Answers
Nov 21, 2013 - 04:45 AM
Hi Clive, thanks for your important questions! The best way to internalise German word order is doing exactly what you're doing: immersing yourself and asking questions if you don't understand something! I know it's hard always keeping all the rules in mind, so asking questions is the best way to remind yourself.
German word order is really not easy. So let me help you with your specific questions:
1) Hilfst du den Kolleginnen morgen mit dem schwierigen Projekt? (Will you(i) help the colleagues(f) with the difficult project tomorrow?) Why is "morgen" not after the subject?
"Den Kolleginnen" is an INdirect, not a direct object. "Helfen" requires an indirect object (always in the dative) in German, as does "geben" as well.
Let's make a normal statement for you to see better:
Du hilfst den Kolleginnen morgen mit dem schwierigen Projekt.
(You'll help the [female] colleagues with the difficult project tomorrow.)
The indirect object comes after the conjugated verb, "hilfst". So if you make a question out of this sentence, you switch the verb and the subject (Du hilfst > Hilfst du?), but the rest of the sentence remains the same.
This is ALMOST always the case. There is one exception, and that's if the DIRECT object is a pronoun but the INdirect object is a noun. In that case, the direct object (pronoun) goes directly after the conjugated verb and the INdirect object follows the direct object, before T-M-P:
Sie haben den Koffer [direct object] meiner Mutter [indirect object] am Dienstag im Hotel gegeben.
(They gave the suitcase to my mother at the hotel on Tuesday.)
Watch level 4 session 7 again for the complete list of scenarios for sentences with indirect and direct objects.
2) Wir haben nach dem Spiel am Strand seine Freunde gesehen. (We saw his friends at the beach after the game.) Why is "seine Freunde" after "am Strand" and not before it?
Direct objects (seine Freunde) usually go after time/manner/place indications (nach dem Spiel/after the game = TIME; am Strand/at the beach = PLACE). Only when the direct object is a pronoun, it goes after the conjugated verb.
3) Sie hat gestern im Geschäft ein tolles Sofa gesehen.
(She saw a great sofa at the shop yesterday.)
Why is "ein tolles Sofa" in the last position?
As above, "ein tolles Sofa" is the direct object (WHAT is it that she saw?), so it comes after the T-M-P indications.
Hoping this helps a bit! Keep asking questions!
German word order is really not easy. So let me help you with your specific questions:
1) Hilfst du den Kolleginnen morgen mit dem schwierigen Projekt? (Will you(i) help the colleagues(f) with the difficult project tomorrow?) Why is "morgen" not after the subject?
"Den Kolleginnen" is an INdirect, not a direct object. "Helfen" requires an indirect object (always in the dative) in German, as does "geben" as well.
Let's make a normal statement for you to see better:
Du hilfst den Kolleginnen morgen mit dem schwierigen Projekt.
(You'll help the [female] colleagues with the difficult project tomorrow.)
The indirect object comes after the conjugated verb, "hilfst". So if you make a question out of this sentence, you switch the verb and the subject (Du hilfst > Hilfst du?), but the rest of the sentence remains the same.
This is ALMOST always the case. There is one exception, and that's if the DIRECT object is a pronoun but the INdirect object is a noun. In that case, the direct object (pronoun) goes directly after the conjugated verb and the INdirect object follows the direct object, before T-M-P:
Sie haben den Koffer [direct object] meiner Mutter [indirect object] am Dienstag im Hotel gegeben.
(They gave the suitcase to my mother at the hotel on Tuesday.)
Watch level 4 session 7 again for the complete list of scenarios for sentences with indirect and direct objects.
2) Wir haben nach dem Spiel am Strand seine Freunde gesehen. (We saw his friends at the beach after the game.) Why is "seine Freunde" after "am Strand" and not before it?
Direct objects (seine Freunde) usually go after time/manner/place indications (nach dem Spiel/after the game = TIME; am Strand/at the beach = PLACE). Only when the direct object is a pronoun, it goes after the conjugated verb.
3) Sie hat gestern im Geschäft ein tolles Sofa gesehen.
(She saw a great sofa at the shop yesterday.)
Why is "ein tolles Sofa" in the last position?
As above, "ein tolles Sofa" is the direct object (WHAT is it that she saw?), so it comes after the T-M-P indications.
Hoping this helps a bit! Keep asking questions!
Nov 21, 2013 - 03:52 PM
Thank you Uta again for your help, I do find it hard to know which is the indirect object and the direct object of a sentence in German, sometimes and I get myself a bit confused, more practice for me I guess. I would like to make a suggestion and that is, after cd4 lesson 7 I think it would be a good idea to colour code all the Io,T,M,P and Donoun as per the lessen to assist those like myself who sometimes struggle to grasp the new concept. However I absolutely love learning with Fleunz I wish I did it years ago and not wasted time and money on other learning websites that just tend to teach you vocab. Great job Fleunz
Nov 23, 2013 - 02:23 PM
When it comes to word order in German relating to time, the denoting of time usually comes first in a German sentence...