Reference · module 13
Because, that, if
Everything this module explains, on one page.
weil sends the verb away
Give a reason without losing the verb on the way.
- weil means because, and it does something no English word does: it throws the verb to the very end of its own clause. Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich müde bin.
- Compare the two halves. In the first, bin would sit in second place. After weil, it waits until everything else has been said.
- denn also means because and changes nothing at all: Ich bleibe zu Hause, denn ich bin müde. It is the escape hatch when the word order will not come.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich bin müde.
Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich müde bin.
"Because I am tired" leaves the verb alone, and weil looks like a word that only joins two halves. It moves the verb to the very end of its own half.
dass
Report what somebody thinks, knows or says.
- dass means that, and it works exactly like weil: the verb goes to the end. Ich glaube, dass er kommt.
- It follows the verbs of thinking and saying: glauben, denken, wissen, sagen, hoffen, finden. Ich hoffe, dass du Zeit hast.
- In speech dass is often dropped, and then the word order goes back to normal: Ich glaube, er kommt. Both are correct; the second is what you hear.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich hoffe dass du Zeit hast.
Ich hoffe, dass du Zeit hast.
English drops both the comma and the word itself — "I hope you have time". German keeps the comma before dass every time, and dass sends the verb to the end.
wenn and ob
Say when something happens, and ask whether it does.
- wenn covers both if and whenever: Wenn es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause. The verb goes to the end of the wenn part, like weil and dass.
- When the wenn part comes first, it fills the first slot of the whole sentence — so the main verb comes immediately after the comma: bleibe ich, not ich bleibe.
- ob means whether and is for questions with no question word: Ich weiß nicht, ob er kommt. Using wenn here is the mistake almost everybody makes.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich weiß nicht, wenn er kommt.
Ich weiß nicht, ob er kommt.
"If" does both jobs in English — if it rains, and I don't know if he is coming — so wenn goes everywhere. A yes-or-no question takes ob; wenn is only for conditions.
Polite questions
Ask a stranger something without sounding blunt.
- Wo ist der Bahnhof? is fine and direct. Wissen Sie, wo der Bahnhof ist? is what people actually say to a stranger.
- The question word does the job dass would do: everything after it is a clause with the verb at the end. wo der Bahnhof ist, not wo ist der Bahnhof.
The mistake you are about to make
Wissen Sie, wo ist der Bahnhof?
Wissen Sie, wo der Bahnhof ist?
English does this too — "where the station is", not "where is the station" — so the rule is already yours. The trap is reverting under pressure and asking the direct question inside the polite one.