German verb position: V2, subordinate clauses and the verb bracket

In German the verb has a fixed place, and the place depends on the type of sentence. Learn the three patterns below and most word-order mistakes disappear. The key idea is that the conjugated verb (the one with a personal ending) is the one that moves. Other verb parts, such as infinitives and participles, have their own place.

Main clauses: the verb is second

In a statement the conjugated verb is always the second element. The first element can be a subject, a time, a place or almost anything else, but it counts as one unit.

1st element	2nd (verb)	Rest
Ich	lerne	heute Deutsch.
Heute	lerne	ich Deutsch.
Am Wochenende	besuchen	wir meine Eltern.

When something other than the subject comes first, the subject moves after the verb. This is called inversion. Wrong: Heute ich lerne Deutsch. Right: Heute lerne ich Deutsch. Position 1 can be long, but the verb still comes straight after it.

Questions

Type	Pattern	Example
yes/no	verb first	Sprichst du Deutsch?
question word	question word + verb + subject	Wo wohnst du?

The question word takes position 1, so the verb stays second. Note that German does not use "do": Wohnst du hier?, not Tust du wohnen hier?

Subordinate clauses: the verb goes to the end

Words such as weil (because), dass (that), wenn (if, when), ob (whether), obwohl (although) and als (when, in the past) start a subordinate clause. The conjugated verb moves to the end of that clause, and the clause is separated by a comma.

Main clause	Subordinate clause
Ich bleibe zu Hause,	weil ich krank bin.
Er sagt,	dass er morgen kommt.
Ich weiß nicht,	ob sie Zeit hat.
Wenn es regnet,	bleiben wir drinnen.

The last example shows an important rule. If the subordinate clause comes first, it counts as position 1 of the whole sentence. The verb of the main clause then follows immediately: Wenn es regnet, bleiben wir drinnen, not Wenn es regnet, wir bleiben drinnen.

Be careful with denn (because) and und, aber, oder: these coordinate clauses and do not move the verb. Ich bleibe zu Hause, denn ich bin krank.

The verb bracket (Satzklammer)

When a sentence has two verb parts, the conjugated verb stays in position 2 and the other part goes to the end, forming a bracket around the middle.

Type	Position 2	Middle	End
modal verb	Ich kann	heute nicht	kommen.
Perfekt	Er hat	gestern Fußball	gespielt.
future	Wir werden	nächstes Jahr nach Wien	fahren.
separable verb	Der Zug fährt	um acht Uhr	ab.

Separable verbs, such as anrufen, aufstehen, einkaufen, split in main clauses: Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf. In a subordinate clause they stay together: Ich weiß, dass er um sieben Uhr aufsteht. For the participles used in the Perfekt, see Perfekt vs Präteritum.

Common mistakes

Verb in third place after a time word. Wrong: Morgen ich gehe ins Kino. Right: Morgen gehe ich ins Kino.
Keeping the verb in the middle after weil. Wrong: Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich mag es. Right: ..., weil ich es mag.
Forgetting the comma before a subordinate clause. German always writes it.
Putting the infinitive in the middle. Wrong: Ich will gehen nach Hause. Right: Ich will nach Hause gehen.
Using inversion after und or aber. These words do not count as position 1.

A practical tip

Think of the verb as a magnet that sits in position 2 of the main clause and drops to the end when a conjunction such as weil or dass takes its place. Say sentences aloud and build them from the verb outwards.

Practice

Find the clause type first, then place the verb.

Cases give the sentence its meaning: see the four cases. Once you can build sentences, try introducing yourself.