Part 207

The stranger gave me some apples and pears.

§ 8. When =both objects are personal pronouns=, the =accusative= generally stands =first=; as—

+Sie hat ~es mir~ gesagt.+

She has said it to me.

+Man hat ~sie ihm~ genommen.+

They have taken her away from him.

§ 9. A. Adverbial expressions of =time= generally stand =before the object= (except it is a pronoun) and =always before= adverbial expressions of =manner= and =place=; as—

+Wir haben ~gestern drei~ Briefe erhalten.+

Yesterday we received three letters.

+Er ist ~heute plötzlich~ nach ~London~ abgereist.+

He has suddenly left for London to-day.

But we must say—

+Wir haben ~Sie heute~ mit Ungeduld erwartet.+ (+~Sie~+ pers. pron.)

We have been expecting you to-day with impatience.

B. Adverbial expressions of =manner= and =place= generally stand before the Infinitive or Participle when the verb is in a compound tense, but take the last place in the clause when the verb is in a simple tense; as—

+Die Schüler haben ihre Aufgaben ~sehr gut~ gemacht.+

The pupils have done their lessons very well.

+Sie machen ihre Aufgaben ~immer sehr gut~.+

They do their lessons always very well.

+Sind Sie ~gestern im Theater~ gewesen?+

Were you at the theatre yesterday?

+Ich gehe ~nie ins Theater~.+

I never go to the theatre.

=When the subject, which may be preceded by its attributes, occupies the first place in a principal clause, either the copula or the verb must follow immediately.=

§ 10. The negation +=nicht=+ stands =after= the =accusative=; as—

+Er schreibt den Brief ~nicht~, sondern sein Bruder.+

He is not writing the letter, but his brother is.

+Er hat den Brief ~nicht~ geschrieben.+