Word
In meiner Kindheit wollte ich immer im Ausland leben.
Meaning
In my childhood, I always wanted to live abroad.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about In meiner Kindheit wollte ich immer im Ausland leben.
Why is it wollte instead of a past tense form with a helper verb, like habe gewollt?
While spoken German usually prefers the spoken past (Perfekt) for most verbs, modal verbs like wollen (to want) are a major exception. Germans almost always use the simple past (Präteritum) for modal verbs, even in casual conversation. So, ich wollte is the most natural way to say "I wanted".
Why does ich come after the verb wollte?
In German, the conjugated verb must always take the second position in a main clause. Because this sentence starts with the phrase In meiner Kindheit (occupying position 1), the verb wollte takes position 2. This pushes the subject ich right after the verb.
Why is the verb leben at the very end of the sentence?
This is the standard rule for sentences with modal verbs. The conjugated modal verb (wollte) sits in the second position, and it kicks the main action verb (leben) to the very end of the sentence in its original infinitive form.
Why is it im Ausland and not just in Ausland?