Verb Position 2 in Main Clauses

1.The finite verb in position 2

In a German statement (a main clause), the finite verb stands in the second position. The finite verb is the form that changes with the subject: ich lerne, du lernst, er lernt, wir lernen. The rule is known as Verbzweitstellung, or V2.

In all three sentences exactly one sentence element comes before the verb, and the finite verb (lerne, lerne, arbeite) is second. What stands first can change; the place of the verb does not.

2.Position means block, not word

Position 1 is filled by one sentence element, and that element can be a single word or a whole group. In Am Montag arbeite ich zu Hause. the two words Am Montag together form one time block, so arbeite is still in position 2, even though it is the third word written.

Counting elements, not words, is what makes the rule reliable: a long opening such as Am frühen Morgen or Meine Schwester occupies position 1 just as a single word does.

3.What stands in position 2

Only the finite part of the verb goes into position 2. When a verb construction has several parts, the other parts move to the end of the clause and form a frame around the middle.

With a separable verb such as aufstehen, the prefix auf is split off and goes to the end; stehe is the finite verb in position 2. With a modal verb, muss, können, will take position 2 and the infinitive (arbeiten, kommen, lernen) stays at the end.

4.What can stand in position 1

Before the finite verb there is one element of the speaker's choice: the subject, a time, a place, an object, or another important piece of information.

At A1 the two most useful patterns are subject first and time or place first. The subject is the neutral starting point, but V2 does not require it.

5.One block before the verb

Position 1 holds exactly one block. Two independent elements before the finite verb push the verb to position 3, which is wrong in a main clause:

• correct: Heute arbeite ich zu Hause.
• wrong: *Heute ich arbeite zu Hause.

Heute and ich are two separate elements, so arbeite would come too late. When the first position is taken by something other than the subject, the subject moves behind the verb: Heute lerne ich Deutsch. This is not a special "reversed" order but a direct result of V2.

6.What V2 does not mean

V2 is easy to misread as a stricter or simpler rule than it is:

• Not "the verb is the second word". In Am Montag komme ich. the verb is the third word but the second element.
• Not "the subject is always first". In Heute kommt Anna. the subject Anna comes after the verb.
• Not "the whole verb is second". In Ich stehe früh auf. only stehe is in position 2; auf stays at the end.
• Not "every sentence type works the same". The rule describes statements. In a yes/no question the verb is first: Kommst du morgen? In a subordinate clause the finite verb goes to the end: Ich weiß, dass du morgen kommst.

7.Typical mistakes

• Keeping the subject in front of the verb after a time or place opening. Wrong: *Heute ich lerne Deutsch. Correct: Heute lerne ich Deutsch.
• Putting the infinitive into position 2 instead of the modal verb. Wrong: *Ich arbeiten muss heute. Correct: Ich muss heute arbeiten.
• Leaving the prefix of a separable verb attached in a main clause. Wrong: *Ich aufstehe um sieben Uhr. Correct: Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf.
• Counting words instead of elements. Am Montag arbeite ich. is correct: Am Montag is one element in position 1.