The grammar of the German language is somewhat more complicated in comparison with the related languages of the Romano-Germanic group. Take, for example, the declension of nouns or the concept of a grammatical gender, which is not in English. The concept of "word order" exists in almost all languages, only in some cases we are dealing with the free arrangement of words in a sentence, in others there is a certain pattern.
For the purpose of utterance, the German sentence is divided into 3 types:
- Narrative (Aussagesatz).
- Interrogative (Fragesatz).
- Incentive (Imperativsatz).
German word order
In the German sentence, there are 2 types of word arrangement. A characteristic feature of the German proposal is the obligatory presence of both main members: as a subject (Subjekt), as well as a predicate, Prädikat (there are exceptions, but this should be discussed separately).
A simple, unallocated sentence has only the main members and looks something like this: Ich schreibe. (I write). More often, a proposal has more than 2 members, in which case they speak of a widespread proposal.
The word order in the German sentence has two types: direct and reverse.
The direct word order of a simple common sentence is easier to express in the following way: subject + predicate + minor terms.
Er schreibt ein Brief.
The conjugated part of the compound compound predicate always remains in second place, the other, non-conjugated part, as well as the detachable prefix, go to the end of the sentence:
Er hat ein Brief geschrieben. Sie geht heute spazieren.
The second option is the reverse word order.
The meaning of the sentence itself from the use of a different arrangement of word placement does not change. At the same time, only I and III places change, the reverse order looks something like this: a minor member of a sentence + a predicate (basic part) + a subject + secondary members + non-matched. part of the predicate. In the last place is also a detachable prefix.
Heute geht sie spazieren.
Word order in the German sentence: negative sentence
The German sentence most often uses the negation nicht, which is placed before the word that it denies: Nicht alle sehen das.
If the negation concerns the predicate that the particle is put at the end of the sentence: Das wissen wir nicht.
If the negation concerns the noun, use the kein particle, which is placed directly in front of it. Both words agree according to gender and case: Er hat keine Zeit.
It should be remembered that in the German language, one negation is permissible in the sentence, in contrast to Russian.
Word order in the German sentence: interrogative sentence
There are two types of interrogative German sentences: with and without a question word.
Interrogative sentence without an interrogative word: Ref. predicate part + subject + secondary members + nesp. part of the predicate: Gehst du im Park?
The interrogative sentence with the interrogative word begins with it: Q. word + spr predicate part + subject + secondary members + nesp. part of the predicate: Wohin geht er heute Abend spazieren?
Word order in an incentive German sentence
An incentive (imperative) sentence expresses a call for some action, an order, a ban. The predicate, which stands in the imperative mood, occupies the first position: Gehen wir im Park!
Word order in a complex German sentence
There are two types of complex sentences: compound and complex. Since parts of a compound sentence can exist independently of each other, the word order in them differs little from a simple German sentence. Separately, we should dwell on a complex proposal.
Option one: the main proposal is in the first position, the second part follows it. In this case, the common word order scheme is as follows:
- the main sentence has a word order similar to a simple sentence;
- subordinate clause: immediately after the decimal point, a subordinate conjunction + subject + secondary members + (negation, if any) + non. part of the predicate + ref. part of the predicate.
Detachable consoles do not separate. If the predicate in the subordinate clause is expressed by a reflexive verb, then the particle sich in the right form is placed immediately after the union, and only the subject follows it.
If the order of the sentences changes, and the main sentence goes by the wayside, then it starts with spr. parts of the predicate, because the subordinate clause, taking first place, plays the role of one of the main members of the sentence.