These sentences exhibit the bracket word order of German. The first part of the verb always comes at the beginning of the sentence. The rest of the verb comes at the end, bracketing the remainder of the sentence.
 

The position of wollen or können is the "front bracket" and that of fahren or sprechen is the "end bracket." Bracketing is fundamental to German word order. English clusters the brackets; German spreads them.

ASSERTIONS AND COMMANDS

The ideas near the end bracket are usually the most important ones. They sound louder and higher in pitch than the others, then the voice trails off, even within the space of one syllable. Listen to these sentences in the story and note how the intonation falls after the boldface syllable:
 

The falling intonation signals assertions and commands.

YES-NO QUESTIONS

To ask a question in German that has a "yes" or "no" answer, start the question with the verb. Raise the pitch of your voice toward the end of the sentence.

ONE VERB
 

In bracketed forms, the yes-no question begins with the front bracket.
 

FULL-ANSWER QUESTIONS

Questions including a question word (who, what, when, where, why, etc.) demand a "full answer." To ask for information, use the appropriate question word, then put the verb (=front bracket), followed by "the rest of the sentence." You can use either a rising melody or a falling melody with information questions.
 

In two bracket forms, start with the question word, then set the front bracket, followed by "the rest," followed by the end bracket.
 

Essential question words are:
 

Summary of Question Types, Statements, and Commands

ASSERTIONS permit only one word or phrase before the front bracket and use falling intonation.
 

COMMANDS begin with the front bracket and use falling intonation.
 

YES-NO QUESTIONS begin with the front bracket and use rising intonation.
 

WORD QUESTIONS permit only the interrogative before the front bracket and use rising or falling intonation.
 

Examples of Order and Intonation

• Können Sie etwas langsamer sprechen? Ich bin Ausländer.
• Ja. Wieviel möchten Sie denn umtauschen?
• Wollen Sie jetzt schon reservieren?