ABSTRACT
In all languages a limited number of basic elements, words, are combined in a limited number of patterns. This framework of combinations is the grammar of the language. The grammatical patterns show how each element in the sentence relates to the others, ensuring that what we say can be understood. In the English sentence ‘The boy has given his friend the videos’ we know who is doing what to whom because of the order of the phrases and the endings on the words. The same is true of the German sentence Der Junge hat seinem Freund die Videos gegeben. But in German more work is done by special endings on words and less by their order in the sentence than in English – so you can change Der Hund hat den Mann gebissen to Den Mann hat der Hund gebissen without making the man bite the dog.
