Structure

Main parts of sentences are:

1. Subject (S) — who or what is performing the action.
2. Verb (V) — the action being done.
3. Object (O) — the object of the action (optional).

• Ich (S) trinke (V) Wasser (O) [I drink water]
• Der Hund (S) schläft (V) [The dog sleeps]

In simple main clauses, the verb is always in the second position, and the other elements can be rearranged if you want to emphasize something else.

• Morgen fahre ich nach Berlin (Tomorrow I will go to Berlin)

TeKaMoLo

(TeKaMoLo) is a mnemonic used in German grammar to help remember the order of adverbial phrases in a sentence. It stands for:

• T: Temporal (time) - When?
• K: Kausal (cause) - Why?
• M: Modal (manner) - How?
• Lo: Lokal (place) - Where?

When constructing sentences, adverbials should generally follow this order. For example:

• Ich gehe heute (T) wegen des schlechten Wetters (K) schnell (M) nach Hause (Lo).

Conjugated verb as position 2

Fragesatz

Fragesatz refers to question sentences in German. There are several types of questions, each with its own rules for structure.

Ja-Nein Fragen

These are questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no." The verb is placed at the first position.

• Kommst du morgen? (Are you coming tomorrow?)
• Hast du Zeit? (Do you have time?)

W-Fragen

These questions start with question words (W-Wörter) like wer (who), was (what), wo (where), wann (when), warum (why), etc. The verb remains in the second position, but the question word comes before it.

• Wie spät ist es? (What time is it?)
• Woher wohnst du? (Where do you kome from?)
• Warum bist du traurig? (Why are you sad?)

Entscheidungsfragen

These are questions offering a choice between multiple options. They are structured like Ja/Nein-Fragen but include conjunctions like oder (or).

• Trinkst du Kaffee oder Tee? (Do you drink coffee or tea?)
• Fahren wir mit dem Zug oder mit dem Auto? (Are we traveling by train or by car?)

Created: 23 Dec 2025

Last Update: