Word Order: the Verb Comes Second
A1German is less free than it looks. One rule explains statements, questions and the famous 'inversion'.
The Verb-Second rule
In a German statement, the conjugated verb is always the second element. The first element can be the subject, a time, a place — almost anything. English does this a little ('Today I study'), German does it always.
Beispiele — examples in context
Heute lerne ich Deutsch.
Today I'm learning German.
Ich lerne heute Deutsch.
I'm learning German today.
Separable verbs go to the end
Verbs like aufstehen, einkaufen, anrufen split in the present tense: the prefix (auf, ein, an) jumps to the end of the clause. If you hear 'Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf', the verb you were waiting for arrives at the end.
Beispiele — examples in context
Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
I get up at seven o'clock.
Wann rufst du deine Mutter an?
When are you calling your mother?
Time before manner before place
When a sentence has several details, the natural order is: WANN → WIE → WO (time – manner – place), the famous TeKaMoLo rule. Anything after the verb-second position still respects this order.
Beispiele — examples in context
Ich fahre morgen mit dem Zug nach Hamburg.
Tomorrow I'm taking the train to Hamburg.