9+ Common German Conjunctions with Examples You Should Know

Conjunctions are words that are used in linking two sentences. In German, these conjunctions belong to a group of non-declinable words. This means that they never change, no matter what is the case. Isn’t it interesting how as a grammar nazi, you must understand these conjunctions to be able to speak the German language? Some common German conjunctions you would encounter while learning the language are ‘sondern, aber, und, wenn, falls’ and the list continues…To learn more about German conjunctions, continue reading this blog post which will tell you about its usage, examples, types and exercises. 

Must Read: All About Conjunctions

What are German Conjunctions?

German conjunctions are used in sentences to combine two similar phrases or words. These can be used to incorporate more details in a sentence or contradict something. In the German language, there are three types of conjunctions used, namely Coordinating Conjunctions, Subordinating Conjunctions and Compound Conjunctions. 

How to Use German Conjunctions in Sentences?

Without conjunctions, it will become pretty boring for the reader to read. As mentioned above, these are connecting words that bring together two sentences and make them more understandable for the reader. 

To give you a better explanation of how German conjunctions are used in sentences. Here’s an example. 

As you can see in the example mentioned above, the first two sentences don’t look good. However, adding a conjunction (because) in between changes the entire sentence. 

List of 10 Common German Conjunctions with Meaning

Here is a quick list of German conjunctions and their meaning that can be used in sentences. 

German Conjunction	Meaning	German Conjunction	Meaning
Sondern	But	Damit	So
Wenn	If, when	Bevor	Before
Als	When	Nachdem	After
während	While	Seit	Since
Da	Because	Bis	Until

5 Coordinating Conjunctions in German

Coordinating conjunctions in German are conjunctions that do not affect the word order of the sentence when connecting phrases, words or clauses. Here is a list of coordinating conjunctions in German which will help you understand these. 

German Conjunction	Translation	Meaning	Example
Oder	Or	This word is used in sentences to give a choice between clauses, words or phrases.	Sie kann Tee trinken oder Kaffee trinken. (She can drink tea or coffee.)
Und	And	Similarly, this word is also used in sentences to connect with other phrases, words etc.	Ich mag Bananen, mangos und Birnen. (I like bananas, mangoes and pears.)
Aber	But	It is used to limit the first clause or describe the opposite.	ch wollte heute ins Kino gehen, aber ich habe keine Zeit. (I wanted to go to the movies today, but I don’t have time.)
Beziehungsweise (bzw.)	More precisely	This shows a relationship between two or more things/objects.	Mehr präzise gesagt, handelt es sich um einen Fehler im Code. (More precisely, it’s an error in the code.)
Denn	Because	It means to show the reasoning of another clause.	Sie konnte nicht zur Party kommen, weil sie krank war. (She couldn’t come to the party because she was sick.)
Sodern	But	Used to negate the thing in the first clause by the thing after the conjunction.	Ich möchte gerne spazieren gehen, aber es regnet draußen. (I would like to go for a walk, but it’s raining outside.)

5 + Subordinating Conjunctions in German

Subordinating conjunctions used in German are used to connect subordinate clauses to main clauses. Below is a list of subordinate conjunctions that will help you when conversing. 

German Conjunctions	Translation	Meaning	Examples
Dass	That	It is used in a sentence to describe the main clause.	Ich denke, dass du recht hast. (I think that you are right.)
Falls	If	Used to introduce a conditional clause in a sentence.	Wenn du heute früh aufgestanden wärst, wärst du pünktlich zur Arbeit gekommen. (If you had gotten up early this morning, you would have arrived at work on time.)
Ob	Whether	This conjunction is used to ask an indirect yes/no question in a sentence.	Ich frage mich, ob das Wetter morgen schön sein wird.(I wonder whether the weather will be nice tomorrow.)
Obwohl	Although	This is used to explain a situation that could lead to an unexpected situation.	Obwohl es regnete, gingen wir trotzdem spazieren. (Although it was raining, we still went for a walk.)
Damit	So	This is used in sentences to express the goal or an action that has been mentioned in the main clause.	Ich habe keine Zeit, also kann ich nicht kommen. (I don’t have time, so I can’t come.)
Nachdem	After	This describes what happened before the action in the main clause.	Nach dem Regen ging die Sonne auf. (After the rain, the sun came out.)

German Conjunctions Exercises for Practise

Exercise 1 – Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the correct German conjunction in the following sentences.

1. Ich möchte ins Kino gehen, ____ ich habe keine Lust auf den Film.
2. Er isst gerne Pizza, ____ er mag auch Pasta.
3. Wir können entweder ins Restaurant gehen ____ zu Hause kochen.
4. Sie spielt Tennis gut, ____ sie hat noch nie einen Wettkampf gewonnen.
5. Er geht gerne schwimmen, ____ er hat Angst vor tiefem Wasser.

Check Your Answers

1. Aber
2. Und
3. Oder
4. Aber
5. Aber

Exercise 2 – Rewrite Sentences

Rewrite the following sentences by including German conjunctions. 

1.  Ich mag Pizza, weil sie lecker ist.
2.  Er geht nicht zur Party, denn er ist krank.
3. Sie hat viel Arbeit, deshalb kann sie nicht kommen.
4. Ich gehe zum Supermarkt, obwohl es regnet.
5. Sie hat den Film gesehen, jedoch hat sie ihn nicht gemocht.
6.  Ich möchte ins Kino gehen, aber ich habe keine Zeit.

Check Your Answers

1. Ich mag Pizza, denn sie ist lecker.
2. Er geht nicht zur Party, da er krank ist.
3. Sie hat viel Arbeit, daher kann sie nicht kommen.
4. Ich gehe zum Supermarkt, obgleich es regnet.
5. Sie hat den Film gesehen, jedoch mochte sie ihn nicht.
6. Ich möchte ins Kino gehen, allerdings habe ich keine Zeit.

Bonus – German Conjunction Quiz

Let’s do a multiple-choice exercise with German conjunctions. Here are the questions:

Which conjunction is used to express a cause or reason in German?

1. Und
2. Aber
3. Denn
4. Oder

Answer: C. Denn

Check Related Posts!

And as a Conjunction: Meaning, Examples	Paired Conjunctions: Meaning, Example
Correlative Conjunctions Examples	19+ Because Conjunction Examples That
Conjunction for Class 5	55+ Coordinating Conjunction Examples

FAQs

We hope this blog gave you all the necessary information on German conjunctions. To advance your grammar knowledge and read more informative blogs, check out our Learn English page and don’t forget to follow Leverage Edu.