Breakdown of Plötzlich spürt mich der Psychologe.
mich
me
plötzlich
suddenly
der Psychologe
the psychologist
spüren
to sense
Questions & Answers about Plötzlich spürt mich der Psychologe.
Why does the object mich come before the subject der Psychologe here?
This is a key rule of the German middle field (Mittelfeld) just after the verb. Pronouns are considered lighter than full nouns, so they float to the front. Because the subject is a full noun (der Psychologe), the object pronoun (mich) steps in front of it.
How would the word order change if the subject was a pronoun, like er?
If the subject is also a pronoun, it takes priority and pushes the object pronoun further back. Subject pronouns always win the race to sit right after the verb. The sentence would become Plötzlich spürt er mich.
Is Psychologe a plural form, or why does it end in -e?
Here, der Psychologe is singular and in the nominative case, acting as the subject. It is a weak masculine noun, also known as an n-declension noun. These nouns often end in -e in the nominative singular but take an -n in all other cases. For example, if it were the object, it would be den Psychologen.
Could we start the sentence with Mich instead of Plötzlich?
Yes, you can put the object in position one to give it strong emphasis. The sentence would become Mich spürt der Psychologe plötzlich. This stresses that the psychologist is sensing me and not someone else, while keeping the verb strictly in the second position.