German V2 Word Order Explained

While some features of German grammar resemble those of English, German grammar differs from that of English in that it has, among other things a strict verb-second word order in main clauses.

In syntax, verb-second (V2) word order is the most distinctive principle of word order in Germanic languages. The only exception here is English, which has predominantly SVO order, although certain vestiges of the V2 phenomenon can also be found in English. The V2 principle requires that the inflected verb appear in second position of a declarative main clause, whereby the first position is occupied by a single major constituent that functions as the clause topic.



The sentences a-d, which are all perfectly acceptable, have the finite verb spielen in second position, whereby the major constituent that appears in the first position varies. Note that the subject die Kinder remains in the position immediately before the finite verb play. The V2 principle allows any major constituent to occupy the first position as long as the second position is occupied by the finite verb.

While modern English is broadly SV, an earlier stage of English was V2, and some vestiges of the former V2 structure surface in a number of varying constructions. Many instances of subject-auxiliary inversion, for instance, can be analyzed as V2 structures:


V2 order with the subject-auxiliary inversion of a constituent question:

a. Sam is watching the cup games.
b. Which games is Sam watching?


Inverse copular construction:

a. The cause of the riot is a picture on the wall.
b. A picture on the wall is the cause of the riot.


V2 order in narrative speaker-labeling:

a. The boy cried, "Wolf! Wolf!"
b. "Wolf! Wolf!" cried the boy.

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- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V2_word_order