Conjunctions

A conjunction is a joining word. It joins together two parts of a sentence.

e.g. I did not do my homework because I left my book at school.

Because is the joining word i.e. the conjunction.

In the above example, the sentence can be divided up into two parts:

1. I did not do my home

2. because I left my book at school.

Each part is called a clause; therefore in the above example there are two clauses.

A conjunction joins together two clauses.

In learning German it is necessary to identify two kinds of conjunctions:

Co-ordinating Conjunctions (There are only 5)

und = and

aber = but

oder = or

denn = for (in the sense of because)

sondern = but, on the contrary

When you use one of these conjunctions the word/order follows the same pattern as in English.

E.g. 

(Remember the rule about the verb coming second. This idea applies in such a sentence: )

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Subordinating Conjunctions (Here is a list of the most important)

A subordinating conjuntion introduces a subordinate clause, In the examples below, the subordinate clause is underlined.

Whenever you use a subordinating conjunction, the main verb must come at the end of the clause:-

Now look at the word order when the subordinate clause comes first.

Study the above examples carefully, and remember the pattern when the subordinate clause comes first:-

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