A1.2 · 24 of 36

Satzbau: Position 2 & Konnektoren

Lesson · 4 rules · about 5 min

One rule builds every German statement (the verb comes second), and five small words join your sentences together.

  1. 1Verb second — element, not word
  2. 2und, oder, aber, denn — position 0
  3. 3dann takes position 1
  4. 4denn vs weil
Why this matters

One rule shapes every German statement: the conjugated verb is the second element. Not the second word — the second element. Ich fahre morgen nach Berlin, but start with tomorrow and the verb still comes second, so the subject moves behind it: Morgen fahre ich nach Berlin. English keeps subject-verb whatever comes first ('Tomorrow I go'); German swaps. The other half of basic sentence-building is joining sentences with the five little connectors that do not disturb that order: und (and), oder (or), aber (but), denn (because), dann (then). After und/oder/aber/denn the next sentence keeps its normal shape; dann counts as position 1, so the verb follows it: … dann gehe ich.

Question 1 of 10 · eins
eins1zwei2drei3vier4fünf5sechs6sieben7acht8neun9zehn10

Konnektor

I drink coffee and eat bread.

Ich trinke Kaffee esse Brot.

I drink coffee and eat bread.