Bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilt, bestreitet er die Anklage.

Because bevor introduces a subordinate clause. In German, the conjugated verb normally goes to the end of a subordinate clause.

So in:

Bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilt

the verb verurteilt is placed at the end because the whole clause is introduced by bevor.

A basic pattern is:

bevor + subject + other elements + conjugated verb

For example:

• Bevor ich gehe, ...
• Bevor sie anfängt, ...

This is one of the most important word-order rules in German.

Because the sentence starts with the bevor-clause, and that whole clause takes up the first position in the main clause structure.

German main clauses usually follow the V2 rule: the conjugated verb must be in the second position. If something other than the subject comes first, the verb still stays second, and the subject comes after it.

So the structure is:

[Bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilt], [bestreitet] [er] die Anklage.

• Position 1: the entire bevor-clause
• Position 2: bestreitet
• then: er

If you put the main clause first, you get the more familiar order:

Er bestreitet die Anklage, bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilt.

German case marking tells you.

In the first clause:

• der Richter = nominative = the subject
• den Angeklagten = accusative = the direct object

So:

• der shows masculine nominative
• den shows masculine accusative

That tells you that the judge is doing the action, and the defendant is receiving it.

This is especially useful because German word order can move around more than English, but case endings still show who is doing what.

Because here Angeklagten is the direct object, so it must be in the accusative case.

Also, Angeklagte belongs to a group of masculine nouns/adjectival nouns that take the -n / -en ending in most cases except nominative singular.

So you get:

• nominative: der Angeklagte
• accusative: den Angeklagten
• dative: dem Angeklagten
• genitive: des Angeklagten

In this sentence, the judge is acting on the defendant, so the accusative form den Angeklagten is required.

Yes, it can be ambiguous.

Grammatically, er could refer to:

• der Richter
• or der Angeklagte

Both are masculine singular nouns, so the pronoun er could match either one.

Without context, the sentence does not completely resolve that ambiguity. Real-life context usually makes it clear:

• If the meaning is that the defendant denies the charge, then er refers to der Angeklagte.
• If the meaning is that the judge denies the charge, then er refers to der Richter, although that is less likely in normal legal context.

German often allows this kind of ambiguity, just like English can in sentences such as Before the judge convicts the defendant, he denies the charge.

Because in German, a subordinate clause is generally separated from the main clause by a comma.

Since Bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilt is a subordinate clause, it must be followed by a comma before the main clause begins:

Bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilt, bestreitet er die Anklage.

This comma is not optional in standard German.

German often uses the present tense to talk about:

• habitual actions
• general statements
• future events when the timing is clear from context

Here, bevor already shows the time relationship: one action happens before the other. Because of that, German does not need a special future tense here.

So:

• verurteilt
• bestreitet

are both present tense forms, but the sentence can still describe a future or general sequence of events.

German does have a future tense with werden, but it is often unnecessary:

• Bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilen wird, wird er die Anklage bestreiten.

That version is grammatically possible in some contexts, but it sounds much less natural than the simple present.

Here bestreiten means to deny or to contest.

So die Anklage bestreiten means:

• to deny the charge
• to contest the accusation

It is a common formal or legal verb.

It is also worth noticing that bestreiten is not separable. So you say:

• Er bestreitet die Anklage.
• not Er streitet die Anklage be.

That is important because many German verbs with prefixes are separable, but bestreiten is not.

Yes. German allows both orders.

You can say:

Bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilt, bestreitet er die Anklage.

or:

Er bestreitet die Anklage, bevor der Richter den Angeklagten verurteilt.

Both are grammatical. The difference is mainly one of focus and style:

• starting with the bevor-clause emphasizes the time frame first
• starting with Er bestreitet... emphasizes the action of denying first

The word order inside the main clause changes accordingly:

• after an introductory subordinate clause: bestreitet er
• with the subject first: er bestreitet