נאָך פּרטים

The Position of the Verb in Yiddish

A. Sentence Units

A Yiddish sentence can be divided into sentence units. A sentence unit can be one word (נעמי, מיטװאָך, לאַנג, הײַנט, געניטונגען) or several words that belong together (נעמי און מאָבי, אין פּאַרק, אַ בוך, דײַנע פֿיס).

A sentence unit can be:

• a verb (מאַכן, לײענט, זײַנען)
• the subject of the sentence (מאָבי און נעמי, נעמי, דײַנע פֿיס)
• an object (געניטונגען, אַ בוך)
• an adjective (לאַנג)
• an adverb (הײַנט)
• a prepositional phrase (אין פּאַרק)

Sentence units help us to determine the correct position of the verb.

B. Verb: Second Sentence Unit

In Yiddish declarative sentences, the conjugated verb is the second sentence unit.

Look at the example sentences below. In each pair, the first sentence begins with the subject, and the second sentence does not. However, the conjugated verb is always the second sentence unit.

Almost any sentence unit can be the first. The example below shows each sentence unit in the first place--except for the verb which is always in the second:

‏–‏סטו

In lesson 1.4 we learned the forms:

The same rule applies to all verbs. When דו comes after the verb, the verb and דו are contracted: the ד disappears and the two words are written as one.

For example: