Ich will morgen … fahren.

Two verb parts, one second, one last

Formkonjugiertes Verb (Position 2) … zweiter Verbteil (Satzende)

Meaning and usage

Many German sentences have two verb parts. The conjugated verb stands in position 2, right after the subject or after another element in position 1. The second part, an infinitive or a past participle, goes to the very end of the sentence. Everything else sits between them, in the middle field. This frame is called the Satzklammer.

You use it with modal verbs like wollen, müssen and können, with the perfect tense, and with separable verbs. The mistake learners make is to put the second part next to the conjugated verb, as in Ich will kaufen ein Auto. German needs Ich will ein Auto kaufen.

Examples 6

Ich muss mir ein paar Schuhe kaufen.

I must buy a pair of shoes.

Ich habe dieses Buch noch nicht gelesen.

I haven't read this book yet.

Ich möchte noch viel mehr Sprachen lernen.

I want to learn a lot more languages.

Du musst deine Hände immer sauber halten.

You must always keep your hands clean.

Sie hat uns zu ihrem Geburtstag eingeladen.

She invited us to her birthday party.

Du musst deinen Pass zur Bank mitbringen.

You should bring your passport to the bank.

Test yourself

1 Sprachbausteine

Ich heute meine Oma besuchen.
Show answer
Correct answer: will

will is the conjugated form for ich and it stands in position 2. The infinitive besuchen already sits at the end of the sentence, so the gap needs only one verb part.
- besuchen is an infinitive and cannot be the conjugated verb in position 2.
- besuche With besuche in position 2, the infinitive besuchen at the end has nothing to belong to: Ich besuche heute meine Oma besuchen is not German.
- besucht is the form for er, sie or es, not for ich.

In this topic: Word order

Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.