Show Menu
Cheatography
  1. Home >
  2. Education >

German Conjunctions Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Covers coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and adverb conjunctions.

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Coordi­nating Conjun­ctions

Simple conjun­ctions that don't change the word order in a sentence.
aber (but)
Ich bin müde, aber ich muss zur Schule gehen.
I am tired, but I have to go to school.
Connects clauses that contradict each other in truth or concept. Emphasis is placed on the difference between them.
denn (as, since, or because)
Ich kaufe Gemüse, denn ich möchte einen Salat machen.
I am buying vegetables because I want to make a salad.
Presents a causal relati­onship between clauses.
oder (or)
Willst du ein Buch lesen oder Schach spiele­n?/Er ist ganz sympat­isch, oder?
Do you want to read a book or play chess?/He is really nice, right?
Used to provide a list or alternate options. In German, it’s also commonly used in a non-co­nju­nctive manner at the end of the question or inquiry as a kind of affirm­ative, similar to the English “right?”
und (and)
Sie ist klug und hat viele Hobbys.
She is clever and has lots of hobbies.
Connects clauses and similar, related words or phrases.
sondern (but rather)
Sie wohnt nicht in Berlin, sondern in Tübingen.
She doesn't live in Berlin, but rather in Tübingen.
Similar to aber, this introduces a contra­dictory clause. However, sondern typically suggests a correction to the first clause.
doch (yet, however)
Ich wollte zur Party kommen, doch ich war schon verabr­edet.
I wanted to come to the party, but I already had plans.
Similar to aber in introd­ucing a contra­dictory clause. However, doch tends to carry a slightly more formal tone, and it may apply more signif­icance to the clause or statement that follows it. In some cases, it may translate more accurately as “anyway” or “indeed.”
hingegen (on the other hand(
Sie leibt Äpfel, ihre Freundin hingegen liebt Orangen.
She loves apples, her girlfr­iend, on the other hand, loves oranges.
Presents a contra­dictory or alternate object or scenario to what was previously mentioned. Hingegen is unique in that it acts more like a conjun­ctive “attac­hment” to the subject being described. It’s placed within the coordi­nating conjun­ction list since it does not create a subord­inate clause, nor does it change the position of the verb.

