Ellipsis In Coordination (Gapping)

Level 5

Gapping (Lückenbildung) occurs when you omit a verb in the second part of a sentence because it was already mentioned in the first part. It is used to create concise, elegant sentences by focusing only on the contrasting information.

How It Works

Gapping is a sophisticated tool for linguistic economy used to highlight contrast. It is a fundamental feature of both casual conversation and formal writing.

Key Rules:

  • Directionality and Clause Type: In main clauses (V2 order), gapping is forward-operating: the verb appears in the first clause and is omitted in the second (e.g., Ich trinke Tee, sie Kaffee). However, in subordinate clauses (V-final order), German allows backward gapping: the verb can be omitted in the first clause and appear only in the last (e.g., ...weil wir Tee [ ] und sie Kaffee trinken).
  • Contrastive Remnants: You must leave at least two elements in the elliptical clause (e.g., a subject and an object) that correspond to elements in the full clause. For example: Ich (Subject 1) trinke (Verb) Tee (Object 1), sie (Subject 2) [ ] Kaffee (Object 2).
  • Inflectional Mismatch: German allows gapping even if the verb form would change for the new subject. Ich trinke Tee, du Kaffee is correct, even though du would normally require trinkst.
  • Case Retention: The remaining nouns must keep the grammatical case assigned by the missing verb. If the verb requires the accusative, the remnant must stay in the accusative.
  • Register: While gapping is a hallmark of sophisticated prose, it is also very common in everyday spoken German to avoid redundancy. Becoming proficient in this structure helps you sound more natural and less repetitive.

Examples (4)

  1. Ich nehme den Fisch, mein Mann das Steak.

    I'll have the fish, my husband the steak.

    Word by Word: I take the fish, my husband the steak.

    The verb 'nehme' is omitted in the second clause. Note that 'das Steak' remains in the accusative case.

  2. Den Vormittag verbrachte sie im Labor, den Nachmittag in der Bibliothek.

    The morning she spent in the lab, the afternoon in the library.

    Word by Word: The morning spent she in-the lab, the afternoon in the library.

    Here, both the verb (verbrachte) and the subject (sie) are gapped, leaving only the time and location as contrasting remnants.

  3. Karl schenkte der Mutter Blumen und Otto dem Vater eine Zigarre.

    Karl gave the mother flowers and Otto [gave] the father a cigar.

    Word by Word: Karl gave the mother flowers and Otto the father a cigar.

    This shows three remnants: the subject (Otto), the indirect object (dem Vater), and the direct object (eine Zigarre).

  4. Ich trinke Tee, du Kaffee.

    I drink tea, you [drink] coffee.

    Word by Word: I drink tea, you coffee.

    This demonstrates an inflectional mismatch. Even though 'du' requires 'trinkst', the gap is perfectly grammatical in German.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the wrong case for the remaining object.

    *Ich sah den Lehrer, und er der Schüler.
    Ich sah den Lehrer, und er den Schüler.

    The remnant 'den Schüler' must remain in the accusative case because the elided verb 'sah' (saw) governs the accusative, even if the verb is not visible in the second clause.

  • Incorrect directionality in main clauses.

    *Ich Tee, und sie trinkt Kaffee.
    Ich trinke Tee, und sie Kaffee.

    In main clauses, German uses forward gapping. The verb must be present in the first clause and can only be omitted in the subsequent ones.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Ellipsis In Coordination (Gapping)Level 5

Learn This First

To understand gapping (ellipsis in coordination), a learner must first be comfortable with basic sentence structure and coordinating conjunctions. Because gapping removes the verb in the second clause, the learner relies heavily on case markers (like the accusative) to identify which noun is the subject and which is the object.