B1 · Subordinate clauses
Which conjunction moves the verb
aber, denn — dass, weil, obwohl
Five conjunctions change nothing at all; every other one sends the verb to the end.
German conjunctions fall into two groups, and the difference is not in the meaning but in what happens to the verb. Five of them — und, aber, oder, denn, sondern — join two main clauses and change nothing: the verb stays in second position on both sides.
Everything else subordinates and sends the conjugated verb to the end: dass, weil, wenn, als, ob, obwohl, damit, bevor, nachdem, während, seit, falls, sobald, solange. The list is long and does not have to be learned as a list — the five that do nothing are the ones worth memorising, and everything not on that list moves the verb.
Two pairs deserve care because they mean nearly the same thing and behave differently. Weil subordinates and denn does not, so a clause with denn needs no reordering at all. And obwohl subordinates while trotzdem is an adverb that counts as the first element, so it pushes the subject behind the verb.
Die Form
| no change | und, aber, oder, denn, sondern |
| verb to the end | dass, weil, wenn, ob, obwohl, damit |
| with denn | Ich bleibe da, denn es regnet. |
| with weil | Ich bleibe da, weil es regnet. |
| adverb, not conjunction | Es regnet. Trotzdem gehe ich. |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
und, aber, oder, denn and sondern change nothing.
Ich komme später, denn ich muss noch arbeiten.I will come later, because I still have to work.
Every other conjunction sends the conjugated verb to the end.
Ich komme später, weil ich noch arbeiten muss.I will come later because I still have to work.
sondern is used only after a negative, and means "but rather".
Nicht heute, sondern morgen.Not today but tomorrow.
trotzdem, deshalb and dann are adverbs and take the first position, pushing the subject behind the verb.
Es war spät. Trotzdem sind wir gegangen.It was late. We went all the same.
Genauer hingesehen
Why exactly those five
The five coordinating conjunctions are not a random selection: they sit outside the clause rather than introducing one. That is why they do not count as the first element and why the verb stays where it was. Aber ich komme später has ich in first position and komme second, exactly as if the aber were absent.
The test is mechanical and reliable: put the word at the start of a sentence and see whether the subject has to move. Trotzdem komme ich — it moved, so trotzdem is an adverb. Aber ich komme — it did not, so aber is one of the five. That test settles any word you are unsure about without consulting a list.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the word is als in a comparison rather than a time
it is not a conjunction and moves nothing: größer als ich.
Er ist älter als ich.He is older than me.
Als does two unrelated jobs, and only the temporal one subordinates.
-
a subordinate clause has no conjunction at all
the verb comes first instead: Hätte ich Zeit, käme ich mit.
Hätte ich Zeit, käme ich mit.If I had time I would come along.
A conditional clause may drop wenn and mark itself by putting the verb first. It is formal and mostly written.
Woran man es erkennt
- und
- aber
- denn
- sondern
- dass
- weil
- obwohl
- trotzdem
- deshalb
Beispielsätze
Wir warten noch, denn der Zug hat Verspätung.We are still waiting, because the train is delayed.
Obwohl es geregnet hat, war es schön.Although it rained, it was lovely.
Sie ruft an, sobald sie da ist.She will call as soon as she is there.
Ich frage nach, falls es Probleme gibt.I will check if there are any problems.
Er kommt nicht, sondern schickt einen Kollegen.He is not coming but is sending a colleague.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Ich rufe an, sobald ich mehr weiß.I will call as soon as I know more.
Wir gehen, obwohl es noch früh ist.We are leaving although it is still early.
Sie war müde, aber sie ist geblieben.She was tired but she stayed.
Solange es regnet, bleiben wir hier.As long as it is raining we will stay here.
Ich sage es dir, damit du Bescheid weißt.I am telling you so that you know.
Er hat nichts gesagt, sondern nur genickt.He said nothing but simply nodded.
Seit sie hier wohnt, ist es lauter.It has been noisier since she moved here.
Deshalb habe ich abgesagt.That is why I cancelled.
Besonderheiten (2)
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sondern needs a negative in front of it
<z>Sondern</z> corrects a preceding negative and cannot be used without one: <z>nicht heute, sondern morgen</z>. Where there is no negative, German uses <z>aber</z>. English has only "but" for both, which is why learners produce <z>aber</z> where German wants <z>sondern</z> and the sentence sounds slightly off without being wrong in any way a rule catches.
Das ist kein Fehler, sondern Absicht.That is not a mistake but intentional.
-
The comma is not optional
German commas mark clause boundaries rather than pauses, so a subordinate clause is always fenced off and so are both sides of <z>denn</z> and <z>sondern</z>. That makes them useful rather than decorative: a comma in German prose is a reliable signal that a new clause is starting, and often that a verb is coming at the end of it.
Ich weiß, dass du recht hast.I know that you are right.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Both sentences are possible German — the first one is correct too. What is wrong is treating them as interchangeable while writing: a learner who reaches for denn to avoid reordering will produce nothing but denn, and it reads as a writer dodging a construction. Use denn when the reason is added as a separate thought, weil when it answers why.
Five leave the verb alone. Everything else sends it to the end.
Jetzt selbst
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