Breakdown of Einlochen wollte er die Spielkugel über die Bande, aber er hatte Pech.
er
he
haben
to have
aber
but
wollen
to want
über
over, above
das Pech
the bad luck
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
einlochen
to pocket
die Spielkugel
the cue ball
die Bande
the cushion (billiards)
Questions & Answers about Einlochen wollte er die Spielkugel über die Bande, aber er hatte Pech.
Why is the infinitive Einlochen at the very beginning of the sentence instead of at the end?
In standard word order, the infinitive would go at the very end (Er wollte die Spielkugel über die Bande einlochen). Moving Einlochen to Position 1 is called topicalization. It allows you to place strong emphasis on the action itself, drawing the listener's attention immediately to what he was trying to do.
Why is the subject er placed after the verb wollte here?
German main clauses strictly follow the V2 rule, meaning the conjugated verb (wollte) must be in the second position. Because the infinitive Einlochen has taken over Position 1 for emphasis, the subject (er) has to slide to Position 3 to keep the conjugated verb in its rightful spot.
Does fronting the verb like this give the sentence a specific tone?
Yes, it creates a sense of contrast or unfulfilled expectation. By leading heavily with the intended action (Einlochen), it sets the listener up to expect a counter-statement. It perfectly tees up the second half of the sentence where we learn that he had bad luck and failed.
Why is it über die Bande (accusative) rather than über der Bande (dative)?
über is a two-way preposition. We use the accusative case here because the sentence describes the path of motion the ball is taking (bouncing off or traveling via the cushion). If we used the dative, it would imply the ball was statically floating directly above the cushion.
Why is the word order completely normal in the second clause (er hatte Pech)?
The word aber is a coordinating conjunction that occupies Position 0. It joins the two clauses but does not affect the word order of the clause that follows it. Because it counts as Position 0, the subject er takes Position 1 and the verb hatte stays in Position 2.
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