85. Subordinate Clauses (ii)

85.  More on Subordinate Clauses  (See Quiztests 232-233)

Last time we looked at Subordinate Clauses BUT.... with the Main Clause first. This time we need to look at what happens if the Subordinate Clause comes first. The word order is different again. We will use the conjunctions below that we saw as our examples previously.

wenn     =      when (Present,  Future & Past Tense meaning 'whenever'), if

als         =      when (Past Tenses)

weil      =       because

nachdem  =   after

bevor    =      before

während   =   while     

indem   =       as, while

seitdem =      (ever) since  

dass      =       that

obgleich   =   although

sobald      =   as soon as

ob         =      if, whether 

da         =      as, since (because)

If the Subordinate Clause goes second we found the verb simply went to the end of the clause ... e.g.

Wir haben das Deutsche Museum besucht, als wir in München waren.

If the Main Clause is second, we now get ...

Als wir in München waren, haben wir das Deutsche Museum besucht - Note that the Subject and Verb of the Main Clause are reversed. This always happens when the Subordinate Clause comes first.

More examples..

Wenn ich Fieber habe,  nehme  ich  immer ein paar Tabletten,

Weil er viele Hausaufgaben hat,  kann  Hans  nicht zur Party kommen. 

Nachdem sie im Café zu Mittag gegessen hat,  geht  Silke  sofort ins Kino.

S  P  A  N  A  PP  I  V,  V  S  P  A  N  A  PP  I   is how the sentence structure now looks

The fabulous Matterhorn - Zermatt Switzerland