2.38 Fronting, emphasis, and the Vorfeld — Epoché
What you will be able to do Use the first position of a German main clause, the Vorfeld , deliberately: for the topic, for a link to the previous sentence, or for contrast and emphasis. Put an object, an infinitive or a participle first for emphasis: Den Namen kenne ich. Tanzen kann er. Verloren haben alle. Use es as a placeholder when the subject comes later: Es waren viele Leute da. Es war einmal ein großer König. Write paragraphs that flow, with known information first and new information at the end. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Das Wetter war schön, und wir blieben den ganzen Tag am Strand. [1] The weather was beautiful, and we stayed on the beach all day. Ich habe den ganzen Film gesehen. [2] I watched the whole movie. Wir haben nicht den gleichen Geschmack. [3] Our tastes don't match. Es war sehr kalt; daher blieben sie zu Hause. [4] It was very cold, so they stayed at home. Ich habe es geahnt. [5] I saw it coming. Über Geschmack lässt sich nicht streiten. [6] There's no point in arguing over tastes. Ich konnte nicht ahnen, dass das passieren würde. [7] I couldn't anticipate that that would happen. Prerequisites : 2.37 — you need verb-second word order from 2.1 Grammar , the middle field from 2.22 Grammar , and the connectors from 2.32 Grammar . You learned in the first phase that the finite verb in a German main clause stands in second position, and that almost anything can stand before it. The rule says what is possible; this lesson is about what is chosen. German speakers use the first position, which grammarians call the Vorfeld , the fore-field , to manage information: to show what the sentence is about, to connect it with the sentence before, or to highlight a contrast. English does most of this with stress, with word order only in a few patterns, and with special constructions like it was … who . Mastering the Vorfeld is one of the steps from correct German to natural German. The patterns In the Vorfeld Example Effect the subject Ich kenne den Namen. neutral; the subject is the topic a time or place adverbial Danach stehe ich auf. neutral; sets the scene or continues a sequence a linking word Deshalb gehe ich. connects to the previous sentence an object Den Namen kenne ich. topic or contrast: the name, at least a pronoun referring back Das weiß ich. picks up what was just said an infinitive or participle Tanzen kann er. strong contrast: dancing is what he can do placeholder es Es waren viele Leute da. presents new information; the subject comes later a dative experiencer Mir ist kalt. the person who feels, with no subject at all Only one element may stand in the Vorfeld , but it can be long: a whole prepositional phrase, a subordinate clause, or an infinitive with its objects. The placeholder es disappears as soon as something else takes the first position: Es waren viele Leute da , but Gestern waren viele Leute da . The verb agrees with the real subject that follows, here Leute , so it is plural. In real sentences An object or a pronoun first : topic or contrast. German English Den Namen kenne ich. [8] I know the name. Den Hund habe ich gesehen. [9] I saw the dog. Den Fehler haben Sie gemacht. [10] It was you that made the mistake. Dich habe ich geliebt. [11] It was you who I loved. Das weiß ich. [12] I do know that. Das habe ich geahnt. [13] I suspected that. An infinitive or participle first : the strongest emphasis. German English Tanzen kann er. [14] That guy really can dance. Verloren haben alle. [15] Everyone lost. Gesagt, getan! [16] No sooner said than done. Linking words first : the paragraph moves on. German English Danach stehe ich auf. [17] After that, I get up. Deshalb gehe ich. [18] That's why I'm going. Außerdem sah ich nichts. [19] Besides, I didn't see anything. Placeholder es and the experiencer in the dative. German English Es waren viele Leute da. [20] There were lots of people. Es war einmal ein großer König. [21] Once there lived a great king. Mir ist kalt. [22] I feel cold. Ihm gehört die Firma. [23] He's the owner of the company. How English does it English marks contrast with stress or with a cleft. German Den Fehler haben Sie gemacht puts the object first; English keeps its word order and stresses you , or uses a cleft sentence: it was you that made the mistake . In the same way Dich habe ich geliebt is it was you I loved . When you read a German sentence that begins with an object, ask what is being contrasted. When you translate, consider a cleft or an as for … construction. English rarely fronts objects. The name I know is possible in English but marked and literary; Den Namen kenne ich is everyday German. German case endings make it possible: den Namen is clearly the object, so it can stand anywhere. In English, word order carries the grammar; in German, the endings do, which frees German word order for information. There is and the placeholder es . English introduces new things with there is , there are : there were a lot of people . German uses es with the verb agreeing with the following noun, Es waren viele Leute da , or es gibt for existence in general. Fairy tales begin with the same structure: Es war einmal ein großer König , once upon a time there was a great king . Old before new. Good German prose, like good English prose, puts what the reader already knows at the beginning of the sentence and what is new at the end, where the stress naturally falls. German has more freedom to do this: the Vorfeld picks up the previous sentence with das , deshalb , danach , a fronted object or a time phrase, and the new information goes to the end of the middle field, just before the second part of the verb. A paragraph in which every sentence begins with the subject sounds like a list; vary the Vorfeld . New words Six words from the example sentences, each with its sentence. Word (article, plural) Meaning Notes ahnen de to suspect, to have a feeling, to sense Ge