Questions & Answers about Ich glaube, dass meine Antwort richtig ist.
Why is ist at the very end of the sentence instead of after Antwort?
dass is a subordinating conjunction, which means it introduces a dependent clause. In German, these connecting words kick the conjugated verb (ist) all the way to the end of their clause.
Why does dass have two s's here? Is it different from the word das?
Yes! das with one 's' is either the neuter article 'the' or a pronoun meaning 'that' (like in Das ist gut). dass with two s's is a conjunction used strictly to connect two clauses, translating to 'that' when expressing a statement, fact, or thought.
Is the comma before dass mandatory?
Yes. In German, punctuation rules are strict about this: you must always use a comma to separate a main clause (Ich glaube) from a subordinate clause (dass meine Antwort richtig ist).
In English I can just say 'I believe my answer is correct' without using the word 'that'. Can I drop dass in German too?
You can! But if you drop dass, the verb in the second part is no longer kicked to the end. It moves back to its normal position. You would simply say: Ich glaube, meine Antwort ist richtig.