Subord­inating Conjun­ctions

Subord­inating conjun­ctions connect clauses, but an obvious relati­onship exists between them. A clause must be dependent on another for the entire meaning and signif­icance of the sentence to be made clear.
als (when)
Als ich jung war, war ich sehr frech.
When I was young, I was very sassy.
To describe events of the past. These events are usually singular, completed moments that aren’t ongoing.
anstatt (instead of)
Ich gehe zu Fuß, anstatt mit dem Auto zu fahren.
I walk instead of driving my car.
Presents an action, event or object that opposes, or is an altern­ative to, the former­ly-­men­tioned action, event or object.
bevor (before)
Bevor meine Eltern kommen, müssen wir das Wohnzimmer aufräumen.
Before my parents come, we have to clean up the living room.
Implies an action that has or should come before another action. Bevor is not used for nouns.
da (as, because)
Da sie viele Meetings hat, arbeitet sie heute im Büro.
Since she has a lot of meetings, she’s working in the office today.
Describes a causal relati­onship between clauses. Unlike denn, da can be used at the start of the sentence.
damit (so that, in that order)
Lass uns später losfahren, damit wir nicht im Stau stecken bleiben.
Let’s leave later so we don’t get stuck in traffic.
Presents a causal, and often sequen­tial, relati­onship between clauses. The clause following damit explains the purpose for the previous clause.
dass (that)
Ich hoffe, dass du kommen kannst.
I hope that you can come.
Introduces a dependent clause that provides further explan­ation to the main indepe­ndent clause. In some cases, native German speakers may not include dass in a sentence, if the overall context already implies it (in these instances, the sentence is essent­ially just two or more indepe­ndent clauses with no verb order movement).
falls (in case)
Kaufen Sie Medika­mente, falls Sie krank werden.
Buy some medicine in case you get sick.
Presents condit­ional scenarios; falls is derived from der Fall (case, issue). Often, falls is used to describe precau­tionary events that aren’t known to occur with certainty.
indem (by)
Sie hat Englisch gelernt, indem sie fünf Jahre in Amerika gewohnt hat.
She learned English by living in America for five years.
Presents the cause or method of a mentioned scenar­io/­event, or the means in which a “goal” is reached.
nachdem (after, afterw­ards)
Sie macht ein Nicker­chen, nachdem sie ihre Arbeit erledigt hat.
She takes a nap after she finishes her work.
Implies an action that has or should come after another action. Nachdem is not used for nouns.
ob (wheth­er/or not, if)
Sie wollen wissen, ob Greta das Abendessen kochen kann.
They want to know whether Greta can cook dinner.
A restricted “if” that applies solely to “yes/no” scenarios. This is unlike falls, which can be used more broadly.
obgleich (although, albeit, even though)
Er wollte mittanzen, obgleich er ungesc­hickt ist.
He wanted to dance along with everyone, even though he is clumsy.
Describes a condition or scenario that leads to a contra­dictory or unanti­cipated event. Used more often in text than in casual conver­sation.
obwohl (although, albeit, even though)
Er gewann das Rennen, obwohl er nicht traini­erte.
He won the race although he didn’t practice.
The same function as obgleich, although obwohl is used more commonly in spoken conver­sation.
seit (since)
Seit ich ein Teenager war, kaue ich Kaugummi.
Since I was a teenager, I’ve been chewing gum.
Describes an event that has started in the past and is implied to be ongoing.
sobald (once, as soon as, by the time)
Sobald Sie angekommen sind, rufen Sie mich an.
Once you are ready, meet me at the restau­rant.
Expresses an event that would occur immedi­ately after another event occurs.
sodass (so, with the result that)
Der Flug hatte Verspä­tung, sodass wir den letzten Zug nach Hause verpasst haben.
The flight was delayed, so we missed the last train home.
Instead of indicating intention, it instead points to the result of an action, whether intent­ional or not.
sofern (provided, as long as)
Ich kann einen Kuchen backen, sofern du die Zutaten kaufst.
I can bake a cake, provided you buy the ingred­ients.
etails conditions for an event to occur. Considered a bit more formal than falls.
solange (so long as, while)
Solange Sie Ihren Hund haben, sind Sie in Sicher­heit.
So long as you have your dog, you will be safe.
Cognate of English “so long.” Details a (usually ongoing) condition in which a scenario would occur.
sonst (other­wise)
Ich muss los, sonst komme ich zu spät zur Arbeit.
I have to go, otherwise I’ll be late for work.
Presents a scenario that would occur as a result of not following a condition or action. Often used to present warnings or precau­tions.
soweit (insofar as, as far as)
Soweit ich weiß, funkti­oniert der Computer.
As far as I know, the computer works.
Describes a degree (abstract or concrete) in which an action or scenario reaches.
statt (instead of)
Warum drehst du die Heizung auf, statt einen Pulli anzuzi­ehen?
Why are you turning the heating up instead of putting on a sweater?
A shortened, more informal version of anstatt, with the same function: presents an action, event or object that opposes, or is an altern­ative to, the former­ly-­men­tioned action, event or object.
um..zu (in order to)
Er geht in die Biblio­thek, um zu lernen.
He goes to the library in order to study.
Presents a reason or purpose for an action or scenario. When using um…zu, the infinitive form of a verb is used.
während (while)
Sie arbeitet am Computer, während er die Wohnung putzt.
She works on her computer whilst he cleans the apartment.
Describes events that would occur simult­ane­ously.
weil (because)
Sie ist wütend, weil sie ihre Brieft­asche verloren hat.
She is angry because she lost her wallet.
Presents a causal relati­onship between clauses. Unlike denn, weil can be used at the start of a sentence.
wann (if, when)
Sag mir, wann du zur Party kommst.
Tell me when you are coming to the party.
Describes a specific point in time in which something occurs, which will usually lead to another action.
wenn (if, whenever)
Wenn Sie Fahrrad fahren, tragen Sie immer Ihren Helm.
Whenever you ride a bike, always wear your helmet.
Presents condit­ional scenarios, typically repeated ones as opposed to singular scenarios or events that occur at a specific point in time. Therefore, wenn is not necess­arily restricted to temporal situations and is more versatile than wenn in function.
wie (how, like/s­imilar)
Können Sie mir sagen, wie ich zum Bahnhof komme?
Can you tell me how to get to the train station?
Presents a clause that asks or provides more inform­ation about a mentioned action.
wo (where)
Wissen Sie, wo das Klasse­nzimmer ist?
Do you know where the classroom is?
Presents a clause that asks or provides inform­ation about a specific location.
This makes the order of a subord­inating clause Subjec­t-O­bje­ct-­Verb, as opposed to Subjec­t-V­erb­-Ob­ject. Subord­inate clauses can also start trouble with the clause following them. In German sentences, the comma is used to cleanly separate the clauses. When a sentence is started by a subord­inate clause, the clause that comes after the comma will also experience a word shift–­spe­cif­ically, the subject and verb of that clause will switch places.
  

Conjun­ctive Adverbs

Conjun­ctive Adverbs never send the verb to the end.
deschalb (there­fore)
Ich habe keine Zeit, deschalb muss ich gehen.
I don't have time, therefore I must go.
trotzdem (despite that, nevert­heless)
Es war kalt, trotzdem ging sie schwimmen.
It was cold; nevert­heless, she went swimming.
daher (there­fore, for that reason)
Er hat viel gearbe­itet, daher ist er müde.
He worked a lot; therefore, he is tired.
sonst (other­wise)
Beeil dich, sonst verpasst du den Bus.
Hurry up, otherwise you'll miss the bus.
dann (then)
Er aß zu Mittag, dann machte er ein Nicker­chen.
He ate lunch; then he took a nap.
folglich (conse­que­ntly)
Sie hat traniert, foglich hat sie das Rennen gewonnen.
She trained hard; conseq­uently, she won the race.
They link two complete sentences together, expressing a relati­onship between them without subord­inating one clause to the other.