Information structure across a paragraph
Why one ordering is more coherent than another, and how to repair subject-first prose.
German word order is not free; it is informationally organised. The default is: what the reader already has comes early, what is new comes late. Position 1 is therefore the hook — the place where a sentence attaches itself to the previous one.
Old before new. If a sentence opens with information the reader does not yet have, they have to hold it unattached until the end of the sentence, which is exactly what makes prose feel heavy.
Die Studie untersucht die Auswirkungen des Homeoffice. Besonders deutlich zeigt sich der Effekt bei jüngeren Beschäftigten.
The study examines the effects of home working. The effect is particularly clear among younger employees.
der Effekt is already known; the new part (jüngere Beschäftigte) lands at the end
Die Kosten sind stark gestiegen. Auf diese Entwicklung reagieren viele Unternehmen mit Kurzarbeit.
Costs have risen sharply. Many companies are responding to this development with short-time working.
diese Entwicklung points straight back — the hook is explicit
Die Kosten sind stark gestiegen. Viele Unternehmen reagieren mit Kurzarbeit auf diese Entwicklung.
Costs have risen sharply. Many companies are responding with short-time working to this development.
grammatical, but the link is buried at the end — the paragraph reads as two facts
The commonest failure at C1 is not an error at all: it is a paragraph in which every sentence begins with its subject. Each sentence is correct, and the whole reads like a list. The repair is to front something that connects — a time, a cause, a dabei, a pointing phrase, or an evaluative opener.
| Fronted opener | What it signals |
|---|---|
| Besonders wichtig ist … | ranking: this is the key point |
| Entscheidend ist … | this is what the case turns on |
| Im Mittelpunkt steht … | naming the focus of what follows |
| Hinzu kommt … | one more item of the same kind |
| Daraus ergibt sich … | a consequence of what was just said |
| Im Gegensatz dazu … | a contrast with what was just said |
| Unter diesen Bedingungen … | applying the conditions just described |
| Dabei … | a circumstance accompanying what was just said |
A fronted phrase must point at something the reader can find. Daraus ergibt sich is only usable if the previous sentence actually contains the premise — otherwise it promises a link it does not deliver.
Die Zustimmung sinkt mit steigender Präsenzanforderung. Daraus ergibt sich jedoch kein Befund zur Produktivität.
Approval falls as the presence requirement rises. From this, however, nothing follows about productivity.
the premise is in the previous sentence, so the pointer works
Im Mittelpunkt der Kritik steht die Reihenfolge der Maßnahmen.
At the centre of the criticism is the order of the measures.
the known thing (the criticism) first, the new thing (the order) last
Thematic progression comes in two useful shapes. Chain: the comment of one sentence becomes the topic of the next (A → B, B → C) — good for developing an argument. Constant topic: several sentences share one topic and add different comments — good for describing one thing thoroughly. Alternating between them without reason is what makes a paragraph feel restless.
Die Reform ist umstritten. Die Kosten sind hoch. Die Verwaltung ist überlastet. Die Wirkung ist unklar.Die Reform ist umstritten. Umstritten sind vor allem die Kosten, die deutlich über der ursprünglichen Schätzung liegen. Hinzu kommt die Belastung der Verwaltung, deren Folgen für die Wirkung der Reform derzeit nicht abzuschätzen sind.
Four correct sentences, no paragraph. The repair links each sentence to the last and subordinates the minor points instead of listing them as equals.
Dabei die Kosten sind gestiegen.Dabei sind die Kosten gestiegen.
Fronting anything still leaves the finite verb in position 2. A fronted adverbial does not change that.
Words from this topic
- der der Zusammenhangthe connection, the context
- die die Gewichtungthe weighting, the emphasis
- anknüpfen anto link up with, to build on
- aufgreifento pick up (a point)
- voranstellento put in front, to place first
- der der Schwerpunktthe focus, the main emphasis
- schwerfälligponderous, heavy-going (of prose)
- nachvollziehbarcomprehensible, easy to follow