Sunday, September 5, 2021

Order of German Verbs

German word order is different from that of English. Two differences are German V2 movement and the verb at the end of the dependent clause. However, German also has sentences in which many verbs are placed at the end of the sentence.

German V2 movement places the verb after the first constituent of the sentence. In German the sentence Today he can't come is Heute kann er nicht kommen. The verb kann (can) follows the adverb heute (today).

German places verbs at the end of dependent clauses. The sentence I know that she is sick is Ich weiẞ, dass sie krank ist in German. In the German sentence, the verb ist (is) is placed at the end.

Many verbs can be placed at the end of the German sentence. This is the German equivalent of It is true that I should have phoned you: Es ist wahr, dass ich dich hätte anrufen sollen. In the German sentence three consecutive verbs are placed at the end.

The sentence Peter will have to be invited also places many verbs at the end. In German the sentence is Peter wird eingeladen werden müssen. The German sentence places four verbs at the end, but in contrast to English, the past participle eingeladen (invited) is the third word of the sentence.

It is clear that German word order can differ significantly from that of English. Many German sentences place the verb at the end. It is also common to place a string of verbs in sentence-final position.

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