Position of verb in a Fragesatz
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Why is the conjugated helping verb sind used at the 3rd position and not at the 2nd position in the Fragesatz
Wie alt sind Sie?
sentence-structure standard-german
edited Nov 19 at 11:08
Björn Friedrich
5,2611833
asked Nov 19 at 10:11
Utkarsh Singh
453
add a comment |
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
Why is the conjugated helping verb sind used at the 3rd position and not at the 2nd position in the Fragesatz
Wie alt sind Sie?
sentence-structure standard-german
edited Nov 19 at 11:08
Björn Friedrich
5,2611833
asked Nov 19 at 10:11
Utkarsh Singh
453
add a comment |
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
Why is the conjugated helping verb sind used at the 3rd position and not at the 2nd position in the Fragesatz
Wie alt sind Sie?
sentence-structure standard-german
edited Nov 19 at 11:08
Björn Friedrich
5,2611833
asked Nov 19 at 10:11
Utkarsh Singh
453
Why is the conjugated helping verb sind used at the 3rd position and not at the 2nd position in the Fragesatz
Wie alt sind Sie?
sentence-structure standard-german
sentence-structure standard-german
edited Nov 19 at 11:08
Björn Friedrich
5,2611833
asked Nov 19 at 10:11
Utkarsh Singh
453
edited Nov 19 at 11:08
Björn Friedrich
5,2611833
asked Nov 19 at 10:11
Utkarsh Singh
453
edited Nov 19 at 11:08
Björn Friedrich
5,2611833
edited Nov 19 at 11:08
Björn Friedrich
5,2611833
edited Nov 19 at 11:08
Björn Friedrich
5,2611833
5,2611833
asked Nov 19 at 10:11
Utkarsh Singh
453
asked Nov 19 at 10:11
Utkarsh Singh
453
asked Nov 19 at 10:11
Utkarsh Singh
453
453
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
In
Wie alt sind Sie?
the verb is indeed in second position as wie alt has to be treated as a unit here, it occupies the first position.
Indeed the sentence
Wie sind sie alt?
would be grammatical, but rather strange. It would mean something like "How are you old?" or "In which way are you old?".
answered Nov 19 at 10:19
Carsten S
13.1k12256
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
It's the exact same as in English.
How old are you?
Wie alt sind Sie?
The verb is almost always in second position in the sentence (except in yes/no questions like Sind Sie alt? / Are you old?, and sentences in the imperative mood). This here is no exception, because the first part is made of 2 words. In this case, the 'Wie' refers to 'alt' and together they build one part of a sentence: 'Wie alt'. Second comes the verb, and then the subject - 'Sie'.
You could interchange the sentence parts as long as the verb still comes second:
You | are | how old?
Sie | sind | wie alt?
answered Nov 19 at 12:22
Cashbee
57619
It is not true that in questions the verb is always in second position. In questions without an interrogative pronoun (questions that can be answered with yes or no) the verb comes first: Sind sie alt?
– RHa
Nov 19 at 12:26
@RHa thanks for pointing that out, I edited my answer.
– Cashbee
Nov 19 at 12:39
There is another exception. In the imperative mood, the verb occupies the first position in the sentence as well. In your answer, you didn't specify if you are talking only about questions.
– Abdullah
Nov 19 at 14:02
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
In
Wie alt sind Sie?
the verb is indeed in second position as wie alt has to be treated as a unit here, it occupies the first position.
Indeed the sentence
Wie sind sie alt?
would be grammatical, but rather strange. It would mean something like "How are you old?" or "In which way are you old?".
answered Nov 19 at 10:19
Carsten S
13.1k12256
add a comment |
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
In
Wie alt sind Sie?
the verb is indeed in second position as wie alt has to be treated as a unit here, it occupies the first position.
Indeed the sentence
Wie sind sie alt?
would be grammatical, but rather strange. It would mean something like "How are you old?" or "In which way are you old?".
answered Nov 19 at 10:19
Carsten S
13.1k12256
add a comment |
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
In
Wie alt sind Sie?
the verb is indeed in second position as wie alt has to be treated as a unit here, it occupies the first position.
Indeed the sentence
Wie sind sie alt?
would be grammatical, but rather strange. It would mean something like "How are you old?" or "In which way are you old?".
answered Nov 19 at 10:19
Carsten S
13.1k12256
In
Wie alt sind Sie?
the verb is indeed in second position as wie alt has to be treated as a unit here, it occupies the first position.
Indeed the sentence
Wie sind sie alt?
would be grammatical, but rather strange. It would mean something like "How are you old?" or "In which way are you old?".
answered Nov 19 at 10:19
Carsten S
13.1k12256
answered Nov 19 at 10:19
Carsten S
13.1k12256
answered Nov 19 at 10:19
Carsten S
13.1k12256
answered Nov 19 at 10:19
Carsten S
13.1k12256
13.1k12256
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
It's the exact same as in English.
How old are you?
Wie alt sind Sie?
The verb is almost always in second position in the sentence (except in yes/no questions like Sind Sie alt? / Are you old?, and sentences in the imperative mood). This here is no exception, because the first part is made of 2 words. In this case, the 'Wie' refers to 'alt' and together they build one part of a sentence: 'Wie alt'. Second comes the verb, and then the subject - 'Sie'.
