Conjunctions are words that join two words, sentences, clauses or phrases.
There are two types of conjunctions: coordinate and subordinate ones.
Here is a list of examples:
Coordinating conjunctions | Subordinating conjunctions |
und - and | weil - because |
oder - or | obwohl - although |
aber - but | dass - that |
denn - because | so dass - so that |
bevor - before | |
während - while/ during | |
als - when (with past tense) | |
wenn - when (with present tense) | |
ob - if |
Coordinating conjunctions are easy to use in a sentence as they do not change the word order.
Example:
Ich lese ein Buch. Ich höre Musik
Ich lese eine Buch und ich höre Musik.
The verb ‘höre’ in the second clause stays in the same position.
However, subordinating conjunctions send the finite verb to the end of the clause.
Example:
Ich lese ein Buch. Ich höre Musik.
Ich lese ein Buch bevor ich Musik höre.
The verb ‘höre’ in the second clause has moved to the end.
