Word order is the last thing to become automatic, because it is decided by a word that often arrives before the verb does. Choose weil and the verb goes to the end; choose denn and nothing moves. You cannot plan the sentence until you have committed to the connector, which is why recognising them at speed matters more than knowing the rule.
Satzbau contains 248 sentences from A1 to C1, built as a tap-to-order exercise rather than multiple choice, so you have to produce the order rather than recognise it. Four modes separate the skills: subordinate clauses, main-clause connectors, pronoun order, and everything mixed.
The single most useful thing this app teaches is that three kinds of linking word do three different things. Weil sends the verb to the end. Denn, which means the same thing, changes nothing at all. Deshalb takes first position and pushes the subject behind the verb. Three sentences with identical meaning and three different word orders — decided entirely by which connector you chose.
The app covers 51 connectors in total, introduced at the level where the Goethe and Aspekte word lists introduce them, up to the extended participial attributes and Nominalstil of C1.
German word order is stricter than English in one respect and freer in another. The strict part: in a main clause the conjugated verb is always second. The free part: almost anything can occupy first position. And in a subordinate clause the rule flips entirely — the verb goes right to the end.
Position one can hold the subject, a time expression, an object, almost anything. Whatever goes there, the conjugated verb follows immediately.
| position 1 | verb | the rest |
|---|---|---|
| Ich | fahre | morgen nach Berlin. |
| Morgen | fahre | ich nach Berlin. |
| Nach Berlin | fahre | ich morgen. |
Notice that moving something to the front pushes the subject after the verb. It does not push the verb anywhere — the verb stays in second position throughout. This is the rule English speakers break most often, because English keeps the subject first.
A subordinating conjunction sends the conjugated verb to the very end of its clause.
| conjunction | meaning | level |
|---|---|---|
| weil | because | A2 |
| dass | that | A2 |
| wenn | if / when | A2 |
| ob | whether | B1 |
| obwohl | although | B1 |
| damit | so that | B1 |
| als | when (a single past event) | B1 |
| bevor | before | B1 |
| nachdem | after | B1 |
| während | while | B1 |
| bis | until | B1 |
| seitdem | since | B1 |
| falls | in case | B1 |
| sodass | so that (result) | B2 |
| indem | by …-ing | B2 |
The practice app keeps the three behaviours in separate modes, because they are separate skills:
Nebensätze drills the conjunctions that send the verb to the end. Hauptsätze verbinden drills everything that joins two ideas without moving it — coordinating conjunctions, adverbs and the um zu family. Wortstellung covers pronoun order, and Gemischt mixes all three, which is where the real skill lies: you have to recognise which kind of connector you are looking at before you can place the verb.
This is the distinction that decides most word-order errors. Three different kinds of word can join two ideas, and they do three different things to the verb.
| type | examples | what happens to the verb |
|---|---|---|
| subordinating conjunction | weil, dass, obwohl, wenn | goes to the end |
| coordinating conjunction | denn, und, aber, oder | nothing changes — stays second |
| adverb | deshalb, trotzdem, darum, dann | adverb takes position 1, verb second, subject after it |
Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin. — subordinating, verb last.
Ich bleibe zu Hause, denn ich bin krank. — coordinating, verb second.
Ich bin krank, deshalb bleibe ich zu Hause. — adverb, verb straight after it.
All three sentences mean the same thing. Only the word order differs, and the linking word is what decides it.
sondern also translates as but, and it is not interchangeable with aber. It only works after a negative — nicht or kein — and corrects it.
Das ist kein Tee, sondern Kaffee. — correcting a negative.
Das Zimmer ist klein, aber es ist hell. — plain contrast, no negative.
If there is no nicht or kein in the first clause, you need aber.
These take an infinitive with zu instead of a subject and a conjugated verb, and the infinitive closes the clause.
Ich lerne Deutsch, um in Wien studieren zu können. — purpose.
Er ging weg, ohne etwas zu sagen. — something that did not happen.
Er sah fern, statt die Hausaufgaben zu machen. — instead of.
These look like the same word and behave completely differently.
seit is a preposition taking the Dativ. It is followed by a time expression, not a clause: Seit einem Jahr wohne ich hier.
seitdem is a conjunction introducing a whole clause, and it sends the verb to the end: Es geht ihr besser, seitdem sie weniger arbeitet.
The test: if what follows is a noun phrase, use seit. If it is a subject with its own verb, use seitdem.
