Download Word order Ppt

OR D ER
GER M AN
W OR D s
OR D ER
Sentences are made up by placing a variety of words in a specific order.
If the order is wrong, the sentence is difficult to understand.
Simple sentences often follow the same pattern as English ones.
person/thing
action
rest of sentence
Mein Vater
spielt
Fußball.
So what happens when your sentences become longer and more complex?
YOU MUST LEARN SOME RULES!
There are rules regarding:
The normal position of verbs
Asking a question using a question word
Asking a question without using a question word
The position of past participles & infinitives
Time, manner, place word order
The effect of using linking words
The normal position of verbs
The most important thing about a German sentence is that the main
verb (SNAP verb) comes as the second idea (but not necessarily the
second word) in the sentence.
1
2
3
4
Ich (subject)
fahre
nach Bonn.
Jede Woche
fahre
ich
nach Bonn.
Am Montag
fahre
ich
nach Bonn.
Remember: In German you don’t always have to start the sentence
with the person’s name or a pronoun (ich, du, er, etc.) but your SNAP
verb must still be your second idea. Beginning a sentence with
something other than the subject is called ‘INVERSION’.
Asking a question using a question word
In questions beginning with a word like ‘Wann?’, ‘Wie?’, ‘Wo?’ etc. the
SNAP verb always comes second in the sentence. Therefore the
INVERSION rule continues to apply.
1
Warum
Wann
Wer
2
3
kommst
du
fährt
der nächste Zug
ist
dein Freund?
4
spät?
ab?
Asking a question without using a question word
In German you can make a statement into a question by turning around
(or ‘inverting’) the subject and the SNAP verb.
This is more complicated in English than it is in German because in
English we add extra words like ‘do’ and ‘does’.
DON’T add any extra words in German!
She goes to Germany.
Does she go to Germany?
Sie fährt nach Deutschland.
Fährt sie nach Deutschland?
The position of past participles & infinitives
The infinitive or the past participle always go at the end of the clause
because there is only room for the SNAP verb to appear as second
idea.
1
2
3
Ich
möchte
ins Kino
Der Hund
hat
4
gehen.
meinen Schuh gegessen.
Time, manner, place word order
Information about when, how or where something is happening is
always given in this order in a German sentence.
1
2
Time
Ich
fahre
jede Woche
Du
fährst jede Woche
Manner
Place
nach Bonn.
mit dem Zug
nach Bonn.
The effect of using linking words
In English word order is unaffected by linking words.
Some linking words in German act in the same way as their English
equivalents and don’t change the word order.
aber
denn
oder
und
Other common linking words cause a major change in the normal word
order, sending the verb right to the end of the clause.
als
bevor
damit
nachdem
obwohl
weil
bis
dass
ob
während
wenn
weil
Ich
finde
ich
Fußball
Fußball
prima.
prima
finde.
Fragewörter (Question Words)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Was
Wer
Wo
Warum
Wann
Wie
Was ist das?
Wer ist das?
Wo wohnst du?
Warum lernst du Deutsch?
Wann hast du Deutsch?
Wie kommst du zur Schule?
Fragen stellen (Asking Questions)
• Ja/Nein Frage
– Verb in 1st position
• Kommst du aus Mukilteo?
Ja! / Nein. 
• Info Frage
– Question word and then verb
• Woher kommst du? Ich komme aus Mukilteo.
• Wann hast du Deutsch?
Ich habe Deutsch am
Nachmittag.
Fragen stellen (Asking Questions)
• What kind of questions do we know how to
ask?
–
–
–
–
–
Kommst du aus Mukilteo?
Wie alt bist du?
Woher kommst du?
Wie geht es dir?
...
Sätze Üben (Sentence Practice)
Elements: time phrases, verb, subject, „extra info“
Mit dem Flugzeug komme ich zur Schule
Im Sommer ist es heiß.
Im Juli habe ich Geburtstag.
Deutsch habe ich am Nachmittag.
Write: 5 sentences with the verb in 2nd position. Play aroundwith
the word order of the other elements.