Today's words · 🔗 Conjunctions
Link it up: 10 German conjunctions
A1A2B1
Today your choppy German sentences finally start to join up.
In a writing class I handed in „Ich bin müde. Ich habe schlecht geschlafen. Ich trinke Kaffee.“ My teacher smiled and wrote „Verbinde die Sätze!“ Join them up? Fine — but where does the verb go then?
Today's ten conjunctions link one idea to the next. With them you can give reasons, set conditions and disagree politely. We'll sort out the word order rules along the way. 🔗
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
und
[OONT]and(conjunction (no change in word order))
📌 Ich trinke Kaffee und esse ein Brötchen.
→ I drink coffee and eat a bread roll.
💡 Same root as and ➕ The friendliest conjunction: just stick things together.
Bonus No word-order change with ADUSO: aber, denn, und, sondern, oder
aber
[AH-ber]but(conjunction (no change in word order))
📌 Das Auto ist schön, aber zu teuer.
→ The car is nice, but too expensive.
💡 ‘Ah, but…’ — aber 🤔
Bonus No word-order change: …, aber ich habe keine Zeit.
oder
[OH-der]or(conjunction (no change in word order))
📌 Möchtest du Tee oder Kaffee?
→ Would you like tea or coffee?
💡 Coffee or tea? Place your ‘order’ ☕
Bonus At the end of a sentence: …, oder? = …, right?
weil
[VILE]because(conjunction (verb at end))
📌 Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin.
→ I'm staying at home because I'm sick.
💡 Give a reason and the verb waves bye-bye to the end 👋
⚠ Verb at the end: …, weil ich krank bin.
dass
[DAS]that (conjunction)📌 Ich hoffe, dass du kommst.
→ I hope you'll come.
💡 Two s's for the conjunction, one for the article ✌️ Two links in the chain.
⚠ The verb goes to the end: Ich hoffe, dass du kommst.
wenn
[VEN]if; when(ever)📌 Wenn es regnet, bleiben wir zu Hause.
→ If it rains, we stay at home.
💡 If or whenever — conditions go with wenn 🎯
⚠ The question ‘when?’ is wann, not wenn.
ob
[OP]whether, if(conjunction (verb at the end))
📌 Weißt du, ob der Supermarkt heute geöffnet hat?
→ Do you know if the supermarket is open today?
💡 Same root as English if 🤷 Use it for ‘whether’.
⚠ Conditional ‘if’ is wenn; ‘whether’ is ob.
obwohl
[op-VOHL]although, even though(subordinating conjunction (verb at the end))
📌 Obwohl es regnet, gehen wir spazieren.
→ Although it's raining, we're going for a walk.
💡 ob + wohl = even though ☔ It's raining, but we're going for a walk anyway.
Bonus With trotzdem, the verb comes right after: Es regnet. Trotzdem gehen wir spazieren.
als
[ALS]as; when (single past event); than (comparison)📌 Als Kind habe ich in Busan gewohnt.
→ As a child I lived in Busan.
💡 One moment in the past = als 📸 A single snapshot.
⚠ One past event: als. Repeated or present: wenn. Als ich Kind war…
sondern
[ZON-dern]but (rather), but instead (after a negative)📌 Ich komme nicht heute, sondern morgen.
→ I'm not coming today but tomorrow.
💡 Not A but B 🔀 Only after a negative.
⚠ Only after nicht/kein. Any other ‘but’ is aber.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
In his essay „The Awful German Language“, Mark Twain complained that German sentences save the verb for the very end, so you have to wait to find out what's going on. After weil, dass and obwohl, you can see what he meant.
In everyday speech, though, lots of Germans say „…, weil ich bin müde“, with the verb straight after weil. It's common in casual talk, but in exams and writing, put the verb at the end.
Germans also love adding „…, oder?“ to the end of a sentence. It means ‘right?’ and invites agreement — use it and you'll instantly sound more natural. 😉
✅ Quick quiz
Q. In a café you want to say ‘I don't drink coffee, but tea.’ Fill the gap: „Ich trinke keinen Kaffee, ___ Tee.“
- ① aber
- ② sondern
- ③ oder
Show the answer
② sondern
After a negative like keinen, ‘not A but B’ needs sondern.
Describe your day in two sentences using weil and obwohl, out loud. The trick is holding the verb back until the very end! 🔗
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 💬 Modal particles