Breakdown of Ich fürchte, er kommt heute nicht mehr.
ich
I
kommen
to come
heute
today
nicht mehr
no longer, not any more
fürchten
to fear
Questions & Answers about Ich fürchte, er kommt heute nicht mehr.
Why is the verb kommt in the second position instead of at the end of the clause?
This is a subordinate clause where dass (that) has been dropped. If we used dass, the verb would go to the end: Ich fürchte, dass er heute nicht mehr kommt. When you drop dass after verbs of thinking, saying, or feeling (like fürchten), the clause switches to normal main clause word order with the verb in the second position.
Does dropping dass change the meaning or tone of the sentence?
The meaning stays exactly the same. Dropping dass makes the sentence sound a bit more conversational and flow better in everyday speech, though it is perfectly acceptable in most writing too.
Could I use this V2 word order if the main clause was negative, like Ich fürchte nicht?
Usually, no. When the main clause is negative (like Ich glaube nicht...) or phrased as a question, German speakers generally prefer to keep dass and use the standard verb-final word order. Dropping dass works best when the main clause is an affirmative statement.
Why does heute come before nicht mehr?
In standard German sentence structure, time expressions (like heute) almost always come before the negation. If you placed nicht mehr before heute, it would sound unnatural to a native speaker.
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