Welcome to another week of Dear Duolingo, an advice column just for learners. Catch up on past installments here.

Hallo, Duolingo learners! This week we’ve got another great question about German and how to form sentences. We’ve talked before about using little “formulas” to help you build sentences in a new language, and this is especially useful for German learners. This week’s question makes it clear why. Let’s take a look!

Our question this week:

Illustration of a letter to Dear Duolingo that reads: Dear Duolingo, I’ve read that there are certain formulas for making German sentences, but I find them a little confusing. Can you tell me more about how they work? Thanks, S.V.OhNo

Great question! You’re right, S.V.OhNo, German has several formulas that beginners need to know, so let’s dig in!

In this post:

German sentence structure 101

A basic English sentence generally starts with the subject, followed by the verb, followed by the object, as in Maria is drinking tea. German will often use this order, too:

SUBJECT ➕ VERB ➕ OBJECT
Maria
(Maria)		 ➕ trinkt
(is drinking)		 ➕ Tee.
(tea)
🟰
Maria trinkt Tee.
(Maria is drinking tea.)

Does that mean German sentences always follow a subject–verb–object structure? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

German word order depends on a range of factors, including the type of sentence (for example, a statement or a question) and the type of clause (a main clause or a dependent clause).

For now, let’s focus on basic main clauses. If you’re wondering whether these sentences always follow a subject–verb–object structure, we have to disappoint you once again. German word order is actually quite flexible—and that’s one of the things that can make it seem a little confusing at first.

So, how do you know where the different parts of a German sentence go? One useful way to understand German word order is to think of a sentence as a series of “slots.” In the example above, the subject (Maria) occupies the first slot. But the crucial thing to notice is what happens in the second slot.

💡
In German, the second slot of a basic sentence is reserved for the conjugated verb.

Now, hold on. What exactly is a conjugated verb, and how can you identify it? A conjugated verb is a form of the verb that changes to match the subject and the tense. It tells us something about who is carrying out the action and when it is happening.


Take the German verb kaufen (to buy), for example. The conjugated form kaufst (buy) tells us that the subject is du (you, singular) and that the action is happening in the present. Kauftest (bought) tells us that the same subject—du—carried out the action in the past.

Conjugated verb forms like these go in the second slot of a German main clause. This is why German is often called a V2 (verb-second) language. There are plenty of places where you can look up verb conjugations, by the way, including Duden’s conjugation tables.

FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT FOURTH SLOT
Du
(You)		 kaufst
(buy)		 immer
(always)		 frisches Brot.
(fresh bread)
🟰
Du kaufst immer frisches Brot.
(You always buy fresh bread.)
FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT FOURTH SLOT
Du
(You)		 kauftest
(bought)		 jeden Montag
(every Monday)		 frisches Brot.
(fresh bread)
🟰
Du kauftest jeden Montag frisches Brot.
(You bought fresh bread every Monday.)

In the examples above, the first slot is filled by the subject, but this isn’t always the case in a German main clause. You’ll often see an adverb, such as morgen (tomorrow), or even an object, such as ihn (him), in first position.

Putting something other than the subject first can be used to establish the topic or context of the sentence or to emphasize that part of the sentence. The important thing to remember is that, no matter what occupies the first slot, the conjugated verb still comes second.

FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT FOURTH SLOT
Max
(Max)		 macht
(is having)		 morgen
(tomorrow)		 ein Picknick.
(a picnic)
Morgen
(tomorrow)		 macht
(is having)		 Max
(Max)		 ein Picknick.
(a picnic)

Both sentences essentially mean the same thing: Max is having a picnic tomorrow. However, in the second sentence, morgen has been moved to the first slot, making when the picnic is happening more prominent and establishing it as the context for the sentence.

The same thing can happen with an object:

FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT FOURTH SLOT
Ich
(I)		 mag
(like)		 ihn
(him)		 nicht.
(not)
Ihn
(Him)		 mag
(like)		 ich
(I)		 nicht.
(not)

Both statements express the same meaning: I don’t like him. However, when the object ihn is moved to the front, it becomes more prominent in the sentence.

Another important detail to know is that the second slot isn’t necessarily the same as the second word in a German sentence. It can be the second word, as in the examples above, but it could also be the third, fourth, seventh, or even tenth word!


