What is the basis structure of a German sentence?
The basics
Subject-> Verb-> Direct object
Subject- Noun (naming word), Pronoun (stands in place of noun-er, sie, es)
Verb-Doing word, agrees with the subjects, ends in -en
Direct object- the object affected by the action of the verb, in the accusative case
Reminder: Den (M), die (F), das (N) die (Pl)/einen (M), eine (F), ein (N)
Sample sentence in English- The Man (SUBJECT) buys (VERB) the apple (DIRECT OBJECT)
Sample sentence in German- Der Mann (SUBJECT) kauft (VERB) den Apfel (DIRECT OBJECT)
Note: the direct object takes the accusative case- der Apfel (nominative)-> den Apfel (accusative)
Remember: the accusative is one of the 4 cases in German. Nominative, accusative, dative and genitive!
Recognising the cases will help you make sense of a sentence!
Once you've mastered this, we can add more elements and make more complex sentences.
Related German GCSE answers
All answers ▸How do I remember what grammatical gender nouns have?
Which sentence contains the correct word order? A) Jeden Tag spiele ich Tischtennis mit meinen Geschwistern. B) Ich spiele Tischtennis zu Hause mit meinen Geschwistern jeden Tag. C) Jeden Tag ich spiele Tischtennis mit meinen Geschwistern.
Why are there no progressive tenses in German?
How can I improve my German vocabulary?