Niw Englisch/Kapitel 1

This chapter will deal with the basic aspects of Niw Englisch word order. Further comments will be made in later chapters.

Subject - Inflected Verb
In clauses that stand alone, a main clause, the subject commonly appears in the first position, followed by the inflected, or conjugated, verb. The inflected verb then takes the personal ending that agrees with the subject.

In modern English, an adverb may be placed between the subject and the verb. In Niw Englisch, this cannot be done. The verb must be the second element in the sentence.

Inverted Word Order - Element X-Inflected Verb-Subject
When you wish to emphasize information and to establish a topic of a sentence, elements other than the subject often appear in the first position. Those elements are most often adverbial expressions. For stylistic reasons, it is important for you to vary the elements in the first position in order to avoid beginning too many sentences with the subject when you write in Niw Englisch. Please note that in Niw Englisch, similar to how German works, does not set off such elements with a comma.

Other elements, such as the grammatical object or a participle, occasionally also occur in the first position. They may be used to connect sentences effectively, to respond directly to a previous statement, or to emphasize something.

When an element other than the subject of the sentence occurs in the first position, the inflected verb must remain in the second position. The subject follows the inflected verb. To summarize, the subject of a given statement typically appears first, but if anything else appears in the first position, the subject of the sentence must appear directly after the verb.

Gefremmung 1-1
Understandung Identify the subject of each sentence below.
 * 1) Þen Lernryne hœdeþ Michael ælcen Tiwsdæȝ and Þunersdæȝ.
 * 2) Þie Friende besœkeþ Hannah om Wukenende.
 * 3) Æfens gæþ Kristina oft mid Hannah int Kino.
 * 4) Andi brœmþ om Sunnendæȝ seinen 30. Gebyrddæȝ.
 * 5) Þen Kaken bringeþ Erika and Katrina.
 * 6) Þie Gedrenke geholþ Kristine.

Gefremmung 1-2
Geþiedung Restate the following sentences by using the bolded words at the beginning, following the grammar reviewed above.

Example: ic ga þissen Æfen mid Karl int Kino. -> Þissen Æfen ga ic mid Karl int Kino.