German word order explained simply

German word order: the most important rule is verb in second position

In a German statement, the conjugated verb always comes in second position. Almost any element can take first position: the subject, a time expression, an object or an adverb of place. The key point is that position 1 is one sentence element, not one word. Everything else, including the subject, then lines up after the verb.

All four sentences mean “I’m going to Munich tomorrow / next Monday at 9”. If the subject is not in position 1, it moves directly behind the verb. This is called inversion, and it is one of the most common mistakes made by learners whose first language fixes the order subject – verb, as English does: Tomorrow I drive to Munich often becomes *Morgen ich fahre. The correct version is Morgen fahre ich nach München.

Why does this matter so much? Word order mistakes disrupt reading more than a wrong ending does. And good German is in demand at work: according to IAB short report 7/2026 (in German), 57 per cent of employers require at least B2 German when hiring. At that level, people expect complex sentences with subordinate clauses. That is why our German courses online train word order from the start, in real communication situations.

Memory aid: the verb is the bouncer

Imagine the verb as a bouncer standing in position 2. Exactly one guest is allowed in front of him. Everyone else has to wait behind him, including the subject.

The sentence bracket: where does the second verb go?

The second verb goes to the end of the sentence. When the predicate has two parts (perfect tense, modal verbs, separable verbs, future, passive), they form a bracket: the conjugated part sits in position 2 and the second part right at the end. Everything in between is called the middle field (Mittelfeld).

A typical example: Ich habe gestern lange mit dem Kunden telefoniert (I spoke to the customer on the phone for a long time yesterday).

The sentence bracket is the reason why German speakers sometimes have to wait “until the end of the sentence” to understand it. With separable verbs, the last part even changes the meaning. There is more on this in German separable verbs.

Three verbs in one sentence

The perfect tense with a modal verb gets complex: Ich habe gestern länger arbeiten müssen (I had to work late yesterday). The modal verb goes right at the end as an infinitive. In everyday speech, people usually switch to the simple past instead: Ich musste gestern länger arbeiten.

The final field

Sometimes an element comes after the bracket, especially comparisons and long additions: Wir haben mehr verkauft als im letzten Jahr (We sold more than last year). This is correct and makes long sentences easier to read.

Order in the middle field: TeKaMoLo and the position of objects

In the middle field, adverbials usually follow the order TeKaMoLo: temporal, causal, modal, local, in other words when, why, how, where. For objects: two nouns go dative before accusative, two pronouns go accusative before dative, and pronouns come before nouns. In short: short before long. TeKaMoLo is a tendency, but a safe default.

TeKaMoLo: time, reason, manner, place

There is a well-known rule of thumb for adverbials in the middle field: Temporal (when?) – Kausal (why?) – Modal (how?) – Lokal (where, where to?).

• Ich fahre morgen (Te) wegen des Termins (Ka) mit dem Zug (Mo) nach Augsburg (Lo). (Tomorrow I’m taking the train to Augsburg because of the appointment.)
• Sie arbeitet seit März (Te) gern (Mo) in unserem Büro in Fürth (Lo). (She has enjoyed working in our Fürth office since March.)

TeKaMoLo is a tendency, not a rigid rule, but it is a safe default when you are unsure. English tends to use the opposite order (place before time: I’m going to Munich tomorrow). If you are learning both languages, our article on typical mistakes German speakers make in English (in German) covers this kind of interference from the other direction.

Dative and accusative: which comes first?

Rule of thumb: short before long. Pronouns are short and come early; nouns with articles come later. Our article German cases explained shows which verbs take the dative or accusative.

Questions and the imperative: when does the verb come first?

