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WORD GRAMMAR
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Verb
- Conjugation in indicative
- Person and number
- Tenses
- Voice
- Mood
- Verb categories
- Valency
- Semantic categories of verbs
- Finite / non-finite verb forms
- Noun
- Adjective
- Adverb
- Article
- Pronoun
- Preposition
- Conjunction
- Particle
- Interjection
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Verb
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SENTENCE GRAMMAR
- Clause types
- Complex clauses
- Constituents of a sentence
- Sentence structure
- Word order in a sentence
- Negation
Subordinate clauses with/without an introductory word
SA4
Subordinate clauses introduced by a conjunction
Subordinate clauses that are introduced by a conjunction are linked to the main clause through an introductory word. Based on this introductory word, subordinate clauses fall into two categories: the Subjunktionalsätze (subordinating conjunction clauses) and the Pronominalsätze (pronominal clauses).
Subjunktionalsätze (subordinating conjunction clauses)
These subordinate clauses are introduced by a subordinating conjunction.
Examples | ||
Er behauptet, dass er am Unfall nicht schuld ist. | with a conjunction and a finite verb form | |
Ich gehe heute nicht zur Arbeit, weil ich Fieber habe. | ||
Ich spare Geld, um ein neues Auto zu kaufen. | with a conjunction and a non-finite verb form (infinitive) |
Subjunktionalsätzen (subordinating conjunction clauses) follow the word order type 3 (Stellungstyp 3) i.e. the finite or the non-finite verb form are at the final position of the clause. The syntactic roles of the Subjunktionalsätzen (subordinating conjunction clauses) include those of a subject, an object and an adverbial to the main clause.
Pronominalsätze (pronominal clauses)
Pronominalsätze (pronominal clauses) are clauses that are introduced by :
1. relative pronouns (also combined with a preposition)
Example | |
Das ist die Frau, der ich beim Umzug geholfen habe. | |
So sieht die Frau aus, von der ich träume. |
2. interrogative pronouns (also combined with a preposition)
Example | |
Ich finde heraus, was passiert ist. | |
Er weiß nicht, mit wem ich wohne. |
3. interrogative adverbs
Example | |
Er weiß nicht, wo ich wohne. |
4. pronominal adverbs.
Example | |
Das ist das Cafe΄, wovon ich dir erzählt habe. |
Pronominalsätzen (pronominal clauses) follow the word order type 3 (Stellungstyp 3) i.e. the finite or the non-finite verb forms are at the final position of the clause. The syntactic roles of the Pronominalsätzen (pronominal clauses) include those of a subject, an object and an attributive adjective to the main clause or to the argument on which they depend (relative clauses and 2nd grade subordinate clauses).
Subordinate clauses without a conjunction
Subordinate clauses that are not introduced by a conjunction are linked to the main clause without an introductory word. According to their function, these clauses fall into two categories: the subject/object clauses and the adverbial clauses.
Subject/object clauses
The subject/object clauses that are not introduced by a conjunction can be replaced by dass-clauses.
Examples | ||
Er behauptet, er sei am Unfall nicht schuld. | object clause without a conjunction | |
Er behauptet, dass er am Unfall nicht schuld ist. | dass-clause | |
Es ist besser, du fährst mit dem Bus zu mir. | subject clause without a conjunction | |
Es ist besser, dass du mit dem Bus zu mir fährst. | dass-clause |
Subject/object clauses without a conjunction follow the word order type 1 (Stellungstyp 1) i.e. the finite verb form is in the second position of the subordinate clause.
Adverbial clauses
Adverbial clauses that are not introduced by a conjunction are conditional and concessive subordinate clauses. These clauses always precede the main clause.
Conditional clauses without an introductory conjunction
Examples | ||
Ist das Wetter gut, machen wir einen Ausflug. | conditional clauses without an introductory conjunction | |
Wenn das Wetter gut ist, machen wir einen Ausflug. | conditional clauses with an introductory conjunction |
Conditional clauses without a conjunction follow the word order type 2 (Stellungstyp 2) i.e. the finite verb form is in the first position in the subordinate clause.
Concessive clauses without an introductory conjunction
Examples | ||
Ist das Wetter auch schlecht, wir machen trotzdem einen Ausflug. | concessive clauses without an introductory conjunction | |
Obwohl das Wetter schlecht ist, machen wir einen Ausflug. | concessive clauses with an introductory conjunction |
Concessive clauses without a conjunction follow the word order type 2 (Stellungstyp 2) i.e. the finite verb form is in the first position of the subordinate clause. The word auch is contained in the subordinate clause; the use of the words trotzdem, doch or dennoch in the main clause is optional.
Finally, and as an exception to the general rule, the finite verb form of the main clause is, at most times, in the second position.
Examples | ||
Ist das Wetter auch schlecht, wir machen trotzdem einen Ausflug. | verb in the 2nd position | |
Ist das Wetter auch schlecht, machen wir trotzdem einen Ausflug. | verb in 1st position |