Guide
German Word Order — Verb Second, Verb Final, and the Middle Field
German word order looks free because the case endings carry the grammatical roles, but it is not free — it is governed by where the verb has to sit. Get the verb positions right and the rest has a lot of latitude.
Rule 1 — the conjugated verb is second in a main clause
Second element, not second word. Everything before the verb counts as one unit.
| Position 1 | Verb | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Ich | fahre | morgen nach Berlin. |
| Morgen | fahre | ich nach Berlin. |
| Nach Berlin | fahre | ich morgen. |
Note what happens in rows two and three: because something else took first position, the subject moved behind the verb. That inversion is automatic, and forgetting it is the single most common word-order error.
Rule 2 — the bracket
When there are two verb parts — a modal plus an infinitive, or an auxiliary plus a participle, or a separable prefix — the conjugated part stays in second position and the other part goes to the very end. Everything else sits inside that bracket.
- Ich will morgen nach Berlin fahren.
- Ich bin gestern nach Berlin gefahren.
- Ich rufe dich morgen an.
The bracket is the shape German sentences have. Reading it comfortably means holding the first half open until the end arrives — which is exactly the skill that makes long German sentences hard at B1 and easy at B2.
Rule 3 — subordinate clauses put the verb last
After weil, dass, wenn, ob, obwohl, damit, als and every relative pronoun, the conjugated verb goes to the end of its clause.
- Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin.
- Er sagt, dass er morgen kommen will.
Watch what happens with two verbs: the conjugated one goes last, after the infinitive — kommen will, not will kommen.
Two important exceptions: und, aber, oder, denn, sondern are coordinating conjunctions and change nothing at all. Ich bleibe zu Hause, denn ich bin krank.
Ordering what sits in the middle
Inside the bracket, the default order is TeKaMoLo: temporal, causal, modal, local.
Ich fahre morgen (when) wegen der Arbeit (why) mit dem Zug (how) nach Berlin (where).
Two more tendencies worth knowing: pronouns come before nouns (Ich gebe es dem Mann), and when both objects are nouns the dative comes first (Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch) — but when both are pronouns the accusative comes first (Ich gebe es ihm).
Questions and commands
- Yes/no question: verb first — Fährst du nach Berlin?
- W-question: question word, then verb — Wann fährst du?
- Imperative: verb first — Fahr nach Berlin!
Common questions
What is the verb-second rule in German?
In a main clause the conjugated verb is always the second element — not the second word, the second unit. Whatever you put first (subject, time expression, object), the verb follows it and the subject moves behind the verb if it was not first.
Why does the verb go to the end in German?
In subordinate clauses only. Any clause introduced by weil, dass, wenn, ob, obwohl or a relative pronoun sends its conjugated verb to the final position. It is a structural property of the clause type, not emphasis.
What is TeKaMoLo?
A mnemonic for the default order of adverbials in the middle of a German sentence: Temporal (when), Kausal (why), Modal (how), Lokal (where). It is a tendency rather than a law — anything you want to emphasise can move.
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