{"id":508,"date":"2010-07-22T15:44:54","date_gmt":"2010-07-22T15:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=508"},"modified":"2010-07-22T15:46:30","modified_gmt":"2010-07-22T15:46:30","slug":"mastering-german-word-order-ii-main-clauses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/mastering-german-word-order-ii-main-clauses\/","title":{"rendered":"Mastering German word order II: main clauses"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my previous post, I explained the word order of a basic German sentence, containing the following grammatical entities:<\/p>\n

S = subject: ich (I)<\/p>\n

V = verb: schreibe (am writing)<\/p>\n

O = object: einen Brief (a letter)<\/p>\n

T = time: heute (today)<\/p>\n

L = location: im B\u00fcro (at the office)<\/p>\n

My example sentence was:<\/p>\n

Ich schreibe einen Brief.<\/strong> (S+V+O) \u2013 I am writing a letter.<\/p>\n

To where I added the information about the TIME<\/span> and LOCATION<\/span> of my action:<\/p>\n

Ich schreibe heute<\/span><\/strong> einen Brief im B\u00fcro<\/span><\/strong>.<\/strong> (S+V+T<\/span>+O+L<\/span>) \u2013 Today I am writing a letter at the office.<\/p>\n

In this post I am going to explain what I have to do when I want to attach the TIME or LOCATION of my action at the beginning of a sentence.<\/p>\n

When doing this, I have to make sure to execute some word shift. That is, I have to interchange the subject and the verb. So, the word order is no longer subject + verb<\/strong> (ich schreibe) but becomes verb + subject<\/strong> (schreibe ich). Compare:<\/p>\n

Ich<\/span><\/strong> schreibe<\/span><\/strong> heute<\/span><\/strong> einen Brief im B\u00fcro. (S<\/span><\/strong>+V<\/span><\/strong>+T<\/span><\/strong>+O+L)<\/strong><\/p>\n

and<\/p>\n

Heute<\/span><\/strong> schreibe<\/span> ich<\/span> einen Brief im B\u00fcro. (T<\/span><\/strong>+V<\/span><\/strong>+S<\/span><\/strong>+O+L)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In German we call this \u201cversetzte Wortreihenfolge\u201d (SHIFTED WORD ORDER). Unfortunately, I cannot give a logical explanation why we interchange the subject and verb here, but it would just sound odd if we didn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

I can also add the LOCATION at the beginning of my sentence, which asks for the word shift, too. Compare:<\/p>\n

Ich<\/span><\/strong> schreibe<\/span><\/strong> heute einen Brief im B\u00fcro<\/span><\/strong>.<\/strong> (S<\/span>+V<\/span>+T+O+L<\/span>)<\/p>\n

and<\/p>\n

Im B\u00fcro<\/span><\/strong> schreibe<\/span><\/strong> ich<\/span><\/strong> heute einen Brief.<\/strong> (L<\/span>+V<\/span>+S<\/span>+T+O)<\/p>\n

All you have to do is to bring the TIME or LOCATION at the beginning of the sentence, execute the word shift (S+V becomes V+S) and the rest of the sentence remains unchanged.<\/p>\n

Here is the key of my last post\u2019s exercise:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Sie<\/span><\/strong> liest<\/span> heute<\/span> Abend<\/span> ein Buch in der Bibliothek<\/span>.<\/strong> (Sie<\/span> liest<\/span> heute Abend<\/span> in der Bibliothek<\/span> ein Buch.) \u2013 Tonight she is reading a book in the library.<\/li>\n
  2. Er<\/span><\/strong> trinkt<\/span> morgens<\/span> eine Tasse Kaffee im Garten<\/span>.<\/strong> (Er<\/span> trinkt<\/span> morgens<\/span> im Garten<\/span> eine Tasse Kaffee.) \u2013 In the morning he is drinking a cup of coffee in the garden.<\/li>\n
  3. Sie<\/span><\/strong> kaufen<\/span> freitags<\/span> Lebensmittel im Supermarkt<\/span>.<\/strong> (Sie<\/span> kaufen<\/span> freitags<\/span> im Supermarkt<\/span> Lebensmittel.) \u2013 On Fridays they are buying groceries in the supermarket.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you like, you can apply the rule I have just explained to these sentences in order to exercise the construction of German sentences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In my previous post, I explained the word order of a basic German sentence, containing the following grammatical entities: S = subject: ich (I) V = verb: schreibe (am writing) O = object: einen Brief (a letter) T = time: heute (today) L = location: im B\u00fcro (at the office) My example sentence was: Ich…<\/p>\n

    Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[10206,10205,10203,3356,10275],"class_list":["post-508","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-language","tag-active-sentences","tag-declarative-sentences","tag-main-clauses","tag-present-tense","tag-shifted-word-order"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t