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GERMAN GRAMMAR · C1

German commas in long sentences: clauses, infinitives and inserted comments

Mark both ends of an inserted subordinate clause or supplementary apposition. A long subject alone does not need a comma before its verb. The official rules distinguish infinitive clauses from infinitives forming a multiword predicate; do not add a comma mechanically before every zu.

Find the main clause before adding the insertion

Start from Die Frage betrifft die Kosten. When a relative clause is inserted after Frage, mark its beginning and end. A participial description inside the noun phrase has a different structure and does not automatically need the same commas.

Die Frage, die noch offen ist, betrifft die Kosten.

The question that remains open concerns the costs.

Distinguish an infinitive clause from a complex predicate

Under the 2024 rules, the expanded infinitive clause in Sie plant, den Text heute zu lesen is set off. In Der Text scheint vollständig zu sein, the infinitive belongs to the predicate with scheint and is not separated. Unexpanded infinitives and ambiguous constructions require closer analysis.

Er hofft, den Text heute abzuschließen.

He hopes to finish the text today.

Close an added description before returning to the main assertion

A supplementary description of an already identified person is set off on both sides. Parentheses can also mark additional information. Punctuation makes structure visible; a spoken pause alone is not a reliable comma rule.

Mila, die Projektleiterin, erläutert den Plan.

Mila, the project manager, explains the plan.

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References

Original explanations and examples informed by grammar references. Level placement is an editorial teaching choice.