B2-95 · Use word order for emphasis
Space and the future
Put key information in the first position or after the verb bracket to stress it when talking about space travel and visions of the future.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
The Vorfeld: what comes first stands out
In a German main clause, almost any element can stand in the first position, the Vorfeld, before the conjugated verb. Putting an object or an adverbial there gives it emphasis or links it to what came before. The verb stays in second position and the subject moves behind it.
Den Mond haben Menschen schon 1969 betreten.
Humans set foot on the Moon as early as 1969.
Auf dem Mars will die Agentur eines Tages eine Station bauen.
On Mars, the agency wants to build a station one day.
Ins All fliegen bis heute nur wenige Menschen.
To this day, only a few people travel into space.
Diese Vision finde ich faszinierend.
I find this vision fascinating.
In Den Mond haben Menschen schon 1969 betreten, den Mond is the object and Menschen the subject. Das All means outer space, die Raumfahrt space travel and die Raumstation space station.
02
The Nachfeld: after the verb bracket
The two verb parts of a clause form a bracket, for example hat … gebaut. Some elements normally come after the bracket, in the Nachfeld: comparisons with als or wie, relative clauses and infinitive clauses with zu. This keeps the bracket short and puts the extra information at the end, where it carries weight.
Die Mission hat länger gedauert als geplant.
The mission took longer than planned.
Die Kapsel ist so schnell geflogen wie nie zuvor.
The capsule flew faster than ever before.
Die Agentur hat ein Teleskop gebaut, das weiter blickt als alle früheren.
The agency has built a telescope that sees further than all earlier ones.
Viele haben davon geträumt, eines Tages ins All zu fliegen.
Many have dreamed of flying into space one day.
A short comparison can also stand inside the bracket, but long relative and infinitive clauses almost always follow it. Moving an ordinary object to the Nachfeld is mainly spoken emphasis. Die Mission means mission and die Kapsel capsule.
03
Emphasis in a vision statement
Speeches about the future use both positions for effect. A fronted element creates contrast or links to the previous sentence, and a final clause leaves the listener with the key point. Even a participle can stand in the Vorfeld for strong emphasis: Erreicht haben wir dieses Ziel nur gemeinsam.
Nicht die Technik ist das größte Problem, sondern das Geld.
The biggest problem is not the technology but the money.
Gerade deshalb brauchen wir internationale Zusammenarbeit.
That is exactly why we need international cooperation.
Erreicht haben wir dieses Ziel nur gemeinsam.
We achieved this goal only by working together.
Wir haben mehr erreicht, als wir je für möglich hielten.
We achieved more than we ever thought possible.
Nicht A, sondern B corrects a statement: nicht die Technik, sondern das Geld. Gerade deshalb means that is exactly why. Die Zusammenarbeit means cooperation.
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