One of the hardest part of learning Luxembourgish for English speakers might be the word order.

While there are cases in which Luxembourgish and English word order are identical, the word order in Luxembourgish is more variable and flexible than in English. In particular, sentences need not begin with the subject. BUT there are strict rules determining the position of the VERB and there are a few other rules to bear in mind.

And as there is much to say about the word order in Luxembourgish sentences I decided to write two lessons about this subject. This lesson is part one of the series.

1. Normal Word Order

A “normal” word order places the subject first, the verb second, and any other elements third.

Examples:

Ech gesinn dech net. I don’t see you.
Hatt schafft doheem. She works at home.

Throughout this lesson, note that verb refers to the conjugated verb, so, the verb that has an ending that agrees with the subject (hien ësst, du schaffs .. etc.).

Also, “in second position” or “second place,” means the second element, NOT necessarily the second word.  In the following sentence, the subject consists of three words and the verb  comes second, but it is the fourth word:

Example: 

Meng kleng Schwëster geet net an d’Schoul. My little (younger) sister doesn’t go to school.

2. Luxembourgish Compound Verbs

With compound verbs, the second part of the verb phrase ( separable prefix, past participle, infinitive) goes last, but the conjugated element is still second. Let’s take an example with the verb erausgoen.

Examples: 

Meng kleng Schwëster geet haut net eraus. My little sister doesn’t go out today.
Meng kleng Schwëster ass haut net erausgaang. My little sister didn’t go out today.
Meng kleng Schwëster wëll haut net erausgoen. My little sister doesn’t want to go out today.

Haut geet meng kleng Schwëster net an d’Schoul.
Virun dräi Deeg ass meng kleng Schwëster net an d’Schoul gaang. My little  sister didn’t go to school 3 days ago.

3. The Verb Is Always the Second Element

No matter which element begins a Luxembourgish declarative sentence (a statement), the verb is always the second element. If you remember nothing else about Luxembourgish word order, remember this. The subject will either come first or immediately after the verb if the subject is not the first element. This is a simple and fast rule. In a statement (not a question) the verb always comes second.

This rule applies to sentences and phrases that are independent clauses. The only verb-second exception is for dependent or subordinate clauses. In subordinate clauses the verb always comes last. I will go more in details about the word order in subordinate clauses in part 2 of this series (so next week).

One other exception to this rule: interjections, exclamations, names, certain adverbial phrases – usually set off by a comma.

Examples: 

Nee, meng kleng Schwëster geet haut net eraus.
Anne, ech kann haut net an de Cours kommen. Anne, I cannot come to the class today.
Wéi gesot, ech kann haut net kommen. As I said, I cannot come today.

In the sentences above, the initial word or phrase (set off by a comma) comes first, but does not alter the verb-second rule.

By the way,  you can listen to the weekly lesson on the “Luxembourgish with Anne podcast” via iTunes!

4. Time, Manner and Place: Wéini, Wéi, Wou

Another area where Luxembourgish syntax may vary from that of English is the position of expressions of time wéini?, manner wéi? and place wou?

In English we would say, Tom is coming home on the train today. English word order in such cases is place, manner, time… the exact opposite of Luxembourgish. In English it would sound odd to say, Tom is coming today on the train home, but that is precisely how Luxembourgish wants it said: time, manner, place.

Examples:

Den Tom kënnt haut mam Zuch heem. haut (time), mam Zuch (manner), heem (place).
Ech ginn all Dag zu Fouss op d’Aarbecht. all Dag (time), zu Fouss (manner), d’Aarbecht (place).

5. Luxembourgish Subordinate (or Dependent) Clauses

Subordinate clauses, those parts of a sentence that cannot stand alone and are dependent on another part of the sentence, introduce more complicated word order rules.  A subordinate clause is introduced by a subordinating conjunction datt, ob, well, wann  etc or in the case of relative clauses, a relative pronoun deen, déi, dat.

The conjugated verb is placed at the end of a subordinate clause.

Summary :

1 Simple, declarative sentences are identical in Luxembourgish and English: Subject, verb, other.

2 The verb is always the second element in a Luxembourgish sentence.

3 With compound verbs, the second part of the verb goes last, but the conjugated part is still second.

4 Luxembourgish sentences are usually “Time, Manner, Place.”

5* After a subordinate clause / conjunction, the verb goes last.

*Learn more about the word order in subordinating clauses and about conjunctions in the next lesson.

I am happy to announce that Easy Luxembourgish Level 2 is ready!

If you want to take your Luxembourgish to the next level then this online course is for you. Get your FREE Lesson 1!