Luxembourgish word order: verb second, verb last and separable verbs

Luxembourgish sentences have a simple skeleton: the verb in second place, its partner at the end, and everything in a subordinate clause pushed to the very end. Four rules, shown with real sentences from the LOD dictionary and their native recordings.

Updated November 1, 2026 · 5 min read

If you speak German or Dutch, Luxembourgish word order will feel familiar; if you speak English or French, it is the one thing that makes sentences sound “foreign” at first. It is also very regular. Every example below is an example sentence of the Lëtzebuerger Online Dictionnaire (LOD), recorded by a native speaker, so you can hear where the stress and the pauses fall.

Rule 1 — the verb is always second

In a main clause the conjugated verb takes the second position. The first position can be the subject — or a time, a place, an object. If something else comes first, the subject moves behind the verb.

Rule 2 — the second verb goes to the end

When a sentence has two verb parts, the conjugated one stays second and the other closes the clause, like a bracket around everything in between. Three things go to the end:

• an infinitive after a modal verb — *kann … zeechnen* (kënnen; likewise mussen and wëllen — see irregular verbs and modals);
• a past participle in the perfect — *huet … gemaach* (the past tense);
• the prefix of a separable verb — *kënnt … un* (ukommen), *stinn … op* (opstoen).

With ze (to) the infinitive also goes last, and with a separable verb *ze* sits inside it: *unzefänken* (ufänken), *matzehuelen*. A purpose clause starts with fir: *fir … ze* + infinitive.

Rule 3 — after datt, wann, ob: the verb goes last

A subordinate clause — introduced by datt (that), wann (if, when), ob (whether), a question word in an indirect question (*wou, wéi, firwat* — see asking questions), or a relative pronoun — sends its conjugated verb to the end. A comma always separates it from the main clause.

The little s after datt, wann and wéi

When the subject of the clause is du, Luxembourgish adds an s to the word that opens it: *datt s du*, *wann s de*, *wéi s de*, *wat s de* — the du ending -s, attached to the conjunction (more on du and de in personal pronouns). You will hear it constantly and see it in LOD's examples.

Rule 4 — questions start with the verb or a question word

A yes/no question starts with the verb: *Gees de mat eis op de Bal?* A question with a question word puts the word first and the verb second: *Wat méchs du do?* Both are covered, with every question word, in how to ask questions in Luxembourgish.

Where does net go?

net (not) usually stands just before the part it negates, and before the verb that closes a bracket: *Ech kommen haut net iwwer Mëtteg heem iessen* (kommen, iessen). The full rules — and when to use keen instead — are in negation in Luxembourgish.

Practise the skeleton

1. Take one sentence about your day — *Ech schaffen haut doheem* — and move each block to the front: *Haut schaffen ech doheem. Doheem schaffen ech haut.* The verb never moves.
2. Add a modal: *Ech muss haut doheem schaffen.* Then the perfect: *Ech hunn haut doheem geschafft.* See schaffen.
3. Wrap it: *Ech soen, datt ech haut doheem schaffen* (soen). The verb goes last.
4. Ask it: *Schaffs de haut doheem?* — and check the du form on the verb page.
5. Listen again to the sentences above and repeat them with the speaker — rhythm is half of word order.

Keep learning

• Personal pronouns and their short forms
• The present tense and separable verbs
• Irregular verbs and the modals
• The past tense: hunn or sinn + participle
• Negation: net, keen, näischt, ni
• The n-rule: why ka, hu, gi
• 100 common Luxembourgish verbs
• Everyday phrases with audio
• All verb tables
• Greetings and everyday phrases
• Phrase pages: how are you · please · excuse me
• How to learn Luxembourgish online