur eine kleine Wohnung, aber wir sind damit zufrieden.
If yes, which sentence ...
user49002
-5
votes
1
answer
80
views
That forbidden salute
Why is it Sieg Heil, with the word for victory coming before the word for hail? Why isn't it Hail Victory?
3
votes
2
answers
131
views
"Deshalb" am Ende des Nebensatzes
Folgendes ist aus dem Roman Tschick von Wolfgang Hernndorf:
Und dann sah Tschick mich lange an und sagte, ich solle nicht glauben,
dass Tatjana mich nicht eingeladen hätte, weil ich langweilig wäre,
...
- 741
3
votes
4
answers
409
views
What is the explanation for the word order here?
Why does "Also, nicht dass ich wüsste." have that particular word order?
Here's the full sentence:
Nein. Also, nicht dass ich wüsste.
user49002
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What does "was geht" mean in this sentence?
Could you please help me decipher what's going on with this sentence?
Im Bergwerk Gittersee wird vor der Schließung im Raubbau noch rausgeholt was geht.
I don't get neither the meaning nor the word ...
- 1,230
1
vote
1
answer
71
views
Is this correct please?
"Ich spiele gern Rugby jeden Tag". Please let me know if this sentence is correct. I know that "Jeden Tag" can be placed at the beginning -- but can we put "gern" and ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
154
views
Ersatzinfinitiv
1.In some verbs, the past participle in the compound tenses is replaced by the present infinitive when it comes immediately after an infinitive,examples below:
ex) Er hilft ihm den Wagen waschen -->...
- 63
0
votes
2
answers
142
views
Confused about German tenses
In the sentence below:
Danach bin ich ganz allein gewesen und [ich] habe gehen müssen, als es zu schlimm geworden ist".
1.When do we have to use "habe"+ infinitive?
I don't know when to ...
- 63
1
vote
1
answer
86
views
German tenses and equivalents of them
I am looking for the equivalents of these structure in English, i don't know when to combine these tenses and why.
1.Perfekt + Passiv + Konjunktiv 1
2.Perfekt + Konjunktiv 1
For example the sentence ...
- 63
4
votes
1
answer
778
views
Why is the verb not in the second position?
Why is the verb not in the second position? Are the following two sentences both imperative sentences? Is that the reason the verb is not in the second position? And what's "versuch's"? ...
user49002
0
votes
2
answers
68
views
How does the word order work in the second sentence?
How does the word order work in the second sentence? Why is the word "mal" in the second position instead of a verb?
Niemand verlässt die Formation. Nicht mal dann, wenn einer von uns ...
user49002
0
votes
1
answer
98
views
How to understand the word order in this sentence?
"Wenn du lächelst, lächelt die Welt auch zurück."
Why is the verb not in the second position in this sentence? Instead, we have "du" in the second position. And why is "...
user49002
5
votes
2
answers
778
views
How does the word order work in this sentence?
"Weißt du, die Frage, wer von uns beiden die cooleren Eltern hat, hat sich für mich irgendwie erübrigt."
In the above sentence, how do we know that the conjugated verb "hat" comes ...
user49002
7
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why is "hätte" not at the end?
Why is "hätte" not at the end? I thought that in a subordinate clause with "wenn", the conjugated verb is the last word and goes at the end? Here's the sentence:
Andere Kinder ...
user49002
0
votes
1
answer
49
views
Hauptsatz nach dem/im Nebensatz
Ist die Wortreihenfolge hier richtig und ist sie das, was ein Muttersprachler aussuchen würde?
Ich esse Karotten, weil ich glaube, sie sind gesund.
Ich frage mich gerade, ob das Wort "weil"...
- 741
2
votes
1
answer
117
views
"daran etwas" or "etwas daran"?
When using "daran etwas" I am wondering if the order ever makes a difference. This sentence was randomly selected from DWDS:
Ja, fällt Ihnen daran etwas auf?
Is there a difference with:
...
- 3,923
0
votes
1
answer
111
views
Correct word order for sentence: Ich esse den Joghurt zum Frühstück [duplicate]
Why does the accusative noun (den Joghurt) go before the dative noun (dem Frühstück) in the following sentence?:
Ich esse den Joghurt zum Frühstück
- 169
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Difference between two possibilities for a warning label
The tripmeter on my car must not be reset when the vehicle is moving; otherwise it may break.
I am wondering what an appropriate warning label for this quirk of German engineering would read, in ...
- 73
0
votes
1
answer
68
views
Word order when using the "Präteritum" of a modal verb (können) with the "Präsens" of another verb (haben) in a subordinating conjunction?
I am trying to write "..., so that he could have a car and other niceties" and I have it translated to "..., damit er ein Auto und andere Annehmlichkeiten haben konnte."
I am ...
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
120
views
Should it be "Ja, ist er" or "Ja er ist"?
While discussing these sentences with 2 native German speakers:
»Ist er für mich, Vati?« »Ja, er ist, Gloria.«
I was corrected to:
»Ja, ist er, Gloria.«
But here are 23 examples of »Ja er ist« in ...
- 3,923
2
votes
0
answers
25
views
Reihenfolge von Verben im Nebensatz? [duplicate]
Was ist richtiger von den folgenden zwei Sätzen:
Mir wurde mitgeteilt, dass ich es hätte abgeben sollen.
Mir wurde mitgeteilt, dass ich es abgeben sollen hätte.
Mir ist klar, dass der erste Satz ...
- 81
2
votes
1
answer
80
views
Verb first clause, why?
In the German and English versions of the same game I ran across:
Er hätte heimkommen sollen, ist er aber nicht.
He should have come home, but he didn't.
(This is said by a woman whose brother has ...
- 9,259
0
votes
1
answer
96
views
Direct vs indirect object order in phrase
I am a little unsure on how to write this with proper grammar:
"Wir erlauben uns Ihnen den Betrag gutzuschreiben" or
"Wir erlauben uns den Betrag Ihnen gutzuschreiben".
I am ...
- 103
0
votes
2
answers
82
views
'in dem' after 'der'? What?
So I was watching this netflix series and the very first sentence goes like this: "Ein Typ, der im Internet Drogen verkauft". I think it means "A guy who sells drugs online". I'm ...
- 93
16
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Word order in German. Shouldn't Duolingo accept this answer?
So I learn German on Duolingo.
I came across this sentence: I sleep in the car during break
I enter as translation: Ich schlafe im Auto in meiner Pause, but Duo flags it as a wrong statement.
Duo ...
- 325