You could interchange the sentence parts as long as the verb still comes second:
You | are | how old?
Sie | sind | wie alt?
answered Nov 19 at 12:22
Cashbee
57619
It is not true that in questions the verb is always in second position. In questions without an interrogative pronoun (questions that can be answered with yes or no) the verb comes first: Sind sie alt?
– RHa
Nov 19 at 12:26
@RHa thanks for pointing that out, I edited my answer.
– Cashbee
Nov 19 at 12:39
There is another exception. In the imperative mood, the verb occupies the first position in the sentence as well. In your answer, you didn't specify if you are talking only about questions.
– Abdullah
Nov 19 at 14:02
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
It's the exact same as in English.
How old are you?
Wie alt sind Sie?
The verb is almost always in second position in the sentence (except in yes/no questions like Sind Sie alt? / Are you old?, and sentences in the imperative mood). This here is no exception, because the first part is made of 2 words. In this case, the 'Wie' refers to 'alt' and together they build one part of a sentence: 'Wie alt'. Second comes the verb, and then the subject - 'Sie'.
You could interchange the sentence parts as long as the verb still comes second:
You | are | how old?
Sie | sind | wie alt?
answered Nov 19 at 12:22
Cashbee
57619
It is not true that in questions the verb is always in second position. In questions without an interrogative pronoun (questions that can be answered with yes or no) the verb comes first: Sind sie alt?
– RHa
Nov 19 at 12:26
@RHa thanks for pointing that out, I edited my answer.
– Cashbee
Nov 19 at 12:39
There is another exception. In the imperative mood, the verb occupies the first position in the sentence as well. In your answer, you didn't specify if you are talking only about questions.
– Abdullah
Nov 19 at 14:02
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
It's the exact same as in English.
How old are you?
Wie alt sind Sie?
The verb is almost always in second position in the sentence (except in yes/no questions like Sind Sie alt? / Are you old?, and sentences in the imperative mood). This here is no exception, because the first part is made of 2 words. In this case, the 'Wie' refers to 'alt' and together they build one part of a sentence: 'Wie alt'. Second comes the verb, and then the subject - 'Sie'.
You could interchange the sentence parts as long as the verb still comes second:
You | are | how old?
Sie | sind | wie alt?
answered Nov 19 at 12:22
Cashbee
57619
It's the exact same as in English.
How old are you?
Wie alt sind Sie?
The verb is almost always in second position in the sentence (except in yes/no questions like Sind Sie alt? / Are you old?, and sentences in the imperative mood). This here is no exception, because the first part is made of 2 words. In this case, the 'Wie' refers to 'alt' and together they build one part of a sentence: 'Wie alt'. Second comes the verb, and then the subject - 'Sie'.
You could interchange the sentence parts as long as the verb still comes second:
You | are | how old?
Sie | sind | wie alt?
answered Nov 19 at 12:22
Cashbee
57619
edited Nov 19 at 15:29
answered Nov 19 at 12:22
Cashbee
57619
answered Nov 19 at 12:22
Cashbee
57619
answered Nov 19 at 12:22
Cashbee
57619
57619
It is not true that in questions the verb is always in second position. In questions without an interrogative pronoun (questions that can be answered with yes or no) the verb comes first: Sind sie alt?
– RHa
Nov 19 at 12:26
@RHa thanks for pointing that out, I edited my answer.
– Cashbee
Nov 19 at 12:39
There is another exception. In the imperative mood, the verb occupies the first position in the sentence as well. In your answer, you didn't specify if you are talking only about questions.
– Abdullah
Nov 19 at 14:02
add a comment |
It is not true that in questions the verb is always in second position. In questions without an interrogative pronoun (questions that can be answered with yes or no) the verb comes first: Sind sie alt?
– RHa
Nov 19 at 12:26
@RHa thanks for pointing that out, I edited my answer.
– Cashbee
Nov 19 at 12:39
There is another exception. In the imperative mood, the verb occupies the first position in the sentence as well. In your answer, you didn't specify if you are talking only about questions.
– Abdullah
Nov 19 at 14:02
It is not true that in questions the verb is always in second position. In questions without an interrogative pronoun (questions that can be answered with yes or no) the verb comes first: Sind sie alt?
– RHa
Nov 19 at 12:26
It is not true that in questions the verb is always in second position. In questions without an interrogative pronoun (questions that can be answered with yes or no) the verb comes first: Sind sie alt?
– RHa
Nov 19 at 12:26
@RHa thanks for pointing that out, I edited my answer.
– Cashbee
Nov 19 at 12:39
@RHa thanks for pointing that out, I edited my answer.
– Cashbee
Nov 19 at 12:39
There is another exception. In the imperative mood, the verb occupies the first position in the sentence as well. In your answer, you didn't specify if you are talking only about questions.
– Abdullah
Nov 19 at 14:02
There is another exception. In the imperative mood, the verb occupies the first position in the sentence as well. In your answer, you didn't specify if you are talking only about questions.
– Abdullah
Nov 19 at 14:02
add a comment |
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