Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly form a subordinate clause with verb-final word order, directly building on the pattern introduced in Part 4, Lesson 6.
Lesson Explanation
Building directly on Part 4, Lesson 6: subordinating conjunctions like weil (because), dass (that), obwohl (although), and wenn (if/when) all push the conjugated verb to the very end of the subordinate clause — a genuinely important, distinctive feature of German sentence structure.
Ich glaube, dass er Recht hat. (I believe that he is right.) Obwohl es regnet, gehen wir spazieren. (Although it is raining, we are going for a walk.)
A genuinely important, specific detail: when the subordinate clause comes first in the sentence (as in the second example), the main clause that follows must still obey V2 (Part 4, Lesson 5) — the entire subordinate clause counts as the single “first element,” and the main clause’s verb comes immediately after it: gehen is the second grammatical element overall, even though several individual words precede it.
Practice Questions
1. What earlier lesson introduced the verb-final pattern this lesson builds on?
View Answer
Part 4, Lesson 6.
2. What does “weil” mean?
View Answer
Because.
3. What does “dass” mean?
View Answer
That.
4. What does “obwohl” mean?
View Answer
Although.
5. Where does the conjugated verb go in a clause introduced by these subordinating conjunctions?
View Answer
The very end of that clause.
6. Write “I believe that he is right,” using verb-final word order in the dass clause.
View Answer
Ich glaube, dass er Recht hat.
7. When a subordinate clause comes first in a sentence, what still governs the main clause that follows?
View Answer
The V2 rule (Part 4, Lesson 5).
8. In “Obwohl es regnet, gehen wir spazieren,” what counts as the single first grammatical element for V2 purposes?
View Answer
The entire subordinate clause “Obwohl es regnet.”
9. In this example, is “gehen” the second grammatical element overall, despite several words preceding it?
View Answer
Yes.
10. What does “wenn” mean?
View Answer
If/when.
11. Write “Although it is raining, we are going for a walk.”
View Answer
Obwohl es regnet, gehen wir spazieren.
12. Correct or incorrect: subordinate clauses use the same V2 order as main clauses.
View Answer
Incorrect — the conjugated verb moves to the end of the subordinate clause instead.