German word order gets easier when you stop translating English sentences and start paying attention to where the conjugated verb goes. Say a short sentence like Ich lerne heute Deutsch. The verb is in the second position. Now move heute to the beginning. Heute lerne ich Deutsch.
It’s still correct because the verb is still in the second position, and the subject moves after it. Try this with three more time expressions like morgens, am Montag or jeden Tag. Keep the verb where it is and let the rest of the sentence move around it. It’s better to do this than read a long explanation because you can hear and see the pattern right away.
Second position doesn’t always mean the second word in the sentence. It means the second element of the sentence. In Am Montag lerne ich Deutsch, Am Montag is one element, which means that lerne is in second position. It’s confusing if you count words. Instead, find the first part of the sentence and see if the verb comes right after it.
Short sentence frames are good for learning word order. Start with a simple sentence like Ich trinke Kaffee. Change one part at a time: Heute trinke ich Kaffee, Morgens trinke ich Kaffee, Zu Hause trinke ich Kaffee. Then change the verb or the noun. You can also ask a yes-no question. When you ask a question, the verb is in first position: Trinkst du Kaffee? Learning different forms of the same sentence makes it easier to learn the word order.
Don’t make the sentence too long. If you have many nouns, adverbs and clauses in the sentence, you can’t see the word order. Short sentences help you focus on finding the verb, the first part of the sentence and the rest of the sentence. As it gets more natural, you can learn longer time expressions, places and vocabulary.
When you are reading or listening, pay attention to sentences that start with anything other than the subject. Notice if heute, morgen, in Berlin or another expression comes first, and then look right at the verb that follows. See how often you spot this in real German. It will become more natural when you say it yourself.
