Schreibsatellitensätze

Schreibsatellitensätze, a term originating from German linguistics, refers to subordinate clauses that are introduced by a subordinating conjunction and function as the direct object of a main clause. Essentially, they are clauses that answer the question "what?" or "whom?" asked about the verb in the main clause.

These clauses are "satellites" because they are dependent on the main clause for their full meaning and grammatical completeness. They are "writing" satellites, so to speak, because they typically express what is being thought, said, asked, or known. Common subordinating conjunctions that introduce Schreibsatellitensätze include dass (that), ob (if/whether), and interrogative pronouns like wer (who), was (what), wann (when), wo (where), warum (why), and wie (how).

For example, in the sentence "Ich weiß, dass du Recht hast" (I know that you are right), the clause "dass du Recht hast" is a Schreibsatellitensatz. It answers the question "What do I know?" and is the direct object of the verb "weiß" (know). Similarly, in "Sie fragte, ob er kommen würde" (She asked if he would come), "ob er kommen würde" functions as the direct object of "fragte" (asked). Understanding Schreibsatellitensätze is crucial for comprehending complex sentence structures in German and for constructing grammatically correct subordinate clauses.