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 |
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.
Practise this in Satzbau →