user: Could you explain to me why does Germans second verb goes to the end of the sentence?, it's just that even though I understand it and I use it myself, I don't really know much about it, is there any factual answer or interesting linguistical answer on why that gramar is so different to other languages? per se, English and Spanish don't do that second verb to the end shift

assistant: The phenomenon you're referring to is called "verb-final" or "verb-at-the-end" word order in German. It is indeed a distinctive feature of German grammar compared to languages like English and Spanish, which typically follow a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order.

The verb-final word order in German is a result of its rich system of grammatical cases and complex sentence structures. Here are a few factors that contribute to this word order:

Verb Position in Subordinate Clauses: In German, subordinate clauses often provide additional information or express complex relationships within a sentence. In these clauses, the conjugated verb is typically placed at the end, following all other sentence elements. This is known as the "subordinating conjunction" rule.

Verb Placement with Modal Verbs: German frequently uses modal verbs such as "können" (can), "müssen" (must), or "wollen" (want to). When a modal verb is used, the main verb (infinitive) is placed at the end of the clause or sentence. For example, "Ich kann Deutsch sprechen" (I can speak German).

Verb Placement in Questions: In interrogative sentences, the finite verb is typically placed at the beginning of the sentence, and the subject follows. However, in certain complex questions or subordinate clauses, the verb can appear at the end. For instance, "Wissen Sie, wann er kommt?" (Do you know when he is coming?).

The verb-final word order in German can seem unusual to speakers of languages that follow different word orders. However, it is important to note that word order is just one aspect of a language's grammar, and each language has its own unique structure and rules. Linguistically, the reasons for these differences often lie in historical development, cultural factors, and the evolution of the language over time.

It's also worth mentioning that not all German sentences have a verb at the end. In main clauses and simple sentences, the verb typically appears in the second position, following the initial element. It is in more complex sentence structures and subordinate clauses where the verb-final order becomes more prominent.

Overall, the verb-final word order in German is a characteristic feature of its grammar, and understanding its rules and usage contributes to fluency and comprehension in the language.

user: In some cases, German sentences could have the final verb after many hundreds of words. As Mark Twain once said, "Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his Atlantic with his verb in his mouth." Doesn't this lead to confusion or poor comprehension?

assistant: It is correct that German as a language allows, and is sometimes characterized by, very long sentences that can contain multiple subclauses. These usually explain certain aspects in more detail:

```
Sie konnte (a) ob ihrer Schönheit (b), die sie von ihrer Mutter geerbt hatte (c), das Herz des Grafen (d), dessen Mutter mit ihrer Mutter im Streit auseinander gegangen war (e), für sich gewinnen (f).
```

which translates to:
```
She could (a) win (f) the count's heart (d) using her beauty (b), which she inherited from her mother (c), who had a feud with the count's mother (e).
```

As you can see the ordering of the parts is different in the english translation (denoted with a-f in parantheses). 

This can lead to confusion if the sentences and subclauses go on for a very long time as correctly noted by Mark Twain. German speakers in practice do not use extremely long run-on sentences unless they want to specifically _use_ this property of the language or aim for confusing their listeners. There is also a benefit in the German ordering as it places supplementary information close to its point of origin.

In reading oftentimes the subclauses can be entirely dropped to get a much more concise sentence that imparts the same meaning as the original sentence without imparting additional details.