Sentence Structure & Word Order Overview

Jump to an in-depth noun guide or
continue reading to see summaries of each.

Word Order Guides:

Word Order

The word order differences between English and German are due to these languages belonging to entirely different categories of language — analytic and inflected, respectively.

English uses very rigid word order because it must, in lieu of other grammar components which were erased from the language over the centuries.

But German has relatively flexible word order because it can — certain grammar elements, i.e. the case system & declensions, make that possible!

So, what is word order exactly and how does it function in English vs. German?

Read the Word Order guide here.

Sentence Structure

This guide will give you the necessary bird’s eye view of the components of a German sentence and the order in which you must put them. 

There are TWO meta principles that underpin German sentence structure and then FOUR sentence structure patterns that are derived from them. 

Understanding the nuts and bolts of German sentence structure is not only crucial, but also surprisingly straightforward (<– and yet it’s rarely explicitly taught). 

Read the Sentence Structure guide here.