Before you work on this topic, please click
here to learn about "boot"-words, or subordinating conjunctions.
The dependent clause occupies the front field, and is immediately
followed by the inflected verb ("Vi") of the main clause.
Remember the first rule you learned about word order in German: the
inflected verb occupies the second position in the sentence. Follow
this rule when the dependent clause is the first element in the
sentence. The dependent clause occupies the front field, and is followed
immediately by a comma and the inflected verb of the
main clause. What you can end up with is a "verb pile-up" in the middle
of your sentence, so it is important to remember the comma when
you write, and to look for it when you are reading a long sentence,
so that you can separate the clauses properly.
This chart reviews word order in a dependent clause which FOLLOWS
the main clause.
The following chart shows you the dependent clause in first position,
in the front field.
Was hat er nicht gewusst?
What didn't he know?
Dass er hier nicht so schnell fahren soll,
hat er nicht gewusst.
Following are the sentences you learned with subordinating conjunctions,
or "boot-words."
First, the clause is shown as an independent clause with normal word
order. Then, the clause is changed to a dependent clause, with the
inflected verb booted to its end. It is used in a complex sentence,*
following the main clause. Finally, the dependent clause is shifted
to the front field of the complex sentence.
* (a sentence containing at least one independent and one dependent
clause)
normal word order
Er soll hier nicht so schnell
fahren. He's not supposed to drive so fast here.
dependent clause following main clause
1. Er weiß, dass
er hier nicht so schnell fahren
soll. He knows that he is
not supposed to drive so fast here.
dependent clause in front field
1. Dass
er hier nicht so schnell fahren
soll, weiss
er.
The dependent clause is the one element in the front
field. The verb of the main clause is in the second position.
2. Sie besuchen uns.
Sie bringen Blumen, wenn sie uns besuchen.
They visit us. They
bring flowers whenever they visit
us.
2.Wenn sie uns besuchen,
bringen sie Blumen.
3. Ingrid kommt ins Kino mit.
Ich weiß nicht, ob Ingrid ins Kino
mitkommt.
Ingrid is coming along to the movies. I
don't know whether Ingrid
is coming along to the movies.
3. Ob Ingrid ins Kino mitkommt,
weiß ich nicht.
4. Ich will nicht ins Kino gehen.
Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich nicht ins
Kino gehen will.
I don't want
to go to the movies.
I'm staying home because I don't
want to go to the movies.
4. Weil ich nicht ins Kino gehen
will, bleibe ich zu Hause.
5. Sie ist meine Nachbarin.
Ich kenne sie nicht so gut, obwohl sie
meine Nachbarin ist.
She is my neighbor.
I don't know her very well, although she
is my neighbor.
5. Obwohl sie meine Nachbarin ist,
kenne ich sie nicht so gut.
6. Wir waren noch Kinder.
Ich lernte ihn kennen, als wir noch Kinder
waren.
We were still children.
I met him when we were
still children.
6.Als wir noch Kinder waren,
lernte ich ihn kennen.
7. Wir gingen ins Restaurant.
Ingrid hatte schon gegessen, bevor wir
ins Restaurant gingen.
We went to the restaurant.
Ingrid had already eaten before we went
to the restaurant.
7. Bevor wir ins Restaurant gingen,
hatte Ingrid schon gegessen.
8. Sie gehen in die Disko.
Sie kommen erst nach Hause, nachdem sie
in die Disko gehen.
They are going to the disco. They'll
be home only after they go
to the disco.
8. Nachdem sie in die Disko gehen,
kommen sie nach Hause.
Übung
Click here to return
to the worksheet with which you practiced earlier, when you learned
about subordinate clauses. Rewrite the complex sentences with the
dependent clauses in the first position. End each new sentence with
". . . , haben sie nicht gewußt." (". . . they didn't know.").
When you are through, click here
to check your answers.
Sie bringen Blumen, wenn sie uns besuchen.
