Parts of Speech in German (Satzglieder)

By sentence components, we mean the fundamental building blocks of a sentence that help us understand its structure and meaning.

In German grammar, the most important sentence components are the subject ("Subjekt"), the predicate ("Prädikat"), the object ("Objekt"), and the adverbial phrases ("Adverbiale Bestimmungen").

Each of these blocks plays a crucial role in building a sentence and contributes to its overall meaning.

On this page, we offer an overview of these components and their functions.

Subject & Predicate

The "Subjekt" and "Prädikat" are the central elements of every sentence. The subject refers to the person or thing performing the action, while the predicate describes the action or state.

Subject

The subject of a sentence is in the nominative case (the first of the four German declension cases) and is often a noun or a pronoun. It answers the question wer? (who?) or was? (what?).

Example:

„Der Hund bellt.“

Wer oder was bellt? „Der Hund“.

Predicate

The predicate is the central verb of the sentence and shows what the subject is doing or what is happening to it. It often consists of one or more verbs that express the action, process, or state. You can find the predicate by asking about the subject's action (What is the subject doing?).

Example:

„Der Hund bellt.“

Was tut der Hund? Er „bellt“.

Object

Objects complement the predicate and provide additional information about who or what the predicate's action refers to. There are different types of objects, each in a specific declension case.

Accusative Object

The accusative object is in the accusative case (the second of the four German declension cases), indicates the direct object of the sentence, and answers the question wen? (whom?) or was? (what?).

Example:

„Ich sehe den Hund.“

Wen oder was siehst du? „Den Hund“.

Dative Object

The dative object (the third of the four German declension cases) indicates the indirect object of the sentence and answers the question "wem?" (to whom?).

Example:

„Ich gebe dem Hund einen Knochen.“

Wem gibst Du den Knochen? „Dem Hund“.

Genitive Object

The genitive object (the fourth and final of the four German declension cases) is required by certain verbs and answers the question wessen? (whose?).

Example:

„Er gedenkt der Toten.“

Wessen gedenkt er? „Der Toten“.

Adverbial Phrases

Adverbial phrases ("Adverbiale Bestimmungen") provide additional information about the circumstances of an action, such as time, place, reason, or manner.

They are flexible sentence components that can offer varied information, and the German language includes the following types:

Adverbial Phrase of Time (Temporal)

Indicates when something happens.

Example:

„Ich gehe morgen einkaufen.“

Here, „morgen“ is the temporal adverbial ("Temporalbestimmung").

Adverbial Phrase of Place (Local)

Indicates where something happens.

Example:

„Ich wohne in Berlin.“

Here, „in Berlin“ is the local adverbial ("Lokalbestimmung").

Adverbial Phrase of Reason (Causal)

Indicates the reason for an action.

Example:

„Wegen des Regens bleiben wir zu Hause.“

Here, „Wegen des Regens“ is the causal adverbial ("Kausalbestimmung").

Adverbial Phrase of Manner (Modal)

Indicates how something happens.

Example:„Sie liest das Buch laut vor.“

Here, „laut“ is the modal adverbial ("Modalbestimmung").

Conclusion

Sentence components are essential for understanding and constructing sentences. Each component—whether subject, predicate, object, or adverbial phrase—has its own role and contributes to the overall meaning of a sentence.

For a deeper insight into the individual sentence components, and more specific examples, we recommend the respective dedicated articles on each of these components.