Learn everything you need to know about word order and conjunctions in German grammar with Lingolia. In the exercises, you can practise what you have learnt.

Coordinating conjunctions connect two main clauses. Subordinating conjunctions and conjunctional adverbs connect main/independent clauses with dependent/subordinate clauses. Using subordinating conjunctions and conjunctional adverbs changes the word order in the clause.

Sie will den Sonnenuntergang sehen, deshalb ist sie jetzt am Strand.

Coordinating Conjunctions

In a clause that is introduced by a conjunction, the sentence structure is exactly the same as in a normal main clause (conjunction + subject + finite verb + …).

Some example conjunctions are: aber, denn, oder, und.

Example: Kerstin ist glücklich, denn sie hat Urlaub. Kerstin is happy, because she’s on holiday.

Subjunctions

In a clause that is introduced by a subjunction, the finite verb is placed at the end of the sentence (subjunction + subject + … + finite verb).

Some example subjunctions (secondary conjunctions) are: bevor, da, dass, falls, weil, wenn.

Example: Sie macht Urlaub an der Nordsee, weil sie das Meer liebt. She’s on holiday at the North Sea, because she loves the ocean.

Dependent clauses that are introduced by a subjunction are called conjunctional clauses.

Conjunctional Adverbs

In a clause that is introduced by a conjunctional adverb, the finite verb comes before the subject (conjunctional adverb + finite verb + subject + …).

Some example conjunctional adverbs are: dann, schließlich, trotzdem, zuvor.