Die Satzklammer · the verb bracket
German holds a sentence together with a bracket: the finite verb grabs it on the left, its partner — a participle, an infinitive or a separable prefix — grabs it on the right. Flip the scenario and watch the same words re-slot.
Left clamp = the finite (conjugated) verb · right clamp = the non-finite part
Ich rufe heute meinen Freund an.
I'm calling my friend today.
Main clause = verb-second (V2). Exactly one element sits in the Vorfeld; the finite verb is always the 2nd element — here the separable prefix already opens the Satzklammer.
Merkhilfe: in a main clause the finite verb is always the 2nd element and its non-finite partner waits at the end. In a Nebensatz there is no Vorfeld and the finite verb drops to the very end.
Inside the bracket
When several adverbials share the Mittelfeld, German prefers the order Temporal → Kausal → Modal → Lokal (when → why → how → where).
Ich fahre morgen wegen des Termins mit dem Bus in die Stadt.
“Tomorrow I’m going into town by bus because of the appointment.”
Make it stick
Tap the scrambled words into the right order. Ten sentences across V2, Perfekt, modals and Nebensätze — you'll get a score at the end.