Click the German words in the correct order to build a sentence. Covers the V2 rule, yes/no questions, W-questions, modal verbs, and time expressions. 20 A1 exercises with full explanations.
German word order feels strange to English speakers at first because the verb does not always stay in second position — it always stays in second position. This is called the V2 rule (Verb-Zweit). No matter what comes first in the sentence, the finite verb (the conjugated verb) must be the second element.
The conjugated verb is always the second element in a German statement. If something other than the subject starts the sentence, the subject and verb swap positions.
In yes/no questions, the verb moves to position 1 — before the subject.
Questions starting with a question word (Wer, Was, Wo, Wann, Wie, Woher, Wohin, Warum, Wie viel) follow this pattern: Question word → Verb → Subject → Rest.
Modal verbs (können, müssen, dürfen, wollen, sollen, möchten) follow the V2 rule for their own position, but they push the main verb infinitive to the very end of the sentence.
A useful memory rule for ordering phrases in a German sentence: Time → Manner → Place (TMP). This means time words usually come before descriptions of how and where.