It all depends on what fills the first slot. For example, the subject or object might be a single word, such as sie (she/her), or a longer phrase, such as meine Tochter (my daughter) or die schönen Blumen im Garten (the beautiful flowers in the garden). Similarly, the adverb can be a single word, such as hier (here) or gestern (yesterday), or it can be a longer adverbial phrase, such as dort drüben (over there) or in den ersten Jahren unserer Beziehung (in the first years of our relationship).

How to form German sentences with one verb

Once you know what goes in the first slot, you’ll know where to put the conjugated verb in a basic German sentence: in the second slot! This is true even when the first slot contains multiple words. (Remember to think of slots and not individual words!)

If the first slot of a basic German main clause is filled by something other than the subject, the subject typically goes in the third slot instead.

FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT FOURTH–FIFTH SLOT
Unsere Großeltern
(Our grandparents)		 haben
(have)		 zwei Hunde.
(two dogs)
Bald
(Soon)		 kommt
(is coming)		 meine Frau
(my wife)		 nach Hause.
(home)
Kurz vor Beginn des Konzerts
(Shortly before the start of the concert)		 bekam
(got)		 der Gitarrist
(the guitarist)		 wieder furchtbares Lampenfieber.
(again)(horrible stage fright)

How to form German sentences with two verbs

In an English sentence like My sister would like to read the newspaper, the verbal complex would like to read stays together. In the corresponding German sentence, however, it gets split between two different positions.

FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT FINAL SLOT
Meine Schwester
(My sister)		 möchte
(would like to)		 die Zeitung
(the newspaper)		 lesen.
(read)
🟰
Meine Schwester möchte die Zeitung lesen.
(My sister would like to read the newspaper.)
💡
In a German sentence with more than one verb, the conjugated verb goes in the second slot, just like it does in a sentence with only one verb. Any other verb goes at the end of the sentence.

This also means that you sometimes won’t know what the main action of the sentence is until you reach the last word! The verbs that are saved for the last slot are usually infinitives, such as gehen (to go), or participles, such as gegangen (gone). Unlike the conjugated verb, these don’t change to match the subject.

FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT FINAL SLOT
(INFINITIVE / PARTICIPLE)
Er
(He)		 kann
(can)		 Gitarre
(guitar)		 spielen.
(play)
🟰
Er kann Gitarre spielen.
(He can play the guitar.)
FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT
Gestern
(Yesterday)		 sind
(auxiliary verb)		 wir
(we)
FOURTH SLOT FINAL SLOT
(INFINITIVE / PARTICIPLE)
im Park
(at the park)		 gewesen.
(were)
🟰
Gestern sind wir im Park gewesen.
(Yesterday, we were at the park.)
FIRST SLOT SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD SLOT
Mein Hund
(My dog)		 hätte
(would have)		 den Knochen
(the bone)
FOURTH SLOT FIFTH SLOT FINAL SLOT
(INFINITIVE / PARTICIPLE)
bestimmt
(definitely)		 schneller
(faster)		 finden können.
(been able to find)
🟰
Mein Hund hätte den Knochen bestimmt schneller finden können.
(My dog could definitely have found the bone faster.)

Compare how the structure of German main clauses with two verbs differs from that of main clauses with only one verb:

Infographic titled “Germain main clause statements.” It shows that in a German main clause with one verb, the first slot can contain the subject, such as “Mein Bruder” (My brother) or “Die kleine Maus” (The small mouse). The second slot contains the conjugated verb, such as “kocht” (cooks) or “sucht” (is looking for). The rest of the sentence, such as “jeden Tag” (every day) or “Käse” (cheese) follows. This yields sentences such as “Mein Bruder kocht jeden Tag” (My brother cooks every day) or “Die kleine Maus sucht Käse” (The small mouse is looking for cheese). In a Germain main clause with two verbs, the first slot can also contain the subject, such as “Mein Bruder” (My brother) or “Die kleine Maus” (The small mouse). And the second slot, again, contains the conjugated verb, such as “möchte” (would like) or “hat” (has). The rest of the sentence, such as ”jeden Tag” (every day) or “Käse” (cheese) follows. The final slot contains the second verb, which is either an infinitive or a participle, such as “kochen” (to cook) or “gesucht” (looked for). This yields sentences such as “Mein Bruder möchte jeden Tag kochen” (My brother would like to cook every day) or “Die Kleine Maus hat Käse gesucht” (The small mouse has looked for cheese).

