Breakdown of Der Journalist recherchiert, warum das Detail wichtig ist.
sein
to be
wichtig
important
warum
why
der Journalist
the journalist (male)
recherchieren
to research (gather information)
das Detail
the detail
Questions & Answers about Der Journalist recherchiert, warum das Detail wichtig ist.
Why is the verb ist at the very end of the sentence?
Because the second part of the sentence is an indirect question. When question words like warum (why) are used to connect a subordinate clause to a main clause, they push the conjugated verb (ist) to the very end of the sentence.
Is the comma before warum required?
Yes! In English, you often do not need a comma here, but German grammar strictly requires a comma to separate the main clause (Der Journalist recherchiert) from a subordinate clause (warum das Detail wichtig ist).
How do you pronounce recherchiert and Detail? They look unusual for German words.
Both words are borrowed from French, so they keep a French-style pronunciation. In recherchiert, the letters ch sound like an English sh. In Detail, the emphasis is on the second syllable, and it sounds similar to the English word tie with an L at the end.
If I flip the sentence to start with the warum part, what happens to the word order?
You can absolutely put the indirect question first for emphasis: Warum das Detail wichtig ist, recherchiert der Journalist. Because the entire warum clause takes up position 1 in the sentence, the main verb (recherchiert) must take position 2, placing it immediately after the comma.
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