Why does the German verb move around the sentence?
In a main clause the conjugated verb is always the second element, whatever comes first. In a subordinate clause it moves to the very end. Anything extra — a participle, an infinitive, a separable prefix — goes to the end of the main clause too, forming a bracket around the middle of the sentence.
The verb is second, not necessarily after the subject
Second element does not mean second word. Whatever occupies the first slot — subject, time expression, whole clause — the conjugated verb comes immediately after it, and the subject falls in behind. This is the rule English speakers break most often, because English keeps the subject first.
Ich gehe heute ins Kino.
I'm going to the cinema today.
Heute gehe ich ins Kino.
Today I'm going to the cinema.
Verb still second, subject displaced.
Morgen fahren wir nach Berlin.
Tomorrow we're driving to Berlin.
Subordinate clauses send the verb to the end
After weil, dass, wenn, ob and the other subordinating conjunctions, the conjugated verb goes last. This is what makes spoken German hard to follow — you must hold the clause open until the verb arrives and tells you what happened.
Ich weiß, dass er morgen kommt.
I know that he's coming tomorrow.
Weil ich müde bin, gehe ich nach Hause.
Because I'm tired, I'm going home.
The whole clause is the first element, so gehe is still second.
The bracket, and the middle order
Non-conjugated verb parts go to the end of a main clause, forming a bracket with the conjugated verb. Inside that bracket, adverbial information follows a default order often taught as TeKaMoLo: time, cause, manner, place.
Ich habe gestern ein Buch gelesen.
I read a book yesterday.
habe … gelesen is the bracket.
Ich fahre morgen mit dem Zug nach Berlin.
I'm going to Berlin by train tomorrow.
Time, manner, place.
Common mistakes
Heute ich gehe ins Kino.
Heute gehe ich ins Kino.
Only one element may precede the verb. Putting heute first pushes the subject after it.
Ich weiß, dass er kommt morgen.
Ich weiß, dass er morgen kommt.
In a subordinate clause the verb goes last, after every other element.
Ich fahre nach Berlin morgen.
Ich fahre morgen nach Berlin.
Time comes before place in the default middle order.
Frequently asked questions
Why is German word order so hard to hear?
Because the verb-final rule means the piece of information that tells you what happened arrives last, so you must keep the clause open in working memory until it does. That capacity is built by volume of input, not by studying the rule.
Is the TeKaMoLo order compulsory?
It is the neutral default, not a law. Moving an element earlier gives it emphasis, exactly as intonation does in English. Following the default is always safe and rarely wrong.
What happens with weil in spoken German?
Many speakers use main-clause order after weil in casual speech — weil ich bin müde. It is common and widely criticised, so recognise it but write the standard form.