Forum Rocket German German Grammar Confused by sentence word order

Confused by sentence word order

Byron-K21

Byron-K21

I'm confused by the word order in this sentence: "Musst du bloß ausrollen, füllen, fertig". It has the verb in front even though the sentence doesn't have a question mark. The translation is "You just have to roll, fill, and done." I don't have a problem with the translation but I don't understand why the German sentence isn't "Du musst..." instead of "Musst du..." thanks
Paul-Weber

Paul-Weber

Hi Byron, I must admit it is not the proper way to build the sentence but quite in common in spoken German to shorten sentences up like in this case. What is left out here is the akkusative form of the demonstrative pronoun 'den' standing for the pastry. It should have been "Den musst du bloß ausrollen, füllen, fertig. Hope it helps! Paul
Byron-K21

Byron-K21

Yes, that makes perfect sense. Thank you Paul. The common vernacular frequently diverts from the official rules of grammar in all languages I expect. What would be great for us learners is if these little exceptions were footnoted somewhere in the lesson. Thanks and regards, Byron
adel--42

adel--42

Gay-Lynn-B

Gay-Lynn-B

Is this exception in word order in effect in Lesson 5.1 when the verb sell is before the pronoun we? Paul Normalerweise verkaufen wir keine ungeöffneten Flaschen. Please explain. Thanks, GayLynn
Byron-K21

Byron-K21

I think this is not an exception, but conformance to the rule that says the verb must be the second element in the sentence. Normalerweise, is the first element so the verb must come second.
Paul-Weber

Paul-Weber

<p>Hi GayLynn,</p><p>You are right in German the basic word order is subject+verb+other word forms.&nbsp;Often the word order is the same as in English like "Ich liebe Dich" - "I love you" or<br> "Er redet schnell" - "He talks fast". You could have also said: "Wir verkaufen normalerweise keine ungeöffneten Flaschen Paul." or "Paul wir verkaufen normalerweise keine ungeöffneten Flaschen."<br></p><p>The word order is much more flexible in German than it is in English but adverbs can be placed before a verb as it is in English. Example:<br> <br> "Jeden Tag (Time) fährt er mit dem Auto (Manner) ins Büro (Place)" - "Everyday he drives to work with his car."</p><p>Hope this helps!</p><p>Paul<br></p>
doug506

doug506

I am semi new to speaking German. Although I am having some trouble with the language structure, I enjoy reading your comments in the forum. I believe that as Byron K. said, " What would be great for us learners is if these little exceptions were footnoted somewhere in the lesson." Outside of that I would only like to say that I am proud to be a Rocket German student!

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