Learn German: In der Therapie wartet der Therapeut darauf, dass das Kind aufhört zu zittern. - In therapy, the therapist waits for the child to stop trembling.

The verb warten (to wait) requires the preposition auf (to wait for). When you are waiting for an entire action to happen, rather than just a noun, German uses a da-compound as a placeholder. darauf sits in the main clause pointing forward to the dass clause, essentially saying: 'The therapist is waiting for this: that the child stops trembling.'

Why is the separable verb aufhören written as one word (aufhört) here?

In a normal main clause, the prefix auf would split off and go to the end of the sentence. But because this is a subordinate dass clause, the conjugated verb is kicked to the end. When a separable verb is pushed to the end of a clause, the prefix and the verb stick together as a single word: aufhört.

I thought verbs go at the very end of a dass clause. Why does zu zittern come after aufhört?

zu zittern (to tremble) is an infinitive phrase connected to aufhören. While it is true that the conjugated verb (aufhört) usually goes to the very end of a dass clause, German often allows infinitive phrases with zu to spill over past the conjugated verb. This prevents too many verbs from piling up and makes the sentence easier to read.

Why does the subject der Therapeut come after the verb ?