Connectors are introduced in the order the Goethe and Aspekte word lists introduce them. Each level adds new ones and keeps everything below it.
| connector | meaning | effect on the verb |
|---|---|---|
| und | and | stays second |
| oder | or | stays second |
| aber | but | stays second |
| denn | because | stays second |
| dann | then | second, subject after it |
| außerdem | besides | second, subject after it |
denn is the one to hold on to: it means the same as weil but leaves the word order alone. Meeting it before weil makes the contrast obvious later.
| connector | meaning | effect on the verb |
|---|---|---|
| weil | because | to the end |
| dass | that | to the end |
| wenn | if / when | to the end |
| sondern | but (only after a negative) | stays second |
| deshalb | therefore | second, subject after it |
| trotzdem | even so | second, subject after it |
| entweder … oder | either … or | unchanged |
weil, dass and wenn carry most of the weight at A2, and all three behave identically — learn one and you have all three.
| connector | meaning | effect on the verb |
|---|---|---|
| obwohl | although | to the end |
| damit | so that | to the end |
| ob | whether | to the end |
| als | when (one past event) | to the end |
| da | since / because | to the end |
| bevor | before | to the end |
| nachdem | after | to the end |
| während | while | to the end |
| bis | until | to the end |
| solange | as long as | to the end |
| seitdem | since (+ clause) | to the end |
| falls | in case | to the end |
| sodass | so that (result) | to the end |
| indem | by …-ing | to the end |
| seit | since (+ Dativ noun) | stays second |
| danach | after that | second, subject after it |
| zwar … aber | admittedly … but | unchanged |
| um … zu | in order to | zu + infinitive at the end |
| ohne … zu | without …-ing | zu + infinitive at the end |
| statt … zu | instead of …-ing | zu + infinitive at the end |
Watch the pairs that look alike. seit takes a noun phrase, seitdem takes a clause. als is for a single past event, wenn for repeated ones.
| connector | meaning | effect on the verb |
|---|---|---|
| wohingegen | whereas | to the end |
| anstatt dass | instead of | to the end |
| außer dass | except that | to the end |
| allerdings | however | second, subject after it |
| dennoch | nevertheless | second, subject after it |
| folglich | consequently | second, subject after it |
B2 also brings the subordinate clause in first position, where the main clause then begins with its own verb.
| structure | example | what it does |
|---|---|---|
| zumal | especially as | to the end |
| sofern | provided that | to the end |
| je … desto | the more … the more | end, then second |
| sowohl … als auch | both … and | unchanged |
| weder … noch | neither … nor | unchanged |
| Partizip I / II | der seit Wochen andauernde Streik | extended attribute |
| zu + Partizip I | eine nicht zu unterschätzende Gefahr | extended attribute |
| Nominalstil | nach Abschluss der Verhandlungen | a noun phrase replaces a clause |
If the clause contains a verb group, the whole group moves to the end — and the conjugated part goes last, after the part that would normally sit at the end.
| structure | main clause | subordinate clause |
|---|---|---|
| Perfekt | er hat geschlafen | …, weil er geschlafen hat |
| Modal | sie muss arbeiten | …, weil sie arbeiten muss |
| Passiv | es wird unterschrieben | …, ob es unterschrieben wird |
| Plusquamperfekt | es war gekürzt worden | …, weil es gekürzt worden war |
The pattern is consistent: the non-finite parts come first, the finite verb closes the clause.
A separable prefix splits off in a main clause. At the end of a subordinate clause it rejoins the stem and the verb is written as one word.
Der Film fängt um acht an. → …, bevor der Film anfängt.
The whole subordinate clause can move to the front of the sentence. It then counts as position one — so the main clause has to begin with its own conjugated verb, immediately after the comma.
This puts two verbs side by side across the comma, which looks wrong to English speakers and is entirely correct. It is very common in writing, and worth practising until it stops feeling strange.
When a sentence has both a dative and an accusative object, their order depends on whether each is a noun or a pronoun. There are three cases, and one of them reverses.
| objects | order | example |
|---|---|---|
| two nouns | Dativ, then Akkusativ | Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. |
| one pronoun | the pronoun first | Ich gebe ihm das Buch. |
| Ich gebe es dem Mann. | ||
| two pronouns | Akkusativ, then Dativ | Ich gebe es ihm. |
One rule covers all three: a pronoun always moves forward. With two nouns the dative leads; with two pronouns the accusative leads. That reversal is the part learners get wrong, because it contradicts the noun pattern learned first.
Never Ich gebe ihm es. Two pronouns are always accusative then dative.
When several adverbial phrases pile up in the middle of a sentence, the default order is Temporal, Kausal, Modal, Lokal — time, reason, manner, place.
Ich fahre morgen wegen der Arbeit mit dem Zug nach Berlin.
This is a tendency rather than an iron rule — moving a phrase earlier gives it emphasis — but it is a reliable default when you are unsure.