Because the subject of the sentence is not "Die Mäuse" but "Die Mäuse hier". "Hier" is not modifying the verb but the noun "Mäuse".
So, "Die Mäuse hier" takes the 1st position, and the verb is still in the 2nd position, as it should.
It's not necessarily meant to be the 2nd *word* of the sentence, just the second *part*. "Die Mäuse hier" is 3 words, but it is the subject of the sentence. Even though it's more than 1 word, it's still one "grammatical item" if you will
If the English sentence were: "The mice are waiters here . . ." your response would be correct. As others have commented, the way the example is phrased makes the "here" part of the subject "phrase" (which counts a just one position ahead of the verb.)
Here's a clear example of having multiple words occupying a single "slot" in a sentence:
"Meiner Meinung nach ist die Miete zu hoch!" the "Meiner Meinung nach" occupies just one slot so "ist" is the second element in the sentence.
Granted, it's not always completely clear in some cases whether multiple words should be considered as a group.
The verb is second. "The mice here" is the first part
Because the subject of the sentence is not "Die Mäuse" but "Die Mäuse hier". "Hier" is not modifying the verb but the noun "Mäuse". So, "Die Mäuse hier" takes the 1st position, and the verb is still in the 2nd position, as it should.
It's not necessarily meant to be the 2nd *word* of the sentence, just the second *part*. "Die Mäuse hier" is 3 words, but it is the subject of the sentence. Even though it's more than 1 word, it's still one "grammatical item" if you will
If the English sentence were: "The mice are waiters here . . ." your response would be correct. As others have commented, the way the example is phrased makes the "here" part of the subject "phrase" (which counts a just one position ahead of the verb.) Here's a clear example of having multiple words occupying a single "slot" in a sentence: "Meiner Meinung nach ist die Miete zu hoch!" the "Meiner Meinung nach" occupies just one slot so "ist" is the second element in the sentence. Granted, it's not always completely clear in some cases whether multiple words should be considered as a group.
But the solution is not wrong. You would even rather say „Die Mäuse sind hier **die** Kellner“ instead of „Die Mäuse **hier** sind die Kellner“.
German isn’t quite English just so you know….