Langfristig senken wir die Kosten.

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Breakdown of Langfristig senken wir die Kosten.

• senken: to reduce
• langfristig: in the long term
• die Kosten: the costs

Questions & Answers about Langfristig senken wir die Kosten.

Why does the verb come before the subject after starting with Langfristig?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: exactly one element (here, the adverb Langfristig) can be placed first, and the finite verb must be second. That causes inversion of subject and verb: Langfristig senken wir … rather than Langfristig wir senken …. The “first” position counts by chunks, not words.

Can I place langfristig somewhere else?

Yes. All of these are correct, with slightly different emphasis:

• Wir senken die Kosten langfristig. (very common, neutral)
• Wir senken langfristig die Kosten. (also fine; mild focus on the timeframe)
• Langfristig senken wir die Kosten. (fronts the timeframe for emphasis or context) You can also use a phrase: Auf lange Sicht senken wir die Kosten.

Do I need a comma after an initial Langfristig?

No. A simple adverb at the start is not set off by a comma in German: Langfristig senken wir … (no comma).

What part of speech is langfristig here?

It’s an adverb modifying the whole statement. As an adjective it would inflect, e.g., eine langfristige Strategie. Adjectives and adverbs often share the same form in German.