Valency and rection describe how verbs control the structure of a sentence in German. Valency refers to how many elements a verb requires, such as subjects or objects, while rection describes which grammatical case or preposition a verb governs. Understanding these concepts helps learners form grammatically correct sentences and avoid typical case and preposition errors.
In this guide, you will learn:
what valency is and how verbs require specific sentence elements
how rection determines cases and prepositions after verbs
the difference between optional and obligatory complements
common learner mistakes with verb–object combinations
This guide helps English-speaking learners understand German sentence structure as verb-driven and build accurate sentences based on verb requirements.