aber, denn, oder, sondern and und are the most important coordinating conjunctions.What is a conjunction?
A conjunction is a linking word such as and, but, if and because, that links two words or phrases of a similar type, for example, Diane and I have been friends for years. Conjunctions also link two clauses, for example, I left because I was bored. In German there are two types of conjunctions, called coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunctions
aber, denn, oder, sondern and und are the most important coordinating conjunctions.
| Wir wollten ins Kino, aber wir hatten kein Geld. | We wanted to go to the cinema, but we had no money. |
Note that you can’t use aber after a negative to mean not … but …: you must use sondern.
| Ich wollte nach Hause, er aber wollte nicht mit. | I wanted to go home; however, he wouldn’t come. |
Note that when aber means ‘however’, it comes between the subject and verb in the clause.
| Wir wollten heute fahren, denn | We wanted to travel today because |
| montags ist weniger Verkehr. | there is less traffic on Mondays. |
| Sie hatte noch nie Whisky oder | She had never drunk whisky or |
| Schnaps getrunken. | schnapps. |
| Willst du eins oder hast du vielleicht | Do you want one or aren’t you |
| keinen Hunger? | hungry? |
| Es kostet nicht zwanzig, sondern | It doesn’t cost twenty euros, |
| fünfzig Euro. | but fifty. |
| Susi und Oliver | Susi and Oliver |
| Er ging in die Stadt und kaufte sich | He went into town and bought |
| ein neues Hemd. | himself a new shirt. |
If you use a coordinating conjunction, you do not put the verb at the end of the clause beginning with the conjunction.
| Wir wollten ins Theater, aber wir | We wanted to go to the theatre |
| hatten kein Geld. | but we had no money. |
| wir = subject | |
| hatten = verb |
Coordinating conjunctions with two parts
German, like English, also has conjunctions which have more than one part. Here are the most common ones.
The verb is plural, whether the individual subjects are singular or plural.
| Sowohl sein Vater als auch seine | Both his father and mother were |
| Mutter haben sich darüber gefreut. | pleased about it. |
| Sowohl unser Lehrkörper als auch | Both our staff and pupils took |
| unsere Schüler haben teilgenommen. | part. |
With this conjunction, the verb is plural unless both subjects are singular, as shown below.
| Weder die Lehrer noch die Schüler haben recht. | Neither the teachers nor the pupils are right. |
| Weder du noch ich würde es schaffen. | Neither you nor I would be able to do it. |
When weder … noch is used to link clauses, the subject and verb are swapped round in BOTH clauses.
| Weder mag ich ihn noch respektiere ich ihn. | I neither like nor respect him. |
The verb agrees in number with the subject nearest to it.
| Nicht nur sie, sondern auch ich habe es gehört. | They weren’t the only ones to hear it – I heard it too. |
When nicht nur … sondern auch is used to link clauses, the subject and verb are only swapped round in the first clause, not the second, BUT if nicht nur does not begin the clause, word order is normal.
| Nicht nur ist sie geschickt, sondern auch intelligent. | |
| OR | |
| Sie ist nicht nur geschickt, sondern | She is not only skilful but also |
| auch intelligent. | intelligent. |
The verb agrees in number with the subject nearest to it. When entweder … oder is used to link clauses, the subject and verb are only swapped round in the first clause, not the second.
| Entweder du oder Karla muss es getan haben. | It must have been either you or Karla. |
| Entweder komme ich vorbei, oder ich rufe dich an. | I’ll either drop in or I’ll give you a ring. |
A conjunction is a word that links two words or clauses of a similar type, or two parts of a sentence.
Aber, denn, oder, sondern and und are the most important coordinating conjunctions.
Single-word coordinating conjunctions do not change the order of the subject and the verb in the clause.
The subordinate clause is always separated from the main clause by a comma. It is called a subordinate clause because it cannot stand on its own without the other clause in the sentence and is linked to this by a subordinating conjunction.
| Sie ist zu Fuß gekommen, weil der | She came on foot because the |
| Bus zu teuer ist. | bus is too dear. |
| MAIN CLAUSE | = Sie ist zu Fuß gekommen |
| SUBORDINATE CLAUSE | = weil der Bus zu teuer ist |
Note that the verb comes at the end of the subordinate clause.
als, da, damit, dass, ob, obwohl, während, wenn, weil, um … zu, and ohne … zu are some of the most important subordinating conjunctions.
| Es regnete, als ich in Glasgow ankam. | It was raining when I arrived in Glasgow. |
| Da du nicht kommen willst, gehe ich allein. | Since you don’t want to come, I’ll go on my own. |
| Ich sage dir das, damit du es weißt. | I’m telling you so that you know. |
| Ich weiß, dass du besser in Mathe bist als ich. | I know (that) you’re better at maths than me. |
| Sie fragt, ob du auch kommst. | She wants to know if you’re coming too. |
| Sie blieb lange auf, obwohl sie müde war. | She stayed up late although she was tired. |
| Sie sah fern, während sie ihre | She was watching TV while she |
| Hausaufgaben machte. | was doing her homework. |
| Wenn ich nach Hause komme, erst mal. | When I get home, the first thing I’m going to do is have a shower. |
| Wenn er anruft, sag mir Bescheid. | If he calls, tell me. |
If translating when in a sentence which describes a single, completed action in the past, you use als, NOT wenn. You use wenn for single, momentary actions in the present or future.
| Morgen komme ich nicht, weil ich | I’m not coming tomorrow |
| keine Zeit habe. | because I don’t have the time. |
| Um früh aufzustehen, musste sie den Wecker stellen. | In order to get up early, she had to set the alarm. |
Note that zu is inserted between a separable verb and its prefix.
For more information on Separable verbs, see page 109.
| Er verließ das Haus, ohne ein Wort zu sagen. | He left the house without saying a word. |
Note that um … zu and ohne … zu are always used with infinitive constructions.
Note that with the subordinating conjunctions als, da, damit, dass, ob, obwohl, während, wenn, weil, um … zu, and ohne … zu, the subordinate clause can come BEFORE the main clause, as seen in the example with da. When this happens, the verb and subject of the main clause swap places.
For more information on the Infinitive, see page 134.
In tenses which only have one verb part, such as the present and imperfect, the verb comes last in the subordinate clause.
| Wenn er mich sah, lief er davon. | Whenever he saw me, he ran away. |
In tenses which have two verb parts, such as the perfect tense, it is the form of haben, sein or werden which comes last in the subordinate clause, after the past participle.
| Sie will nicht ausgehen, weil sie noch nichts gegessen hat. | She doesn’t want to go out because she hasn’t eaten anything yet. |
For more information on the Perfect and Imperfect tenses, see pages 113 and 118.
Any modal verb, for example mögen (meaning to like) and können (meaning can, to be able to), used in a subordinate clause is placed last in the clause.
| Sie wusste nicht, ob sie kommen konnte. | She didn’t know if she could come. |
For more information on Modal verbs, see page 136.
Subordinating conjunctions link the main clause and subordinating clause in a sentence.
After subordinating conjunctions, verbs go to the end of the clause.
Als, da, damit, dass, ob, obwohl, während, wenn, weil, um … zu, and ohne … zu are some of the most important subordinating conjunctions.
The subordinate clause can come before the main clause. When this happens, the verb and subject of the main clause swap places.
In tenses which only have one verb part, the verb comes last in the subordinate clause. In tenses which have two verb parts, haben, sein or werden comes last in the subordinate clause, after the past participle.