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Courses from A1 to B2: short video lessons, quizzes and printable charts for every topic, in the right order.
See the coursesIf you have studied German for even a few weeks, you have probably noticed something strange happening to verbs. In some sentences the verb sits neatly in second position, just like English. Then a small word like weil or dass appears and suddenly the verb jumps to the very end. Welcome to the world of German subordinate clauses — known in German as Nebensätze.
Subordinate clauses are one of the biggest hurdles at the A2 level, but they follow a single, consistent rule. Once you understand that rule, you can handle every subordinating conjunction in the language. This guide walks you through it step by step, with plenty of examples and practice tips.
A subordinate clause is a part of a sentence that cannot stand alone. It depends on a main clause (Hauptsatz) to make sense. In German, subordinate clauses are always introduced by a subordinating conjunction — a connecting word like weil (because), dass (that), or wenn (when/if).
Here is a simple example:
Main clause: Ich bleibe zu Hause. (I stay at home.) Subordinate clause: ...weil ich krank bin. (...because I am sick.) Full sentence: Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin.
The subordinate clause (weil ich krank bin) cannot exist as its own sentence. It needs the main clause to give it context. Notice the comma before weil — German always requires a comma between a main clause and a subordinate clause.
For a broader look at how main clauses and subordinate clauses fit together, see our guide on German word order explained.
This is the single most important rule to remember:
In a German subordinate clause, the conjugated verb goes to the very end.
This is called the verb-final rule (Verb-Endstellung). Compare the word order in a main clause and a subordinate clause:
| Main clause | Subordinate clause | |
|---|---|---|
| German | Ich habe heute keine Zeit. | ...weil ich heute keine Zeit habe. |
| English | I have no time today. | ...because I have no time today. |
In the main clause, the conjugated verb habe sits in second position (the V2 rule). In the subordinate clause, habe moves all the way to the end. English does not do this — the verb stays in the same spot — which is exactly why this rule feels so unnatural at first.
When a sentence has two verb parts (for example, a modal verb plus an infinitive, or an auxiliary plus a past participle), the conjugated verb goes last, after the other verb part:
...weil ich morgen arbeiten muss. (...because I must work tomorrow.) ...dass er das Buch gelesen hat. (...that he has read the book.)
The infinitive or participle comes first, and the conjugated verb (muss, hat) follows at the very end.
German has many subordinating conjunctions, but mastering the following ten will cover the vast majority of everyday conversation and writing. For a complete overview including coordinating and two-part conjunctions, check our German conjunctions chart.
Expresses a reason or cause.
Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich in Berlin arbeiten will. (I am learning German because I want to work in Berlin.)
Introduces a statement or fact, often after verbs like wissen, glauben, sagen, denken.
Ich weiß, dass du recht hast. (I know that you are right.)
Used for conditions and repeated events.
Wenn es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause. (When/If it rains, I stay at home.)
Used for indirect yes/no questions.
Ich weiß nicht, ob er heute kommt. (I don't know whether he is coming today.)
Expresses a contrast or concession.
Sie geht spazieren, obwohl es kalt ist. (She goes for a walk although it is cold.)
Refers to a one-time event in the past. Do not confuse it with wenn (repeated or future events).
Als ich ein Kind war, lebte ich in Hamburg. (When I was a child, I lived in Hamburg.)
Indicates something happens before the action in the main clause.
Ruf mich an, bevor du gehst. (Call me before you leave.)
Indicates something that happened after a completed action. Often paired with a tense shift (Perfekt in the nachdem clause, Präsens or Präteritum in the main clause).
Nachdem ich gegessen habe, gehe ich spazieren. (After I have eaten, I go for a walk.)
Expresses a purpose.
Ich übe jeden Tag, damit ich besser werde. (I practice every day so that I get better.)
Expresses simultaneous actions.
Während ich koche, hört mein Mann Musik. (While I cook, my husband listens to music.)
Follow these four steps to construct any subordinate clause correctly:
Step 1: Write the main clause.
Ich bin müde.
Step 2: Add a comma and the subordinating conjunction.
Ich bin müde, weil...
Step 3: Add the subject and the rest of the clause, but leave the conjugated verb out for now.
Ich bin müde, weil ich gestern lange...
Step 4: Place the conjugated verb at the very end.
Ich bin müde, weil ich gestern lange gearbeitet habe.
That is it. The conjunction opens the clause, everything else follows in roughly the same order as a main clause, and the conjugated verb closes it.
Practice rearranging sentence elements into the correct order with Word Scramble — it trains exactly this skill of putting German words in their proper positions.
Unlike English, where commas before because or that are often optional, German has a strict rule:
A comma always separates the main clause from the subordinate clause.
This applies regardless of which clause comes first:
Ich bleibe zu Hause**,** weil ich krank bin. Weil ich krank bin**,** bleibe ich zu Hause.
The comma marks the boundary between the two clauses. It is never optional in German, even when the subordinate clause starts with dass or ob (where English speakers would typically omit the comma).
One of the trickiest patterns for learners is what happens when the subordinate clause comes before the main clause. In this case, the entire subordinate clause counts as position 1 of the main clause. Because of the V2 rule, the conjugated verb of the main clause must come immediately after the comma:
Weil ich krank bin, bleibe ich zu Hause. Wenn du Zeit hast, ruf mich an. Obwohl es regnet, gehen wir spazieren.
The pattern is:
[Subordinate clause], [verb] [subject] [rest of main clause].
This inversion catches many learners off guard. They write "Weil ich krank bin, ich bleibe zu Hause" — putting the subject before the verb, which breaks the V2 rule. Remember: after a front-placed subordinate clause, the verb of the main clause is always the very next word.
For more on how this connects to basic sentence patterns, read our German sentence structure for beginners guide.
English speakers often ask why German sends the verb to the end of subordinate clauses. The historical answer is that the original, "natural" position of the German verb was actually at the end of the sentence. Old High German and Middle High German used verb-final order much more extensively.
Over centuries, main clauses developed the V2 pattern (verb in second position), but subordinate clauses preserved the older verb-final order. The subordinating conjunction essentially signals: "This clause follows the original Germanic word order."
Knowing this can actually help you remember the rule. The verb-final position in subordinate clauses is not an exception — it is the older, deeper pattern of the language. The V2 rule in main clauses is the innovation.
Here are the errors learners make most often with subordinate clauses:
Forgetting to move the verb to the end. Wrong: Ich weiß, dass er ist krank. Correct: Ich weiß, dass er krank ist.
Putting the conjugated verb before the infinitive/participle. Wrong: ...weil ich habe das Buch gelesen. Correct: ...weil ich das Buch gelesen habe.
Missing the comma. Wrong: Ich bleibe zu Hause weil ich müde bin. Correct: Ich bleibe zu Hause*,** weil ich müde bin.*
Wrong word order after a front-placed subordinate clause. Wrong: Wenn ich Zeit habe, ich gehe ins Kino. Correct: Wenn ich Zeit habe, gehe ich ins Kino.
Confusing weil (subordinating) with denn (coordinating). Both mean "because," but denn does not send the verb to the end: Er bleibt zu Hause, denn er ist krank. Learn the difference in our German conjunctions chart.
Subordinate clauses become second nature with regular practice. Here are the best ways to drill this pattern:
For practice on the go, download the Deutschwunder app and train grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure anywhere.
Viel Erfolg beim Lernen! (Good luck with your studies!)
More on Deutschwunder: German word order explained · German conjunctions chart · German sentence structure for beginners · German conditional sentences