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
Confused by sentence word order

Byron-K21
July 10, 2013

Paul-Weber
July 14, 2013
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
July 14, 2013
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
July 15, 2013

Gay-Lynn-B
August 21, 2013
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
August 21, 2013
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
August 22, 2013
<p>Hi GayLynn,</p><p>You are right in German the basic word order is subject+verb+other word forms. 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
August 24, 2013
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!