LanguagesYear 8 German: word order and cases30 min★★★ difficulty

Verb second: German word order that works

German sentences move around the verb. Once you accept that the verb holds position two, whole paragraphs become predictable.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Use and manipulate a variety of key grammatical structures and patterns, including voices and moods as appropriate

Key learning points

• Position two, always
• Inversion in practice
• Weil sends the verb to the end
• Time, manner, place

This lesson at a glance

30 minutes
18 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

manipulatevarietygrammaticalstructurespatterns

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Part 1 of 18 · Discover6%

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Part 1 of 18

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Verb second: German word order that works

An English teaching video on this topic from mugridge language. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Use and manipulate a variety of key grammatical structures and patterns, including voices and moods as appropriate

What you already know

Part 2 of 18

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know present-tense endings for regular German verbs and common subject pronouns.

Key words

Part 3 of 18

Key words

Words you'll need today

Verbzweit: verb-second — the finite verb takes the second position
Inversion: swapping subject and verb when something else comes first
Zeitangabe: a time expression such as heute or am Montag
weil: because — sends the verb to the end
Wortstellung: word order

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 18

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Verb in position two

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 18

Learn

Position two, always

Ich spiele Fussball. The subject is first and the verb second. Position counts in blocks, not words: Am Montag spiele ich Fussball — the whole time phrase is block one, so the verb still comes second and the subject follows it.

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 18

Learn

Inversion in practice

Whenever you begin with time, place or an opinion phrase, the subject moves behind the verb. Heute gehe ich ins Kino. Meiner Meinung nach ist Deutsch nützlich. Getting this right is the fastest way to sound German rather than translated.

Quick check

Part 7 of 18

Quick check

Correct sentence?

Reset break

Part 8 of 18

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Quick check

Part 9 of 18

Quick check

After weil the verb goes...

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 18

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Inversion, weil and time-manner-place

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 18

Learn

Weil sends the verb to the end

Ich lerne Deutsch, weil es nützlich ist. After weil, dass or obwohl the finite verb goes last, and a comma marks the join. Learn one model sentence and reuse its shape.

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 18

Learn

Time, manner, place

When several details follow the verb, order them time, manner, place: Ich fahre am Samstag mit dem Bus in die Stadt. English prefers the reverse, which is why direct translation sounds wrong.

Quick check

Part 13 of 18

Quick check

Correct order of details?

Quick check

Part 14 of 18

Quick check

'Ich lerne Deutsch, weil es nützlich ...'

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 18

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

A time phrase at the start does not count as the subject — you must invert.
Weil is not the same as denn: denn keeps normal word order.
Position two means the second element, not the second word.

Challenge round

Part 16 of 18

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Mastery quiz

Part 17 of 18

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Verb second: German word order that works

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. Verb-second means the verb is the...
2. Denn is followed by...
3. 'Am Montag ___ ich Tennis.'
4. Obwohl means...
5. 'mit dem Bus' is which element?
6. Inversion is triggered by starting with...

Lesson round-up

Part 18 of 18

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

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Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

Une journée à Lyon

Samedi matin, je me lève à sept heures et demie. Je prends le petit déjeuner avec ma sœur — du pain, du beurre et un chocolat chaud. Ensuite, nous prenons le bus jusqu'au centre-ville.

J'aime beaucoup Lyon parce qu'il y a un grand marché près du fleuve. Ma sœur préfère les magasins, mais moi, je préfère le marché : c'est moins cher et c'est plus intéressant. À midi, nous mangeons un sandwich au parc.

L'après-midi, il commence à pleuvoir, alors nous rentrons à la maison en tram. Le soir, je fais mes devoirs et je regarde un film avec mes parents.

Original text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

In English, say what the writer does in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
Find the phrases that give an opinion and a reason, and copy them out.
Write 8–10 sentences about your own Saturday, using at least three phrases from the text.

Written practice
Writing
Write the sentences out in the language, then translate them back into English.
8–10 sentences
Vocabulary page
Working out
Copy the new words, cover them, and test yourself. Note the ones you keep missing.
15 words

Write your answer, notes or working here

Saved as you type.

Photos of paper work, diagrams or working outHow many minutes did the written work take?

Part 1 of 18 · Watch & discover

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