Speaking in real time
A planned sentence keeps everything inside the verb bracket. A spoken one often closes the bracket as soon as the core is said and then grows in increments: short pieces after the closing verb, each with its own pause. English speakers do this too, but in English the pieces simply continue the sentence. In German they come after a verb that has already closed it, and that audible break is part of the effect.
Planned against grown
Ich habe mich über deine Nachricht wirklich sehr gefreut.
I was really very pleased about your message.
Planned: everything inside the bracket.
Ich habe mich gefreut, wirklich sehr, über deine Nachricht.
I was pleased, really pleased, about your message.
Grown: the feeling first, then how much, then what about.
Three moves after the verb
Intensify. Say the plain statement, then turn it up: wirklich, und zwar richtig, total. Putting the intensifier after the verb gives it more weight than inside the bracket, because it gets a phrase of its own.
Da hab ich mich geärgert, und zwar richtig.
That made me angry, and I mean really angry.
Das hat geschmeckt, wirklich, wie bei meiner Oma.
That was delicious, honestly, just like my grandma's.
Correct or narrow down. Fix a detail on the fly without restarting the sentence: also eigentlich, nein, warte, genauer gesagt.
Wir haben in Berlin gewohnt, also eigentlich in Potsdam.
We lived in Berlin, well, Potsdam actually.
Das war am Montag, nein, warte, am Dienstag.
That was on Monday, no, hang on, on Tuesday.
Deliver a punchline. Close the sentence with the expected part and hold back the surprising detail. The listener hears a complete sentence and then gets the twist.
Und dann stand er vor der Tür, mein Ex, mit Blumen.
And then there he was at the door, my ex, with flowers.
Wir haben den Zug noch erwischt, mit dreißig Sekunden Vorsprung.
We still caught the train, with thirty seconds to spare.
Stacking increments
Several increments can follow one another. They usually run from general to specific, or from the expected to the surprising. Each one is a small intonation unit: a short pause, then a new, usually lower start. A correction or a punchline takes its own accent; a plain addition stays flat.
Wir waren essen, gestern, beim Italiener, mit Paul und seiner neuen Freundin.
We went out for dinner, yesterday, at the Italian place, with Paul and his new girlfriend.
Sie hat gekündigt, einfach so, per Mail, an ihrem ersten Urlaubstag.
She quit, just like that, by email, on the first day of her holiday.
Increments also manage the conversation. As long as you add pieces, you keep your turn. A falling, finished pitch on the last piece hands the turn over.
Speech, chat, and the written page
Increments belong to conversation, voice messages and chat, and to written dialogue in fiction. In an email to a client or a report, plan the sentence: build the details into the bracket or give them a sentence of their own.
Hab's endlich geschafft, die Steuererklärung, drei Tage vor der Frist.
Finally got it done, the tax return, three days before the deadline.
Chat or conversation.
Ich habe die Steuererklärung drei Tage vor der Frist abgeschlossen.
I completed the tax return three days before the deadline.
Written: the details back in the bracket.
