GrammarA1· Mein Alltag

Verbzweitstellung

Word order: the verb in position 2

Kartoffel · your teacher

Hi! Let's look at this one together — step by step, no rush.

6 parts · about 4 min

1What & when

In one line

In a statement, the verb with its ending is always second, whatever comes first.

Before

Ich stehe um sieben auf.

Watch the sentence change …

Um sieben takes position 1. The verb stays in , so ich moves behind it.

„Um sieben stehe ich auf.“ — I get up at seven.

Kartoffel

First, what is it?

In a German statement, the verb has a fixed seat: . The first place is free. You can start with the (the person who does it), with a time or with almost anything. But the always comes second. That is the verb with the ending for the person, like stehe or arbeitet.

Kartoffel

And when do you need it? More often than you'd think:

Mein AlltagYou need it in every statement. You notice it most when you start with a time (). When you plan a day with a colleague, many sentences start with a time ().

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