In this lesson, you will learn all about subordinating conjunctions in German, what types there are, how they function in a sentence, and what their meaning is. Otherwise, subordinating conjunctions are called Subjunktionen in German.
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Types of Subordinating Conjunctions
Comparative, Conditional and Final Conjunctions
Concessive, Consecutive and Adversative Conjunctions
Subordinating clauses
The subordinate clause depends on the main clause
Subordinating clause as adverb clause
Subordinating clause as subject clause
Subordinating clause as an object clause
Types of Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions in German can indicate the meaning of dependent clauses.
The following tables should give you an overview of possible subordinating conjunctions and their areas of application.
In the first table you can see examples of causal conjunctions, local (for place), temporal (time) and modal (for manner) dependent conjunctions.
casual | local (for place) | temporal (time) | modal |
da (as, since) | wo (where) | wenn (when) | als ob (als if) |
weil (because) | wohin (where to) | als (when) | wie (as if) |
zumal (especially as – rarely in use) | woher (where from) | nachdem (because, since) | indem (as,by, while) |
sobald (as soon as) | ohne dass(without that) | ||
während (duing, while) | wobei (whereby , whereas) | ||
bis (untill) | dadurch (thereby) |
Examples:
Da ich ihn gut kenne, habe ich zuerst ihn gefragt.-As I know him well, I asked him first.
Das war in Wien, wo sie seit vier Jahren lebte. – That was in Vienna, where she had been living for four years.
Als ich nach Hause kam, machte ich mich an die Arbeit. – When I got home, I set to work.
Martina verließ den Raum, ohne dass es jemand bemerkte. – Martina left the room without anyone noticing.
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Grammar Contents
Comparative, conditional and final conjunctions
als dass
comparative | conditional | final (intentional) |
als ob (as if) | wenn (if, when) | dass (that) |
wie (as) | falls (if, when) | damit (so that) |
wie wenn (as if) | sofern (if, provided) | um….zu (to, in ordet to) |
als dass (to..) | soweit (as far as) |
Als dass is only used to introduce a clause after an adjective modified by zu, nicht genug or nicht so. The equivalent English sentences usually have an infinitive with ‘for’.
Subjunctive II /Konjunktiv II, particularly of a modal verb, is often used in these clauses.
For example:
Er ist zu faul, als dass ich das von ihm erwartet hätte. – He’s too lazy for me to have expected that of him.
Es ist noch nicht so heiß, als dass wir jetzt schon die Heizung einschalten müssten. – It’s not so hot for us to have to turn the air conditioning on yet.
Ich bin nicht fit genug, als dass ich es auf einer so langen Reise könnte. – I’m not fit enough to do it on such a long journey.
A simpler construction is typically preferred to a sentence with als dass in everyday speech.
For example:
Es ist noch nicht so heiß, also brauchen wir die Klimaanlage noch nicht einzuschalten. – It’s not that hot yet, so we don’t need to turn on the air conditioning yet.
If the subject of the two clauses is the same, an infinitive clause with um … zu is used rather than an als dass-clause.
In the following table you can see examples of concessive (permissible), consecutive (consequential) and adversative (opposite) conjunctions.
Examples:
Es kam mir vor, als ob er gerade erst aufgestanden wäre. – It seemed to me as if he had just got up.
Falls du keine Zeit hast, können wir den Termin auch verschieben.
Ich esse viel Obst und Gemüse, damit ich gesund bleibe.
Ich esse viel Obst und Gemüse, um gesund zu bleiben.
Concessive, Consecutive and Adversative Conjunctions
In the following table you can see examples of concessive (permissible), consecutive (consequential) and adversative (opposite) conjunctions.
concessive conjunctions | consecutive conjunctions | adversative conjunctions |
obwohl (although) | als dass (to + infinitive) | während (while, whilst, whereas) |
auch wenn (even if/though) | sodass (so that) | anstatt dass (instead of) |
obgleich (although) | daher (so) | wohingegen (whereas, while) |
obschon (although) |
Examples:
Obwohl sie sich ständig streiten, sind sie gute Freunde. – Although they argue all the time, they are good friends.
Auch wenn mein Auto alt ist, ist es noch zuverlässig – Even though my car is old, it is still reliable
Er hat es mir gesagt, daher weiß ich es schon lange. – He told me, so I’ve known for a long time.
Während wir beim Essen saßen, läutete das Telefon. – While we were sitting at dinner, the phone rang.
Subordinating sentences
Subordinating conjunctions in the German language are used to introduce a subordinating clause.
A subordinating sentence is not an independent sentence, but a part of the main sentence, it is always subordinate, and cannot stand without a superior sentence, that is, the main sentence.
Subordinating clauses can be divided into different types. The meaning or function of a subordinating clause depends on the specific conjunction and its content. The main characteristic of sentence structure is that it begins with a subordinating conjunction, followed by the subject, other parts of the sentence such as the object or adverbial clauses, and the verb at the end.
The subordinate clause depends on the main clause
For example:

A subordinating conjunction can indicate subordination not only to the main clause but also to another subordinating clause.

Die Lehrerin hat gesagt, dass er immer schlechte Noten bekommt, obwohl er talentiert ist.
The teacher said that he always gets bad marks, even though he is talented.
As you can see, this is a combination of three sentences, one main and two dependent. Dass – sentence is subordinate to the main one, it has no meaning without it, it hangs in the air.
The Obwohl sentence is, again, subordinate to the dass – sentence, without it, it has no meaning.
Try to combine the obwohl – sentence with the main one.
Of course, without a dass – clause, such a combination makes no sense. The verb in the person is at the end of the subordinating clause. Subordinating clauses can appear in different types of subordinate clauses.
Subordinating clause as an adverbial clause
A subordinating clause can function as an adverbial clause. These clauses utilize conjunctions and fall into various categories: causal, local, temporal, modal, comparative, conditional, final, concessive, consecutive, and adversative. Each type serves a specific purpose in providing additional context to the main clause.
For example:
causal: Er kommt zu spät, weil die Bahn ausgefallen ist.- He’s late because the train has broken down.
conditional: Wenn du nicht hilfst, dann schaffen wir es nicht. – If you don’t help, we won’t make it.
Subordinating Clause as a Subject Clause
A subordinating clause can function as a subject clause, meaning it acts as the subject of the entire sentence. To identify a subject clause, we can ask questions such as “Wer?” (Who?) or “Was?” (What?). Typically, a subject clause is introduced by the dependent conjunction “dass” (that). When the main clause comes first in the sentence, the subject clause can be represented by “es.”
For example:
Es ist sehr wichtig, dass ich diesen Job bekomme. – It is very important that I get this job.
A subordinating clause as an object clause
A subordinating clause can function as an object clause. Subordinating conjunctions are often found in these types of sentences. An object clause occurs when the subordinating clause acts as the object of the main sentence. Similar to noun clauses, the subordinating conjunction “dass” is used in this context. To identify an object clause, you can ask questions such as “Wessen?”, “Wem?”, “Wen?”, or “Was?”.
For example:
Er denkt, dass es heute wirklich heiß ist. – He thinks it’s really hot today.
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