The conjugated verb comes in position 1 when you ask a yes/no question or form an imperative. In W-questions, by contrast, the question word takes position 1 and the verb follows in position 2, just as in a statement. With two-part predicates, the sentence bracket still applies: the main verb goes at the end. Typical examples:

• Haben Sie morgen Zeit? (Are you free tomorrow?)
• Können Sie mir die Unterlagen schicken? (Can you send me the documents?)
• Schicken Sie mir bitte die Unterlagen. (Please send me the documents. Imperative, formal Sie)
• Ruf mich später an. (Call me later. Imperative, informal du)

In W-questions, the question word is in position 1 and the verb is back in position 2: Wann beginnt die Schulung? (When does the training start?) Mit wem haben Sie gesprochen? (Who did you speak to?)

Asking politely at work

An imperative with bitte is completely normal in German and not impolite. Questions with können or würden in the subjunctive sound even more polite: Könnten Sie mir bitte bis Mittwoch Bescheid geben? (Could you let me know by Wednesday?) Würden Sie das bitte prüfen? (Would you check that, please?) Note that the sentence bracket applies here too: the main verb goes at the end.

Subordinate clauses in German: verb at the end with weil, dass, wenn and ob

In subordinate clauses with weil, dass, wenn or ob, the conjugated verb goes to the end, as in Ich komme später, weil der Zug Verspätung hat (I’ll be late because the train is delayed). If the subordinate clause comes first, the main-clause verb follows immediately. Subordinate clauses start with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun.

Common subordinating conjunctions include weil, dass, wenn, ob, obwohl, als, damit and nachdem. More examples:

• Ich glaube, dass das Projekt ein Erfolg wird. (I think the project will be a success.)
• Können Sie mir sagen, ob der Termin noch frei ist? (Can you tell me whether the slot is still free?)
• Das ist die Kollegin, die in Erlangen arbeitet. (That’s the colleague who works in Erlangen.)

Three groups of linking words

All three examples mean “I’m staying at home because I’m ill / I’m ill, so I’m staying at home”. A memory aid for the conjunctions in position 0 is ADUSO (aber, denn, und, sondern, oder). These five words do not count as a sentence element and do not change the word order.

When the subordinate clause comes first

If the subordinate clause comes at the beginning, it takes position 1, so the main-clause verb follows immediately. This creates the typical verb, verb pattern: Wenn Sie Fragen haben, rufen Sie mich bitte an (If you have any questions, please call me). Weil der Zug Verspätung hatte, kam ich zu spät (Because the train was delayed, I was late).

Weil with the verb in second position?

In everyday spoken German you often hear weil with main-clause word order: …, weil ich habe keine Zeit. In emails, job applications and exams, however, stick to the standard rule with the verb at the end.

Where does nicht go? Negation in the German sentence

When nicht negates the whole sentence, it goes as far back as possible, but before the second part of the verb: Ich habe die E-Mail nicht gelesen (I haven’t read the email). It goes directly before places, prepositional objects, adjectives and adverbs of manner. To negate one element, put nicht right in front of it, often with sondern.

The basic rules in detail:

1. Negating the whole sentence: nicht goes as far back as possible, but before the second verb part: Ich habe die E-Mail nicht gelesen. Er kommt heute nicht. (He isn’t coming today.)
2. Before expressions of place and prepositional objects: Ich wohne nicht in Nürnberg. Ich warte nicht auf den Bus. (I don’t live in Nuremberg. I’m not waiting for the bus.)
3. Before adjectives and adverbs of manner: Das Angebot ist nicht günstig. Sie spricht nicht schnell. (The offer isn’t cheap. She doesn’t speak fast.)
4. Negating a single element: nicht goes directly before it, often with sondern: Ich habe nicht den Chef angerufen, sondern seine Assistentin. (I didn’t call the boss but his assistant.)

nicht or kein?

Nouns with an indefinite article or no article are negated with kein: Ich habe keinen Termin. Wir haben keine Zeit. (I don’t have an appointment. We don’t have time.) Nouns with a definite article, verbs and adjectives are negated with nicht: Ich finde den Termin nicht. (I can’t find the appointment.)

