German word order in 10 minutes: the verb-second rule
German word order looks chaotic at first: verbs appear in the middle, at the end, sometimes in both places. In fact, three rules explain almost every sentence you'll meet. Give yourself ten minutes and say every example out loud.
Rule 1 (minutes 1–4): the verb is the second element
In a normal statement, the conjugated verb is always in position 2. That doesn't mean the second word, but the second building block. Anything can go first: the subject, a time, a place, even an object. Whatever goes first, the verb stays second and the subject moves after it.
Rule 2 (minutes 4–7): the verb bracket
When there are two verb parts, such as a modal verb plus an infinitive, the Perfekt, or a separable verb, German makes a bracket: the conjugated part stays in position 2 and the other part goes to the very end.
Everything else, the time, the place, the objects, goes inside the bracket. A useful order for the middle is time, manner, place (the TeKaMoLo rule): Ich fahre morgen mit dem Zug nach München.
Rule 3 (minutes 7–9): subordinate clauses send the verb to the end
After conjunctions such as weil (because), dass (that), wenn (if/when), ob (whether) and als (when, past), the conjugated verb goes to the end of its clause.
Look at Wenn es regnet, nehme ich den Bus. The whole wenn clause is position 1, so the main verb nehme comes straight after the comma in position 2. Rule 1 and rule 3 work together.
Not every conjunction moves the verb
Five common conjunctions leave word order alone: und, aber, oder, denn, sondern (remember them as ADUSO). Ich bin müde, aber ich gehe aus. Compare with weil: …, weil ich müde bin.
Minute 10: test yourself
Put the words in order:
- heute / ich / arbeite / nicht
- morgen / wir / wollen / schwimmen gehen
- ich / lerne Deutsch / weil / in Wien / ich / wohnen möchte
Answers: 1 Heute arbeite ich nicht. 2 Morgen wollen wir schwimmen gehen. 3 Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich in Wien wohnen möchte.
Word order becomes automatic through speaking, not through rules. Chat with Lina in German and she'll quietly fix the verb position in your report card each time it slips.