Editing German language (section)

===Word order===

Word order is generally less rigid than in Modern English. There are two common [[word order]]s: one is for main [[clause]]s and another for [[subordinate clause]]s. In normal affirmative sentences the ''inflected'' verb always has position 2. In polar questions, exclamations and wishes it always has position 1. In subordinate clauses the verb is supposed to occur at the very end, but in speech this rule is often disregarded.

German requires that a verbal element (main verb or [[auxiliary verb]]) appear second in the sentence. The verb is preceded by the [[topic-comment|topic]] of the sentence. The element in focus appears at the end of the sentence. For a sentence without an auxiliary this gives, amongst other options:

: ''Der alte Mann gab mir gestern das Buch.'' (The old man gave me yesterday the book; normal order)
: ''Das Buch gab mir gestern der alte Mann.'' (The book gave [to] me yesterday the old man)
: ''Das Buch gab der alte Mann mir gestern.'' (The book gave the old man [to] me yesterday)

: ''Gestern gab mir der alte Mann das Buch.'' (Yesterday gave [to] me the old man the book, normal order)
: ''Mir gab der alte Mann das Buch gestern.'' ([To] me gave the old man the book yesterday (entailing: as for you, it was another date))

The position of a noun in a German sentence has no bearing on its being a subject, an object, or another argument. In a [[sentence (linguistics)|declarative sentence]] in English if the subject does not occur before the predicate the sentence could well be misunderstood. This is not the case in German.

====Auxiliary verbs====
When an [[auxiliary verb]] is present, the auxiliary appears in second position, and the main verb appears at the end. This occurs notably in the creation of the [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]]. Many word orders are still possible, e.g.:

:''Der alte Mann hat mir heute das Buch gegeben.'' (The old man has given me the book today.)
:''Das Buch hat der alte Mann mir heute gegeben.'' (The book has the old man given me today.)
:''Heute hat der alte Mann mir das Buch gegeben.'' (Today the old man has given me the book.)

====Modal verbs====
Sentences using modal verbs place the infinitive at the end. For example, the sentence in Modern English "Should he go home?" would be rearranged in German to say "Should he (to) home go?" (''Soll er nach Hause gehen?''). Thus in sentences with several subordinate or relative clauses the infinitives are clustered at the end. Compare the similar clustering of prepositions in the following English sentence: "What did you bring that book which I don't like to be read to out of up for?"

====Multiple infinitives====
German subordinate clauses have all verbs clustered at the end. Given that auxiliaries encode [[future]], [[Passive voice|passive]], [[Modality (semiotics)|modality]], and the [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]], this can lead to very long chains of verbs at the end of the sentence. In these constructions, the past participle in ''ge-'' is often replaced by the infinitive.

''Man nimmt an, dass  der   Deserteur wohl  erschossen<sub>V</sub> worden<sub>psv</sub> sein<sub>perf</sub> sollte<sub>mod</sub>''<br />
One suspects that the deserter probably shot become be should<br />
("It is suspected that the deserter probably should have been shot")

The order at the end of such strings is subject to variation, though the latter version is unusual.

''Er wusste nicht, dass der Agent einen Nachschlüssel hatte machen lassen''<br />
He knew not that the agent a picklock had make let

''Er wusste nicht, dass der Agent einen Nachschlüssel machen lassen hatte''<br />
He knew not that the agent a picklock make let had

("He did not know that the agent had had a picklock made")