Rocket German Community

I have the same question Ken did earlier about lesson 2.1 regarding the ist es etc. The explanation he got still left me cofused. It really seems to me that "heute ist es geschlossen" is a question, not a statement. I know word order is different than English, but this seems different than what I heard throughout the first lesson. Thanks alot

Hi there,
the sentence "Heute ist es geschlossen" puts emphasis on the fact that it is closed "today". If you left out the "today" it would have to be "Es ist geschlossen" in order to be a statement, "Ist es geschlossen" would be a question. If you raise your voice at the end of the sentence "Heute ist es geschlossen" it could be a question as well, however it would sound more natural to say "Ist es heute geschlossen?"
I know it's a bit tricky to get your head around the word order, but I hope it makes sense?
Let me know if you want some more examples.
By the way, the sequel to Rocket German - More Rocket German - includes a grammar section on word order that might be interesting for you.

Nathalie - In the lesson where Nik & Paul go out to eat, she orders the pasta dish and says "Das nehme ich". Is this the same concept; the verb comes first (before the pronoun), but since the emphasis is on Das - that, the sentance is a statement? If you have any other examples, that would be great. thanks

Hi there,

Paul here.
Yes exactly, you got it.
When you want to emphasize something you use the same word order as a question, but you don't raise your voice at the end of it to make it sound like a statement.
Here are some examples. Imagine you are a little child staying with your grandma. She has trouble hearing so you have to speak loud and clear. She asks you what you want to do. You haven't had anything to eat all day, so you say "Ich möchte etwas essen". "I would like something to eat". She couldn't hear you, so you say it again "Ich möchte essen". This time she heard that you want something, but she still didn't understand what you want, so she ask "Was möchtest du"? "What do you want"? - You say (in a very polite voice - remember she is your grandma) "Essen möchte ich".
And as quick as lightning she disappears in the kitchen to make you a delicious sandwich.
The stress is on the word "essen" therefore it comes first.

Does that make it clearer?

Here are some more:

Ich finde das Museum interessant. (You are in a museum and say to your travel partner that you enjoy the museum and find it interesting)

Das Museum finde ich interessant ( you are at the tourist information centre and want to decide what to do that day - you emphazise that it is the museum that you are interested in)


Mir gefällt das Kleid - I like the dress
Das Kleid gefällt mir - It is the dress (not the trousers) that I like

Let me know if you need more help

Paul - This is perfect! Thanks for the examples!

-Will