II. INVERTED CONSTRUCTION.

§ 13. The ordinary way of arranging the words is to place the =subject= and its adjuncts =first=, and the =predicate= with its adjuncts =after=; as—

+Der gute Vater+ (subj.) +ist heute Morgen mit seinen drei Töchtern nach London abgereist+ (predicate with adjuncts).

The good father has left this morning for London with his three daughters.

=But this construction is sometimes inverted, so as to place the predicate, or a part of the predicate, before the subject.= This is the case:

(a) =In interrogative clauses=; as—

+~Kommt~ der Mann heute?+

Does the man come to-day?

+~Ist~ der Vater nach London abgereist?+

Has the father left for London?

+~Hat~ er kein Geld bei sich?+

Has he no money about him?

(b) =In imperative clauses=; as—

+Senden Sie diesen Brief zur Post!+

Send this letter to the post-office!

(c) =In exclamatory clauses=; as—

+~Hätte~ er auf mich gehört!+

Would he had listened to me!

(d) =In subordinate clauses beginning with an adverbial conjunction.= (See § 124 of Lange’s German Grammar.)

§ 14. The ordinary way of arranging the words is often departed from for the sake of =emphasizing a part of the predicate=. In this case the part to be emphasized is placed at the beginning of the sentence, and the =construction must be inverted=, that is to say the =subject= must be placed =after the verb=; as—

+~Die letzten Worte hatte~ der junge Mensch mit gehobener Stimme gesprochen.+

The last words the young man had spoken with an elevated tone of voice.

+~Heute kann~ er nicht abreisen, sondern morgen.+

He cannot depart to-day, but to-morrow.

+~Mit dem zwölf Uhr Zuge kann~ er nicht mehr fahren, denn es ist zu spät.+

He cannot go by the twelve o’clock train, for it is too late.

These sentences would read in the ordinary construction: +Der junge Mensch hatte die letzten Worte mit gehobener Stimme gesprochen. Er kann nicht heute abreisen, sondern morgen. Er kann nicht mehr mit dem zwölf Uhr Zuge fahren, denn es ist zu spät.+ The words »+Die letzten Worte+,« »+heute+,« »+mit dem zwölf Uhr Zuge+,« have been made emphatic by being placed at the beginning of the sentence, which required the verb and the subject to interchange places.

§ 15. Sometimes =a subordinate clause= (that is to say a clause dependent on another clause, without which it would not be understood) =is made emphatic by being placed before the principal clause=. Then also the =subject= of the principal clause must be placed =after= the =verb=; as—

+Als er in die Stube kam, ~fand er~ mich am Schreibtische.+

When he came into the room, he found me at the desk.

In this example the principal clause is »+er fand mich am Schreibtische+,« and the subordinate clause is contained in the words »+Als er in die Stube kam+;« this latter clause has been emphasized by being placed before the principal clause, but it required the principal clause to be inverted, so as to place the subject (+er+) after the verb (+fand+).

Here are some more examples of the same class:

+Weil er ein guter Junge ist, ~will~ ich ihm seine Bitte gewähren.+

Because he is a good fellow, I will grant his request.

+Nachdem er gegessen und getrunken hatte, ~ging er~ nach Hause.+

After having eaten and drunk, he went home.