Subordinate clauses

Nebensätze

A subordinate clause is a clause that depends on the previous sentence and loses its meaning without it. We put a comma between such sentences. Moreover, the word order in the subordinate clause usually changes.

Types of subordinate clauses

Object clauses

Object complement clause is a clause in which the subordinate part replaces the object. In that case the whole subordinate part of the sentence is the object. It answers the questions: Was/Wen/Wem/Wessen? (What/Whom/To whom/Whose?)

Subject clauses

Subject complement clause is one in which the subordinate part replaces the subject. It answers the questions Wer/Was? (Who/What?)

Relative clauses

Relative clauses provide additional information about something that the other parts of the sentence refer to. The relative clause is always separated from the other parts of the sentence by commas.

Relative clauses using relative adverbs

The subordinate part of the sentence most often begins with a pronoun e.g. (der Mann, der ...) or with a preposition and a pronoun e.g. (der Mann, mit dem ...). Usually the pronouns der/die/das/die are used but sometimes also the relative pronoun welch- is used.

Declension of the relative pronoun

Relative clauses using the demonstrative pronoun was (what)

Relative pronoun was can be used in three situations:

• in reference to an indefinite pronoun
• in reference to a noun
• in the das, was ... construction

was refers to an indefinite pronoun

Indefinite pronouns that the relative pronoun was can refer to include: alles (everything), nichts (nothing), etwas (something), vieles (much/many), weniges (few/little)

was refers to a noun

The relative pronoun was can refer to a noun derived from a superlative adjective e.g. wichtig (important) 👉 das Wichtigste (the most important thing).

was in the construction das, was ...

The relative pronoun was may be used with the construction das, was ... e.g. (das, was wichtig ist, ... 👉 was wichtig ist, ...)

Relative clauses using the demonstrative pronoun wer (who)

wer can be used as a demonstrative pronoun replacing the construction Der/Derjenige/Jener, der .... It can refer only to people and it is inflected for the cases: Nominativ: wer (who [e.g. who is]), Genitiv: wessen (whose), Dativ: wem (to whom), Akkusativ: wen (whom [e.g. whom I see]).

The demonstrative pronoun derjenige may also refer to persons with feminine or neuter gender e.g. (Diejenige, die ...) or to persons in the plural (Diejenigen, die ...).

Relative clauses using adverbs

Relative clauses may not only begin with a pronoun e.g. (Der Mann, der ...) but also with a relative adverb e.g. wo, worüber, wofür, womit, was, wieso, weshalb. The relative adverb is usually created by adding the prefix wo to an adverb e.g. wo + mit 👉 womit.

If an adverb begins with a vowel e.g. auf then an additional -r has to be added to the prefix wo e.g. wo + -r + auf 👉 worauf. The relative adverbs usually refer to a whole sentence (in contrast to relative pronouns, which usually refer to a single person/thing).

Indirect questions

Indirect questions are sentences in which the subordinate part says what the question was. The verb is positioned always at the end of the subordinate clause. If the answer is yes or no, then the subordinate clause begins with the conjunction ob (whether / if).

Adverbial clauses

There are several types of adverbial clauses in German. The type of the adverbial clause depends on the conjunction used.

Conditional clauses

Conditional clauses are those in which the subordinate clause specifies a condition or conditions, which when they are met, then the main clause is true (it happens / takes place). The most commonly used conjunctions in the conditional sentences are:

• wenn (if)
• falls (if / in case of)
• sofern (provided that)

Modal clauses

Modal clauses are those in which the subordinate clause defines the way in which the action in the main clause is performed. The most commonly used conjunctions in the modal clauses are:

• indem (by doing sth)
• dadurch dass (by doing sth)
• ohne dass / ohne ... zu (without doing something)
• als ob (as if)
• je ..., desto/umso ... (the ... the ... e.g. the more your practice the better you become)
• anstatt dass / anstatt ... zu (instead of ...)

Causal clauses

Causal clauses are those in which the subordinate part of the sentence provides a reason or a cause for the action described in the main sentence. The most commonly used conjunctions in the causal clauses are:

• weil (because) [word order with verb at the end]
• da (because) [word order with verb at the end]
• denn (because) [simple word order]

Final clauses

Final clauses are those in which the subordinate clause describes the purpose of the action in the main clause. The most often used conjunctions in the final clauses are:

• um ... zu ... (in order to)
• damit (in order to) [when the subjects are different]

Consecutive clauses

Consecutive clauses are those in which the subordinate clause defines the consequences of the main clause. The most often used conjunction in the consecutive clauses are:

• dass (that ...)
• sodass (so that ...)

Concessive clauses

Concessive clauses are those in which the subordinate part of the sentence defines despite what something happened in the main clause e.g. despite not being allowed / even though it was recommended not to / despite being illogical. The most commonly used conjunctions in the concessive clauses are:

• obwohl (even though)

Temporal adverbial clauses

Temporal adverbial clauses are those in which the subordinate clause defines the time frame of the main clause e.g. when / from / until when / how often a given activity is (or was) performed. The most frequently used conjunctions in the temporal adverbial clauses are:

• als (when ...) [only to describe events in the past that happened once]
• wenn (when / if ...) [when referring to present, future events or events in the past that happened more than once]
• bevor (before ...)
• bis (until ...)
• nachdem (after ...)
• sobald (as soon as ...)
• solange (as long as ...)
• sooft (whenever ...)
• seitdem (since ...)
• während (while / while doing sth ...)