A simple sentence usually has a subject and a verb. The subject tells who or what does something. The verb tells what happens or what someone is. A simple sentence is a main clause and can stand on its own.

The subject often appears before the verb. It is usually a noun or a personal pronoun. In the simple main clause, the subject indicates the person or thing in the sentence.

The verb is the most important part of the sentence. In a simple main clause, the finite verb is in second position. The verb agrees with the subject.

In a simple main clause, the finite verb is in second position. Before the verb, the subject often stands. After the verb, additional sentence parts can appear. This is how the basic word order in the German main clause is formed.

Simple sentences follow fixed patterns. One pattern connects the subject and the verb. Another pattern adds an object or an adverbial. These patterns help in forming short main clauses.

A simple sentence can be negated. The negation shows that something does not apply or did not happen. In simple sentences, nicht is a common word for negation.

A simple question sentence is its own type of sentence. In yes-no questions, the finite verb is in the first position. In WH questions, the question word is in the first position and the finite verb in the second position.

You can now understand and form simple German main clauses. You recognize the subject and the verb and know the basic word order. You also recognize simple negations and questions as sentence types.