B2 · Subordinate clauses
Although, even if, no matter what
obwohl, auch wenn, egal ob
Four ways to concede a point, and each one places the verb somewhere different.
A concessive clause says that something is true in spite of something else. German has four common ways to build one, and they differ in structure rather than in meaning. Obwohl is a subordinating conjunction and sends the verb to the end. Trotzdem is an adverb and takes the first position, so the verb follows it. Trotz is a preposition and takes the genitive.
The fourth is auch wenn, which combines a concession with a condition: Auch wenn es regnet, gehen wir — we go, rain or no rain. It behaves like wenn, verb at the end, and it is the form to reach for when the thing conceded has not happened yet.
Beyond these, German has a family of open concessions: egal ob, egal was, wie auch immer, was auch immer. They correspond to English "no matter what" and they are everywhere in speech.
Die Form
| obwohl + Verb am Ende | obwohl es regnet |
| trotzdem + Verb sofort | Trotzdem gehen wir. |
| trotz + Genitiv | trotz des Regens |
| auch wenn + Verb am Ende | auch wenn es regnet |
| egal ob / was auch immer | egal ob es regnet |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
obwohl is a conjunction and sends the verb to the end.
Wir gingen, obwohl es regnete.We went, although it was raining.
trotz is a preposition and takes the genitive.
Trotz des Regens gingen wir.We went in spite of the rain.
auch wenn concedes something not yet decided.
Auch wenn es teuer ist, ich kaufe es.Even if it is expensive, I am buying it.
egal ob and was auch immer leave the case open entirely.
Egal was passiert, ruf mich an.Whatever happens, call me.
Genauer hingesehen
The open concessions
The auch immer family is built by taking a question word and adding auch immer: wer auch immer, was auch immer, wo auch immer, wie auch immer. The clause keeps its verb at the end, and the meaning is always "regardless of which".
Spoken German shortens the whole family to egal plus the question word: egal wer, egal was, egal wie. This is informal, extremely frequent, and perfectly clear; the auch immer form is what goes in writing.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
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trotzdem stands after the verb
nothing moves and it simply adds the concession.
Wir sind trotzdem gegangen.We went anyway.
It is an adverb, and an adverb in the middle field has no effect on word order.
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trotz is used in speech
the dative is often heard instead of the genitive.
trotz dem Regen — geschrieben: trotz des Regensdespite the rain
Widespread and tolerated; the genitive remains the written standard.
Woran man es erkennt
- obwohl
- obgleich
- trotzdem
- trotz
- dennoch
- auch wenn
- egal ob
- wie auch immer
Beispielsätze
Obwohl er müde war, arbeitete er weiter.Although he was tired, he kept working.
Trotz der Kälte blieben wir draußen.We stayed outside despite the cold.
Auch wenn du recht hast, sag es netter.Even if you are right, say it more kindly.
Egal wie spät es wird, ich warte.However late it gets, I will wait.
Sie kam, obwohl niemand sie eingeladen hatte.She came although nobody had invited her.
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
Obwohl es spät ist, rufe ich an.Although it is late, I am calling.
Trotz aller Mühe klappte es nicht.It did not work despite all the effort.
Auch wenn niemand kommt, feiern wir.Even if nobody comes, we are celebrating.
Wer auch immer das war, er hat sich nicht gemeldet.Whoever that was has not been in touch.
Sie lächelte, obwohl ihr nicht danach war.She smiled although she did not feel like it.
Egal ob heute oder morgen, mir ist es recht.Today or tomorrow, either is fine with me.
Besonderheiten (2)
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obwohl at the end of a spoken sentence
German speakers often tack an <z>obwohl</z> clause on afterwards as an afterthought, sometimes with main-clause word order: <z>Ich komme mit. Obwohl, eigentlich habe ich keine Zeit.</z> Here it works almost as a standalone "then again". It is spoken usage only.
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obgleich, obschon and obzwar
Three older synonyms of <z>obwohl</z> survive in formal writing and in literature. They behave identically and are worth recognising; using them in ordinary prose reads as deliberately old-fashioned.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Trotz is a preposition and can only be followed by a noun phrase, never by a clause: trotz des Regens. As soon as a subject and a verb are needed, the word required is obwohl. English blurs this because "despite" and "although" sit close together, and "despite the fact that" papers over the difference; German has no such bridge.
trotz takes a noun, obwohl takes a clause.
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