How to form German questions

The word order in German questions depends on whether the question has a question word, like wann (when) or was (what), or if it’s a question you can answer with a simple yes or no, like Hast du einen Hund? (Do you have a dog?).

How to form “wh” questions in German

💡
In a German “wh” question, the question word goes in the first slot and the conjugated verb goes in the second slot.

If the sentence contains more than one verb, the non-conjugated verb goes in the last slot, like it does in a basic statement.

FIRST SLOT
(QUESTION WORD)		 SECOND SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 THIRD–FOURTH SLOT FINAL SLOT
(INFINITIVE / PARTICIPLE)
Woher
(From where)		 kommst
(come)		 du?
(you)
Wann
(When)		 hat
(has)		 deine Tante Geburtstag?
(your aunt) (birthday)
Warum
(Why)		 will
(wants)		 er schon
(he) (already)		 gehen?
(to go)

How to form yes/no questions in German

Some German questions can be answered with ja (yes) or nein (no). These questions introduce our first major exception to the sentence structure we’ve seen so far:

💡
In German yes/no questions, the conjugated verb occupies the first slot instead of the second slot.

If a sentence has more than one verb, the non-conjugated verb fills the final slot.

FIRST SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 SECOND–FOURTH SLOT FINAL SLOT
(INFINITIVE / PARTICIPLE)
Bist
(Are)		 du müde?
(you) (tired)
Kennt
(Knows)		 dein Bruder meinen Bruder schon?
(your brother) (my brother) (already)
Wollt
(Want)		 ihr morgen eure Großeltern
(you, plural) (tomorrow) (your grandparents)		 besuchen?
(to visit)

How to form German dependent clauses

Dependent clauses are clauses that depend on a main clause. In German, they are often introduced by words such as dass, ob, and wenn, like Ich weiß, dass Duo mir helfen wird (I know that Duo will help me).

When a dependent clause follows a main clause, its conjugated verb moves to the final slot. If the clause also contains an infinitive or participle, it comes directly before the conjugated verb.

1️⃣ MAIN CLAUSE 2️⃣ DEPENDENT CLAUSE
FIRST–THIRD SLOT SECOND TO LAST SLOT
(INFINITIVE / PARTICIPLE)		 FINAL SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)
Ich bin traurig,
(I’m sad)		 dass du nicht
(that) (you) (not)		 mitkommst.
(come along)
Weißt du
(Do you know)		 ob der Pullover teuer
(whether) (the sweater) (expensive)		 ist?
(is)
Du kannst mich jederzeit anrufen,
(You can call me anytime)		 wenn du mit jemandem
(if) (you) (to somebody)		 reden
(to talk)		 willst.
(want)

When a sentence begins with a dependent clause, the word order within that clause remains the same: the conjugated verb still occupies the final slot. However, the word order in the main clause changes. Its conjugated verb moves to the first slot. An infinitive or participle will go in the final slot.

1️⃣ DEPENDENT CLAUSE 2️⃣ MAIN CLAUSE
FIRST SLOT
(CONJUGATED VERB)		 SECOND–FOURTH SLOT FINAL SLOT
(INFINITIVE / PARTICIPLE)
Dass du nicht mitkommst,
(That you’re not coming along)		 macht
(makes)		 mich traurig.
(me) (sad)
Ob der Pullover teuer ist,
(Whether the sweater is expensive)		 weiß
(know)		 ich leider nicht.
(I) (unfortunately) (not)
Wenn du mit jemandem reden willst,
(If you want to talk to somebody)		 kannst
(can)		 du mich jederzeit
(you) (me) (anytime)		 anrufen.
(call)

Take German sentences one slot at a time

That’s a lot of information to take in! Focus on practicing one type of sentence or question at a time, and use these slots as a kind of formula when you’re doing your German lessons. As you progress, you’ll encounter even more patterns and rules, so take it step by step and watch your German proficiency grow! 💪

For more answers to your language and learning questions (or a part 2 on German word order), get in touch with us by emailing dearduolingo@duolingo.com.