German Word Order: Verb Second After a Time or Place
When a German sentence begins with a time or place phrase instead of the subject, the subject moves after the verb so the conjugated verb stays in position 2.
German has a strict rule: the conjugated verb is always in position 2 in a main clause. "Position" here means the second slot, not the second word.
If you start with the subject, everything looks like English:
Ich gehe heute ins Kino. (I go to the cinema today.)
But German loves to put a time or place phrase first for emphasis. When you do that, the front phrase fills position 1, so the subject must jump to after the verb. This swap is called inversion.
| Position 1 | 2 (verb) | 3 (subject) | rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heute | gehe | ich | ins Kino. |
| In der Stadt | wohnt | mein Freund. |
Verb stays put; subject moves. Only the order of subject and verb changes — the verb never leaves slot 2.
For English speakers: English keeps subject-verb even after a front phrase (Today I go). German cannot: Heute ich gehe is wrong. Flip them: Heute gehe ich.
Examples
Heute gehe ich in die Schule.
Today I go to school.
In der Stadt wohnt mein Freund.
My friend lives in the city.
Morgen kommt der Zug um acht Uhr.
Tomorrow the train comes at eight o'clock.
Am Abend liest der Vater ein Buch.
In the evening the father reads a book.
Common mistakes
After a front time/place phrase, the verb must be in position 2, so the subject moves after it: gehe ich, not ich gehe.
You can front only one element; then the verb comes immediately, before the subject. The verb never goes to the end in a main clause.
Related topics
Practice
Morgen ___ nach Berlin.
Heute ___ wir ins Kino.
In der Schule ___ die Kinder Deutsch.