German Sentence Structure 101: How to Build German Sentences (2023)

FAQs

How do you structure a sentence in German? ›

The basic German sentence order is SVO: subject, verb, object. The verb, the main verb or the conjugated part of the verb is always the second element of the sentence. If the subject does not precede the verb, main verb or conjugated part, it must follow it immediately.

In English grammar, we usually just have one main subject and one main verb in a sentence. But German grammar is a bit more tricky. There can be numerous subjects and verbs, and they can be arranged in a number of different ways. This can be confusing for English speakers who are used to simpler sentence structures.

If you remember nothing else about German word order, remember this: the subject will either come first or immediately after the verb if the subject is not the first element. This is a simple, hard and fast rule. In a statement (not a question) the verb always comes second.

The five-sentence elements are subject, verb, object, complement, and adjunct (SVOCA). The subject is the performer of an action or the agent of the verb. It is usually at the beginning of a sentence, and it is generated by a noun or any of its equivalents, such as a pronoun, a noun phrase, or a noun clause.

As always, understanding WHY German grammar is what it is is the first step to understanding HOW to correctly use German grammar! PRINCIPLE #1: The subject noun (nominative case) MUST be next to the verb. PRINCIPLE #2: The verb MUST be the 2nd element (a.k.a. in the 2nd position).

1. Eichhörnchen (Squirrel) Also a difficult one in English, this is a classic when it comes to difficult German words to pronounce.

But what makes German so hard to learn? The only reason that German seems so difficult to people is that it has grammar rules that other languages don't. German is a language with relatively high “inflection,” meaning that the words in a sentence change based on their grammatical roles.

Starting with Independent and Dependent Clauses, using the 5 Ws, using Subordinating Conjunction, Sandwich Sentences and fun games are some of the most effective ways to teach Complex Sentences to the students. Using these can bring improvement in children's writing.

How do you check my German sentence is correct or not? ›

Q5: What are the 8-types of sentences? Answer: There are 8-types of sentences on the basis of function and structure are Declarative Sentence, Interrogative Sentence, Exclamatory Sentence, Imperative Sentence, Simple sentence, Compound Sentence, Complex sentence, and Compound -Complex sentence.

Small talk in German

“Wie geht's?” OR “Wie geht es dir?” Now, the classical small talk answer would be something like “fine”, “good” or “I am fine.”, “I am good.” etc. Of course one can answer the same things in German: “Gut” OR “Mir geht es gut.” / “Es geht mir gut.”

How many German words do you need to know for B2? ›

Reaching B2 is generally considered by most people as having basic fluency. You'll have a working vocabulary of around 4000 words.

Some parts of German grammar are particularly tricky for English speakers to get to grips with, but German grammar is actually arguably easier to learn than English grammar because it follows set rules that are laid down by the three regional authorities, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (with small differences ...

Duolingo is brilliant for getting to grips with the listening and reading side of a language. You even get opportunities to practice your pronunciation. But when it comes to speaking in a real-life scenario, Duolingo's German course won't get you there by itself.

Hi! I recently passed my reading and listening in Goethe B1.. and I can say that I still can't do every single exercise with a 100% ease. It seems clear to me that duolingo near end is actuality B2 level.

As a rule of thumb, German universities require you to present a proof of upper intermediate to advanced German language skills (level B2/C1) to study in German.

So, how long do you need to learn German if you want to reach this level of fluency? According to the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI), you'll need about 750 hours of study to become fluent in German. This means that if you study 12-15 hours a week, you'll be able to speak like a pro in just a year!

Overall, Spanish might be easier than German at the beginning stages, but the two tend to even out in difficulty once learners get to the more advanced stages. German has more complicated grammar rules that need to be mastered early on, but once learners get familiar with them, they find that they're pretty consistent.

What is the best way to improve sentence fluency? ›

Read Aloud

One of the biggest and easiest ways to improve sentence fluency is by reading your work aloud. When reading your work aloud, you will notice mistakes that you did not see in writing.

If two clauses are connected with a coordinating conjunction, it's a compound sentence. If two clauses are connected with a subordinating conjunction, it's a complex sentence.

Put the words in context

A good idea to learn more words faster is to put them in context: Instead of writing lists of random words, try to put them in sentences. That way, you know how the word is used in real life. Plus, if you come up with funny sentences, it will be easier to memorize.

Some people might think that because German is a “hard” language, it must be difficult to make grammar mistakes in it. But nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, even Germans make grammar mistakes sometimes.

German.net is a website that offers different resources for German learners such as vocabulary lists, grammatical explanations and simple German readings. It also offers grammar exercises for beginner German learners. There are 12 subheadings of exercises to choose from.

Currently, Grammarly supports only the English language. With that being said, Grammarly recognizes a number of spelling, grammar, and punctuation differences in American, British, Canadian, Australian, and Indian English.

In order to feel comfortable speaking German, you really only need to learn about 3,000 words. In contrast, being fluent in German is defined as understanding 10,000+ words.

You need more than 3 months to be fluent. But even with such a short time, if you adjust your strategy, you can actually learn German and get really close to being fluent.

No matter whatever else you decide, a good rule of thumb is to try to learn at least 10-15 new German words every day. It might not sound like a lot, but pretty soon you'll have an impressive vocabulary to work with! By the end of one month, you could have a functional vocabulary of nearly 500 words.

How to improve German speaking? ›

A1 (Survival German): 60 – 150 hours. A2 (Basic German): 150 – 260 hours. B1 (Conversational German): 260 – 490 hours. B2 (High Intermediate German): 450 – 600 hours.

Depending on the German federal state, level B1 or B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is required.

With plenty of straightforward rules, German is not actually as hard to learn as most people think. And since English and German stem from the same language family, you might actually be surprised at the things you pick up without even trying! And on top of it all, it's definitely a useful one, too.

German Has the Same Sentence Structure as English

Since you already know English, mastering German sentence structure will be much easier. English and basic German sentences both follow the SVO (subject-verb-object) structure. This means that simple sentences will look something like this: The dog plays with the ball.

In a standard sentence in BOTH English AND German, the subject noun (i.e. nominative case) comes first, followed by the finite (a.k.a. conjugated) verb. All other information (e.g. accusative case, dative case, adverbs, etc.)

For example, in German and Dutch, the dominant order is SVO in main clauses lacking an auxiliary and SOV in subordinate clauses and clauses containing an auxiliary (see below for examples).

The only reason that German seems so difficult to people is that it has grammar rules that other languages don't. German is a language with relatively high “inflection,” meaning that the words in a sentence change based on their grammatical roles.

What are the 4 types of sentence structures? ›

There are four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Each sentence is defined by the use of independent and dependent clauses, conjunctions, and subordinators.

There are four cases in German: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possessive).

Subject/Predicate, Action Verb/Adverb. Subject/Predicate, Linking Verb/Predicate Nominative. Subject/Predicate, Linking Verb/Predicate Adjective. Subject/Predicate, Action Verb/Indirect Object/Direct Object.

In German, there is a clear structure to a sentence, so word order really matters. In German, the verb is always the second idea in a sentence.

The 9 German prepositions that always require that the noun in the phrase be in the dative case are aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber. Prepositions do NOT have tidy 1-to-1 English-German translations and must be learned within authentic spoken/written German context.

German has subject pronouns, too: ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie. But there are TWO varieties of non-subject pronouns (<– called accusative and dative personal pronouns).

German is rated as a category 2 language and considered to be similar to English. The FSI estimates that German takes approximately 30 weeks, or 750 classroom hours to learn. This study was conducted on a group of language students who spent 25 hours per week in class, and three hours daily on individual practice.