Common word order mistakes and how to avoid them

The most common word order mistakes involve verb position: no inversion after a time expression, the participle stuck in the middle, the verb not at the end in a weil clause, and the subject instead of the verb after deshalb. You can avoid them by placing both parts of the verb first.

Strategy: bracket first, content second

When you write a sentence, put both verb parts in place first: Ich habe … geschickt. Then fill in the middle field. That way you will not “lose” the participle in the middle of the sentence. For emails, there is a further tip: shorter sentences are easier to build correctly and easier for the recipient to read.

Word order in emails: an example from working life

In a work email, all the rules work together: inversion after Leider, sentence brackets with a modal verb and the perfect tense, verb-final clauses after weil and sobald, the verb, verb pattern after an opening wenn clause, and a separable verb with its prefix at the end.

The following email is typical of everyday life at a logistics company; the verbs are highlighted.

Sehr geehrte Frau Weber,

vielen Dank für Ihre Anfrage. Leider können wir die Ware nicht wie geplant am Dienstag liefern, weil unser Lieferant Probleme mit der Produktion hat. Wir haben heute Morgen mit ihm telefoniert. Wenn alles gut läuft, kommt die Lieferung am Freitag bei Ihnen an. Ich schicke Ihnen die Sendungsnummer, sobald ich sie habe.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Ivan Petrov

In English: thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately, we cannot deliver the goods on Tuesday as planned because our supplier has production problems. We spoke to them on the phone this morning. If all goes well, the delivery will reach you on Friday. I will send you the tracking number as soon as I have it.

What is happening in this text?

• Leider können wir: the adverb takes position 1, so inversion follows.
• können … liefern and haben … telefoniert: two sentence brackets, one with a modal verb and one in the perfect tense.
• weil … hat and sobald … habe: subordinate clauses with the verb at the end.
• Wenn alles gut läuft, kommt: subordinate clause in position 1, followed by the verb, verb pattern.
• kommt … an: a separable verb with its prefix at the end of the sentence.
• nicht wie geplant: nicht comes before the expression of manner.

Try it yourself: take one of your own emails and highlight all the verbs. Are they where the rules say they should be? This small exercise sharpens your eye faster than any grammar book.

Word order exercises with answers

These three short exercises cover the core rules from this guide: verb in second position with inversion, joining clauses with weil, deshalb and wenn, and the position of nicht. Write your answers down or say them out loud first, then check them against the answers at the end. Speaking them aloud helps the patterns become automatic.

Exercise 1: start the sentence with the highlighted element

1. Ich habe am Montag ein Meeting.
2. Wir liefern die Ware nach Wien.
3. Sie hat leider keine Zeit.

Exercise 2: join the sentences

1. Ich lerne Deutsch. Ich arbeite in Deutschland. (weil)
2. Der Bus kommt nicht. Ich nehme ein Taxi. (deshalb)
3. Sie haben Fragen. Schreiben Sie uns. (wenn, subordinate clause first)

Exercise 3: where does nicht go?

1. Ich habe den Bericht geschrieben. (negate it)
2. Er wohnt in München. (negate it)

Answers

Exercise 1: 1. Am Montag habe ich ein Meeting. 2. Nach Wien liefern wir die Ware. 3. Leider hat sie keine Zeit.
Exercise 2: 1. Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich in Deutschland arbeite. 2. Der Bus kommt nicht, deshalb nehme ich ein Taxi. 3. Wenn Sie Fragen haben, schreiben Sie uns.
Exercise 3: 1. Ich habe den Bericht nicht geschrieben. 2. Er wohnt nicht in München.

Keep learning

Word order improves fastest through speaking with instant correction. In the choices® online German course, you learn one-to-one or in small groups. For companies, there are language courses for companies, and for exam candidates, exam preparation. If you are learning German specifically for your career, you will find strategies in Learning German as a skilled worker, and the forms of strong verbs in our list of German irregular verbs.

Sources

1. doku.iab.de: kb2026 07

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