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IV. Purrrfection explained! - Wenn, als, ob & trozdem

V. Let's practice! - Wenn, als, ob & trozdem

III. Tips & Tricks : How to learn them easily? - Wenn, als, ob & trozdem

II. Practical examples - Wenn, als, ob & trozdem

Check me!

Although he is a kid he knows how to drive

He knows how to drive although he is a kid

She asks me if I like dogs or cats

If you're not careful, you lose

If he doesn’t come I’ll take the dog

If you don't give me the money, I won't help you

I won’t help you if you don’t give me the money

As a child I played outside a lot

I played a lot outside as a child

When she runs in the park, she always listens to music

She always listens to music when she runs in the park

When do you start?

⭐ Trotzdem

⭐ Obwohl

Obwohl vs Trotzdem

⭐ OB

Wenn/als - at the beginning of sentence

⭐ FALLS

⭐ Wann vs Als

Wenn, als, wann (time)

wann

Wann fängst du an?

wenn

Wenn sie im Park läuft, hört sie immer Musik

Sie hört immer Musik, wenn sie im Park läuft

als

Als ich Kind war, habe ich viel draußen gespielt

Ich habe viel draußen gespielt, als ich Kind war.

wenn

Wenn du mir kein Geld gibst , werde ich dir nicht helfen

Ich werde dir nicht helfen, wenn du mir kein Geld gibst

falls

Falls er nicht kommt, werde ich den Hund nehmen

wenn + dann

Wenn Sie nicht aufpassen, verlieren Sie

ob

Sie fragt mich, ob ich Hunde oder Katzen mag

obwohl

Obwohl er ein Kind ist, weiß er, wie man fährt

Er weiß, wie man fährt, obwohl er ein Kind ist

trotzdem

Wir haben den Mann vor dem Feuer gerettet, trotzdem ist er letzte Nacht gestorben

Wir haben den Mann vor dem Feuer gerettet. Er ist trotzdem letzte Nacht gestorben

Main clause

Seine Noten waren gut,

trotzdem

waren seine Eltern nicht glücklich.

His grades were good,

nevertheless/yet

his parents weren’t happy

Seine Noten waren gut.

Seine Eltern waren trotzdem nicht glücklich.

I’m not sure

Still, his parents weren’t happy

Context: It’s very likely to snow (the weather forecast says so), so I might not come tomorrow.

Mrs. Puddles gives a context!

Very tricky due to their functions and structures

➔ Trotzdem: generally is an adverb “nevertheless” that functions as a connector

➔ Here “trotzdem” is connecting two main clauses

➔ obwohl: the conjunction “although” stays always in the beginning of the main clause

➔ Used in indirect questions to express doubt or uncertainty of the speaker (whether) and it’s also used in closed questions (implying yes/no answers)

➔ This is a very tricky word because when using “falls” the condition is unlikely to to be met due to unfavourable circumstances or the speaker is skeptical

Wenn: implies a condition of the action with a high probability to happen

Here’s an interesting construction with wenn + “dann”

wenn + dann = If (condition)... then (consequence)… .

Wenn ich zu viel esse, dann werde ich fett.

If I eat too much (then) I’ll get fat.

Main clause

Dependent clause

Weißt du,

ob

sie uns helfen kann? (yes/no)

Do you know

when/whenever

she can help us?

Ich bin mir nicht sicher,

ob

ich den Hund mitbringen soll oder nicht!

I’m not sure

whether

to bring the dog or not

Main clause

Dependent clause

Ich arbeite im Garten,

wenn

ich zu Hause bleibe.

I work in the garden.

when/whenever

I stay home

Ich habe im Garten gearbeitet,

als

ich zu Hause war.

I worked in the garden

as/when

I stayed home,

B

Als - in the middle of the sentence

“Als” refers to a moment in the past: I stayed home and had nothing else to do, so I decided to do gardening

Mrs. Puddles gives a tip!

In this structure “trotzdem” is positioned after the verb in a separate sentence.

Mrs. Puddles gives a tip!

“Wenn” indicates what I regularly do when I stay home: gardening

Mrs. Puddles gives a tip!

Dependent clause

Main clause

Seine Eltern waren nicht glücklich,

obwohl er ein guter Schüler ist,

His parents weren't happy

although he is a good student

Dependent clause

Main clause

Obwohl er ein guter Schüler ist,

waren seine Eltern nicht glücklich

Although he is a good student

his parents weren’t happy

➔ As you already know the clauses switch places

Dependent clause

Main clause

Falls

es nicht schneit

komme ich morgen

If

it doesn't snow

I'll come tomorrow

* There’s a high probability that she will come (she already booked the flight)

Dependent clause

Main clause

Wenn

sie morgen kommt,

werde ich ihr Zimmer putzen.

