Table of Contents
Understanding Simple Main Clauses in German
In this chapter you learn how to build the most basic German sentences. You already know that you can say who you are and who someone else is with the verbs "sein" and "haben" in other subchapters. Here, the focus is on how to place words in a simple statement so that your sentence is correct and clear.
What is a Main Clause?
A main clause is a complete sentence. It can stand alone and expresses a full idea. In German, a main clause always has a finite verb, for example "bin", "bist", "ist", "habe", "hat".
In English you often say:
"I am Maria."
"He has a car."
In German, main clauses look similar, but the position of the verb is very strict.
In a German main clause, the finite verb is always in second position.
"Second position" does not mean the second word. It means the second element of the sentence. The first element can be short or long. The verb still stays directly after it.
Basic Word Order: Subject First
The easiest pattern is:
Subject + verb + rest of the sentence
In German:
Ich bin Maria.
Du bist Student.
Er hat ein Auto.
Sie hat zwei Kinder.
Subject tells you who or what does something. The subject is often a personal pronoun: "ich", "du", "er", "sie", "wir", "ihr", "sie". The finite verb comes directly after this subject.
Table: English vs German basic pattern
| English pattern | German pattern | Example German | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject + verb + rest | Subject + verb + rest | Ich bin Anna. | I am Anna. |
| Subject + verb + rest | Subject + verb + rest | Er ist Lehrer. | He is a teacher. |
| Subject + verb + object | Subject + verb + object | Sie hat ein Buch. | She has a book. |
| Subject + verb + place | Subject + verb + place | Wir sind in Berlin. | We are in Berlin. |
You can see that this simple pattern is very similar to English.
Basic rule:
Subject (often a pronoun) + finite verb + the rest
Example: Ich bin müde. / Du hast Zeit.
Verb in Second Position
The central idea for German main clauses at A1: the finite verb must be the second element of the sentence. "Second" is about structure, not about counting all words.
Look at these examples:
Heute bin ich müde.
Jetzt habe ich Zeit.
"Today" and "Now" are the first elements. The verb comes immediately after them. The subject now comes after the verb, but the verb is still in second place.
Compare:
Ich bin heute müde.
Heute bin ich müde.
Both sentences are correct. The difference is the first element. In the first sentence it is "Ich". In the second sentence it is "Heute". In both sentences, the verb "bin" stands in second position.
More examples:
Jetzt bin ich zu Hause.
In Berlin habe ich Freunde.
Heute Abend sind wir frei.
In each case, the verb is the second element. The first element can be a time, a place, or something else.
Whenever you move something in front, the finite verb stays in second position. The subject can move, but the verb cannot.
Simple Statements with "sein" and "haben"
You already learn the forms of "sein" and "haben" elsewhere. Here you see how they work inside simple main clauses.
Typical patterns with "sein":
Subject + sein + noun
Ich bin Lehrer.
Du bist Studentin.
Sie ist Ärztin.
Subject + sein + adjective
Ich bin müde.
Er ist krank.
Wir sind glücklich.
Subject + sein + place
Ich bin in Berlin.
Sie ist zu Hause.
Wir sind im Büro.
Typical patterns with "haben":
Subject + haben + noun
Ich habe ein Auto.
Du hast Zeit.
Er hat eine Schwester.
Wir haben ein Problem.
In all these sentences, the finite verb is in second position, after the subject.
Changing the First Element
In German, you can move parts of the sentence to the front for focus or style, but the rule about the verb does not change. This is important, because in English you often keep the subject in first place.
Time expression first:
Heute habe ich keine Schule.
Morgen habe ich einen Termin.
Am Montag bin ich in Berlin.
Place expression first:
In Berlin habe ich Freunde.
Zu Hause bin ich entspannt.
Object or complement first (you will see this more often later, but the rule is the same):
Deutsch lerne ich heute nicht.
Ein Auto hat er nicht.
You do not need to use these more complex orders very often at A1. It is still important that you understand that German is flexible with the first element, but not flexible with the position of the finite verb.
Structure with something in first position:
[First element] + finite verb + subject + rest
Example: Heute habe ich viel Arbeit.
Short Yes/No Statements and Answers
Yes/no questions are covered in another chapter. Here we focus on how you answer them with short main clauses.
Question: Bist du Anna?
Answer: Ja, ich bin Anna. / Nein, ich bin Maria.
Question: Hast du Zeit?
Answer: Ja, ich habe Zeit. / Nein, ich habe keine Zeit.
Question: Ist er Lehrer?
Answer: Ja, er ist Lehrer. / Nein, er ist Student.
Every answer is a simple main clause, with a subject and a verb in second position.
If you answer very short, you can also say:
Ja, bin ich.
Ja, habe ich.
These are also main clauses, but here the subject comes after the verb. The verb is still in second position if you count "Ja" as the first element.
Linked Main Clauses with "und" and "aber"
You can connect two simple main clauses with conjunctions like "und" and "aber". Each part that can stand alone is a separate main clause.
Ich bin Anna, und ich bin aus Spanien.
Er ist müde, aber er hat noch Arbeit.
Here, "ich bin Anna" is one main clause, "ich bin aus Spanien" is another. The same with "er ist müde" and "er hat noch Arbeit".
Inside each clause, the verb is in second position.
Ich bin Anna.
Ich bin aus Spanien.
Er ist müde.
Er hat noch Arbeit.
The conjunctions "und" and "aber" simply join them. The basic word order inside each clause does not change.
When you join two main clauses with "und" or "aber", each clause keeps its own word order: the verb is second in each clause.
Simple Negation in Main Clauses (Preview)
Negation is explained in more detail in another chapter. At this level you often see "nicht" or "kein" inside simple main clauses.
Ich bin nicht müde.
Sie ist nicht hier.
Ich habe kein Auto.
The important point here is that the main clause structure does not change. You still have:
Subject + finite verb + rest of sentence
The negation word belongs to "the rest of sentence", not to the core pattern of subject and finite verb.
New Vocabulary from This Chapter
| German | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| der Satz | sentence | A grammatically complete unit |
| der Hauptsatz | main clause | A clause that can stand alone |
| das Subjekt | subject | The "doer" of the action in the sentence |
| das Verb | verb | The action word, here often "sein", "haben" |
| die Wortstellung | word order | The order of elements in a sentence |
| die Position | position | Place or order of something |
| das Pronomen | pronoun | Word like "ich", "du", "er" |
| das Objekt | object | What receives the action |
| die Antwort | answer | Reply to a question |
| die Frage | question | Sentence that asks for information |
| und | and | Connects two ideas |
| aber | but | Shows a contrast |