---
title: "Conjunctions - German for English SpeakersGerman for English Speakers"
source: "https://germanforenglishspeakers.com/other/conjunctions"
crawled: "2026-06-30"
---

# Conjunctions - German for English SpeakersGerman for English Speakers

# Conjunctions

In German there’s an important distinction between _subordinating conjunctions_, which send the verb to the end in the following (subordinated) clause, and _coordinating conjunctions_, which link two main clauses and keep each clause’s conjugated verb in the second position. There are only five one-word coordinating conjunctions – three main ones that you already know if you’ve made it this far, and two that are a bit less common. We’ve underlined the conjugated verbs so you can see how they stay in the second position in both clauses:

  **Coordinating Conjunctions**

und (and)

   
Du machst das noch mal **und** ich gehe ohne dich.  
You do that again and I’m going without you.  
 

oder (or)

   
Du hörst auf damit **oder** ich gehe.  
You stop it or I’ll leave.  
 

aber (but)

   
Ich wollte es abholen, **aber** der Laden hatte schon zu.  
I wanted to pick it up, but the store was already closed.  
 

doch  
(but, and yet)

   
\[more lyrical and nuanced than aber, often expresses a mild paradox (it's like this, and yet it's also like that)\]  
  
Jahre vergehen, **doch** die Liebe bleibt.  
Years go by, but love remains.  
 

denn  
(because, for)

   
\[a bit softer than "weil" (next table) and often used when the hearer is already aware of the following explanation.\]  
  
Bleibe bei uns, **denn** es will Abend werden.  
Stay with us, for evening is nigh.

  
The list of subordinating conjunctions is a bit longer. Again, we’ve underlined the verbs -- notice how they move to the end in the subordinate clause:  
  

  **Subordinating Conjunctions**

dass (that)

   
Ich will, **dass** du deine Hausaufgaben machst.  
I want you to do your homework.  
(literally I want that you do your homework)  
  
Er sagte, dass er kommen würde.  
He said (that) he’s coming.  
  
\[notice that "dass" is often required in German  
where "that" is optional in English.\]

wenn  
(if, when)

 **Wenn** du möchtest, kannst du bei mir bleiben.  
If you’d like, you can stay with me.  
  
Jeden Tag, **wenn** ich von der Schule nach Hause kam, wartete mein Hund schon vor der Tür.  
Every day, when I came home from school, my dog was already waiting at the door.

"When" is a more differentiated concept in German than in English. "Wenn" is used for the present, future, and repeated events in the past ("Remember when we used to stay out all night long?"). For a single event in the past ("When I got there, the house was empty") you should use "als" (below).

immer wenn  
(whenever)

**Immer wenn** es regnet, muss ich an dich denken.  
Whenever it rains, I think of you.  

weil (because)

  
Ich komme zu spät, **weil** ich eine Reifenpanne hatte**.**I'm arriving late because I had a flat tire.  
 

Many Germans also use **weil** in speech as a coordinating conjunction, without moving the verb to the end afterwards. Often they're not even aware of it, although they would instantly see the mistake if it was used this way in writing. One possibility is that they’re doing it for sentences where the listener already knows the "reason" (as with denn above). Another is that they’re accommodating a longer subordinate clause that would be harder to understand with the verb at the end.

sobald  
(as soon as)

   
Wir reden darüber, **sobald** ich zurück bin.  
We'll talk about it as soon as I'm back.  
 

bevor (before)

   
Ich hoffe, wir sehen uns noch mal, **bevor** ich das Land verlasse.  
I hope we see each other again before I leave the country.  
 

nachdem  
(after)

   
Sie kamen an, **nachdem** alles schon vorbei war.  
They arrived after everything was already over.  
  
**Nachdem** alles vorbei war**,** konnten wir darüber reden.  
After it was all over, we were able to talk about it.

als  
(as, when, while)

   
_Ich bin gestolpert, **als** ich aus dem Bus stieg._  
I stumbled as I was getting off the bus.  
  
\[Again, als is for a single past event; use wenn for a repeated event.\]

da (because, since)

   
_Sie fuhren gerne Rad, **da** ihnen die Bewegung gut tat._  
They enjoyed cycling because being active did them good.  
 

seit, seitdem  
(since \[a point in time\])

   
_Er konnte an nichts anderes mehr denken, **seit\[dem\]** er sie zum ersten Mal gesehen hatte._  
He couldn't think of anything else since he had seen her for the first time.  
 

ob (whether)

   
Ich weiss nicht, ob er alt genug ist.  
I don’t know whether he’s old enough.  
  
Often translates to "if" in casual English, e.g. we’ll say "I don’t know if he’s old enough" rather than "I don’t know whether"

obwohl (although)

   
Ich habe zugesagt, **obwohl** ich Bedenken hatte.  
I agreed, although I had my doubts.  
 

solange  
(so long as)

 **Solange** du hier bist, kannst du dich nützlich machen.  
As long as you're here, you can make yourself useful.  
 

während  
(while, during)

 **Während** du auf mich wartest, kannst du die Zeitung lesen.  
While you're waiting for me, you can read the paper.  
 

bis (until)

   
Ich bleibe hier, **bis** du zurückkommst**.**I'll wait here till you come back.  
 

[Continue to next section >>](/other/two-part-conjunctions.md)