If/ when

she’s coming tomorrow,

I shall/will clean her room

* There’s a high probability that she will come (she already booked the flight)

Dependent clause

Main clause

Wenn

ich zu Hause bleibe,

arbeite ich im Garten.

When/whenever

I stay home

I work in the garden.

Als

ich zu Hause war,

habe ich im Garten gearbeitet.

As/when

I stayed home,

I worked in the garden.

A

➔ Wenn: repeated moments in the past or in the present, routines, it’s translated “if” with the meaning of “whenever”

➔ Als: the action is finished at one certain moment in the past, it’s translated “as”

➔ Both are subordinating conjunctions, so we have two clauses: main clause + dependent clause

➔ The position of clauses might be switched as follows:

Weißt du

Sie fragt mich

Wann

Kommt er

Gehen wir ins Kino

Kannst du mich treffen

Do you know

She’s asking me

When

He is coming

We’re going to the cinema

You can meet me

➔ It is used in direct questions

Wann

Kommst du?

Gehen wir ins Kino?

Kannst du mich treffen?

When

Are you coming?

Do we go to the cinema?

Can you meet me

Miss Purrfect:: Beeeett, i got it!

*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !

⭐ Wann

➔ It is used in direct questions

*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !

If the table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly

*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !

If the table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly

Cats are lovely and may prove to be a good company for you while learning or struggling with German.

Here's the perfect place for animal lovers and German learners!

2020, L2D

If the table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly

Take your chance and try to guess what these sentences mean ! After, follow the structure to get a better understanding !

Mrs. Purrplexed wants to play!

*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !

If the table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly

*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !

Mr. Puddle:: I’m impressed! Now, In this situation for the speaker there is a high probability that he will be free soon so he’s planning the meeting. “Falls ich frei bin, können wir uns treffen” - he is expressing his skepticism regarding any meeting, maybe due to his busy schedule or other circumstances.

Mr. Puddle: Falls is quite interesting, people often use it to express their skepticism about real situations. For example in English it may sound like "When I'm free we can meet" but in German is a bit different. How do I translate this sentence in German by using “wenn”?

Miss Purrfect:: “Wenn ich frei bin, können wir uns treffen”, “sich treffen” is used for planning to meet people while “treffen” for meeting people by chance.

Miss Purrfect: I can accurately use these tricky words but it’s hard to remember all those shades of the words… for example… falls vs wenn

I. Theory and definitions: Wenn & Als, Obwohl & Trotzdem

Wenn & Als, Obwohl & Trotzdem

*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !

✔️ Follow the sentences and see how the structures work. You might wanna play with Mrs. Purrplexed too while trying to translate some of them!

✔️ “Wenn“ is used when referring to actions which occur frequently in certain circumstances (in the past/present//future) as opposed to “als” which only indicates actions already finished in the past at one certain moment (yesterday, last year, when I was a child)

✔️ “Wenn” is different than “ob” because is used all the time excepting: when you don’t translate “ob” as “whether” (doubt) or “if” in direct/ indirect question requiring yes/no answers

✔️ Obwohl “although” and trotzdem “nevertheless, still, yet” are quite close as meanings but differ as translations and functions: obwohl is conjunction and trotzdem is adverb

*If this table doesn't display right, please turn your phone horrizontaly !

✔️ This lesson is all about some very common and tricky conjunctions that are misunderstood by many German learners. As usual, we’re going to explain their meaning, contextual usage and give you some tips to use them correctly.

Fill in the gaps the missing words (wenn, als, obwohl, trotzdem) depending on the context.

er krank war, ist er zur Arbeit gegangen.

Sie hat sich eine Jacke gekauft, . es schon warm draußen war.

Ich war müde, habe ich weitergearbeitet.

ich klein war, wollte ich Astronaut werden.

. es geregnet hat, bin ich spazieren gegangen.

ich müde bin, gehe ich früh ins Bett.

es kalt war, habe ich nur eine dünne Jacke angezogen.

Ich hatte gestern fast kein Geld. Ich habe mir ein Eis gekauft.

ich gestern spät ins Bett gegangen bin, bin ich heute früh aufgestanden.

Wir haben die Wohnung trotzdem genommen, der Mietpreis etwas höher war als erwartet.

▶ See the translation of the text

Although he was sick, he went to work. She bought a jacket, although it was already warm outside. I was tired, but I still continued working. When I was young, I wanted to become an astronaut. Although it was raining, I went for a walk. When I am tired, I go to bed early. Although it was cold, I only wore a thin jacket. I almost had no money yesterday. Nevertheless, I bought myself an ice cream. Even though I went to bed late yesterday, I woke up early today. We still took the apartment, although the rental price was a bit higher than expected.