Adverbial Subordinate Clauses
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Learn to express reasons, contrasts, conditions, and time with weil, obwohl, wenn, and als. Practise verb-final order in subordinate clauses and inversion after a fronted subordinate clause.
Explanation
Adverbial clauses with weil, obwohl, wenn, and als
Adverbial subordinate clauses add a reason, concession, condition, or time relation to a main clause.
| Meaning | Conjunction | Example |
|---|
| reason | weil | Nils bleibt zu Hause, weil er Fieber hat. |
| concession / unexpected contrast | obwohl | Nils geht kurz einkaufen, obwohl er Fieber hat. |
| condition or repeated time | wenn | Wir gehen spazieren, wenn das Wetter gut ist. |
| one-time point in the past | als | Ich war zwölf, als wir nach Bremen zogen. |
The conjugated verb goes to the end
The conjunction opens the subordinate clause, and its conjugated verb stands at the end:
- Mira nimmt den Bus, weil ihr Fahrrad kaputt ist.
- Wir bleiben draußen, obwohl es kalt wird.
- Ruf mich an, wenn du zu Hause bist.
With the perfect tense or a modal verb, the conjugated element is still last: weil ich die Prüfung bestanden hatte; weil er noch arbeiten muss.
The subordinate clause can come second or first
Lena kocht heute, weil ihre Freunde kommen. Weil ihre Freunde kommen, kocht Lena heute.
A fronted subordinate clause occupies position 1 of the whole sentence. Therefore the conjugated verb of the main clause follows the comma immediately: ..., kocht Lena ..., not ..., Lena kocht ....
als or wenn for time?
- wenn: present, future, a condition, or repeated past events.
- als: one event or state at a specific time in the past.
Wenn ich frei habe, besuche ich meine Schwester. Immer wenn wir früher am See waren, machten wir ein Picknick. Als ich zum ersten Mal allein reiste, war ich nervös.
Quick choice
- Why? → weil
- Despite what? → obwohl
- Under what condition / when repeatedly or now? → wenn
- When once in the past? → als
- Put the conjugated verb at the end of the subordinate clause.
- If that clause comes first, put the main-clause verb directly after it.
Exercises
- Choose the conjunction that correctly expresses the meaning and time relation. (11)
- Join the two statements with the given conjunction. Keep the verb at the end of the subordinate clause. (11)
- Build a sentence with the subordinate clause first. Put the main-clause verb directly after the comma. (11)
- Complete connected everyday situations with weil, obwohl, wenn, or als. Words may be used more than once. (4)
A2 · German · Grammar