Ch 10: Sparks And Vail German Grammar - Conjunctions

Front 1

coordinating conjunctions do not affect the word order of the clauses they introduce. They include ... (5)

Back 1

denn, order, und, aber, sondern (but, rather, on the contrary) ["douas"]

Front 2

trans: I met him when I was at the university.

Back 2

Ich lernte ihn kennen, als ich an der Universitat war. Subordinating conjunction: als means "when," referring to either (i) a point in past time, or (ii) a period of past time. [Note: "als" is used almost exclusively with the past or past perfect (not present perfect).]

Front 3

trans: I'll give it to him when I see him.

Back 3

Ich gebe es ihm, wenn ich ihn sehe. Subordinating conjunction: wenn (temporal context) used to mean "when" referring to present or future time, or to mean "whenever". (e.g. Wenn er ankommt ...; Wenn er in Munchen ist) [Note: Wann is a question word that can also introduce subordinate clauses, e.g. Ich weiss nicht, wann er kommt.]

Front 4

trans: If he comes I'll give it to him.

Back 4

Wenn er kommt, gebe ich es ihm. Subordinating conjunction: wenn (conditional context) used to mean "if", in the sense of "in the event of."

Front 5

trans: I don't know if he's coming today.

Back 5

Ich weiss nicht, ob er heute kommt; subordinating conjunction: ob means "if" in the sense of "whether."

Front 6

trans: I'll come to your place after I've eaten.

Back 6

Ich komme zu dir, nachdem ich gegessen habe. Subordinating conjunction "nachdem" means "after/afterwards." [Note 1: nachdem is used only with the present perfect and past perf. tenses. Note 2: "Nach" is a preposition that introduces prepositional phrases; "Nachher" is an adverb of time (like heute, morgen, etc.)]

Front 7

trans: Before he left he gave me the key.

Back 7

Bevor er wegging, gab er mir den Schlussel. Subordinating conjunction "bevor" means before/before (that).

Front 8

trans: Since he has been working less, he looks much better.

Back 8

Seitdem er weniger arbeitet, sieht er viel besser aus. Subordinating conjunction: seitdem means "since (temporal)", "since then." [Note 1: when since refers to an ongoing action, German uses seitdem + present tense; Note 2: when since refers to a one-time past action, German uses seitdem + present perfect (e.g. Seitdem sie zuruckgekommen ist . . .); Note 3: seitdem is also an adverb of time meaning since then (e.g. Seitdem sieht er besser aus.); Note 4: Seit is a preposition used in time expressions (...seit gestern ...).]

Front 9

trans: I couldn't go shopping because I didn't have any money.

Back 9

Ich konnte nicht einkaufen gehen, weil ich kein Geld hatte. Subordinating conjunction: weil means "because," "since" - indicates *strong* causal connection.

Front 10

Since I still had ten minutes, I drank another cup of coffee.

Back 10

Da ich noch zehn Minuten hatte, trank ich noch eine Tasse Kaffee. Subordinating conjunction: da means "since," "because" - indicates less strong, or no strict causal connection.

Front 11

subordinating conjunction: solange

Back 11

"as long as" referring to a period of time, e.g. Wir bleiben, solange du willst.

Front 12

subordinating conjunction: sobald

Back 12

"as soon as" referring to a point in time, e.g. Wir gehen, sobald du fertig bist.

Front 13

subordinating conjunction: sooft

Back 13

"as often as," "every time (that)" referring to a series of occurrences, e.g. Sooft ich daran denke, werde ich bo:se. (Every time I think of it I get mad.)

Front 14

subordinating conjunction: dass

Back 14

"that," e.g. Er zeigte uns, dass er es konnte.

Front 15

subordinating conjunction: bis

Back 15

"until," e.g. Warten Sie, bis ich zuru:ckkomme. [Note: bis is also a preposition, e.g. "bis ein Uhr."]

Front 16

subordinating conjunction: damit

Back 16

"so that," e.g. Ich sage es dir nochmal, damit du es nicht vergisst.

Front 17

subordinating conjunction: obwohl

Back 17

although, even though, e.g. Obwohl es ein gutes Restaurant ist, ist es nicht sehr teuer.

Front 18

subordinating conjunction: wa:hrend

Back 18

"while," e.g. Wa:hrend Sie in Berlin waren, kam ein Paket fu:r Sie an. [Note wa:hrend is also a preposition meaning during, e.g. Wa;hrend des Tages ...]

Front 19

subordinating conjunction: indem

Back 19

"by (do)ing something", e.g. Ich spare Geld, indem ich in der Mensa esse. (I save a lot of money by eating in the cafeteria.)

Front 20

subordinating conjunction: auch wenn

Back 20

even if, or even though, e.g. Ich kaufe es, auch wenn es teuer ist.

Front 21

subordinating conjunction: wann, wie, wo, warum

Back 21

Question words can also function as subordinating conjunctions; the clauses they introduce are called indirect questions.

Front 22

trans: He said that he hasn't been able to repair the car. [present pefect in subordinate clause]

Back 22

Er sagte, dass er den Wagen nicht hat reparieren ko:nnen. [In a subordinate clause, when a double infinitive construction is present, the conjugated verb form immediately precedes the two infinitives.]

Front 23

trans: I think that I'll have to do it.

Back 23

Ich glaube, dass ich es werde machen mu:ssen. [In a subordinate clause, when a double infinitive construction is present, the conjugated verb form immediately precedes the two infinitives.]