Mini-Lesson

Joining ideas

Longer, linked sentences are how you climb the mark bands. German has two kinds of joining word: coordinating ones (und, aber, oder…) that leave word order alone, and subordinating ones (weil, dass, wenn…) that kick the verb to the very end. Knowing which is which is the whole game.

Work through each screen and answer the questions as you go. Collect ⭐ stars and press Start.

Two families

Two kinds of connector

Coordinating — joins two equal clauses and changes nothing: the verb stays second in each half.
Subordinating — starts a "lesser" clause and sends its verb to the end, after a comma.

weil es regnetsubordinating → verb "regnet" jumps to the end

The comma is your signpost: a subordinating conjunction almost always follows a comma, and its clause ends with the verb.

Family 1

Coordinating: no change

Five common ones — they slot in and leave both clauses in normal verb-second order:

und · aber · oder · denn · sondernand · but · or · because · but (rather)

Ich spiele Fußball und ich schwimme gern.
Ich mag Mathe, aber ich hasse Physik.
Er lernt viel, denn er will studieren.

sondern = "but" only after a negative ("not X but Y"): Ich trinke keinen Kaffee, sondern Tee.

Quick check

After "und"

?Which is correct German for "I play football and I swim"?

Type it

Your turn — a coordinating word

1Fill the gap: Ich mag Tee, ___ ich trinke lieber Kaffee. ("… but I prefer coffee.")

Hint: the coordinating word for "but".

Family 2

Subordinating: verb to the end

These open a subordinate clause and throw the finite verb to the end:

weil · dass · wenn · obwohl · als · obbecause · that · if/when · although · when (past) · whether

Ich lerne Deutsch, weil es nützlich ist. — because it is useful.
Ich bleibe zu Hause, wenn es regnet. — if it rains.

The verb goes last: not weil es ist nützlich but weil es nützlich ist. Everything else stays in order; only the verb moves.

Quick check

After "weil"

?Which is correct German for "I learn German because it is useful"?

Sort it

Coordinating or subordinating?

Type it

Your turn — a "weil" clause

2Write the clause meaning "because it is useful" — start with weil, put the verb last (es · nützlich · ist).

Hint: weil + es + nützlich + ist (verb at the end).

The workhorse

dass — "that"

dass lets you report thoughts and opinions — and it too sends the verb to the end:

Ich denke, dass Musik wichtig ist. — I think that music is important.
Ich glaube, dass das Handy zu teuer ist. — I believe that the phone is too expensive.

Two spellings, two words: dass (with ß / ss) = "that" the conjunction; das = "the / that" (article or "which"). Don't confuse them.

Quick check

After "dass"

?Which is correct German for "I think that music is important"?

Three more to know

wenn, obwohl, als

wenn = "if / when(ever)": Ich bleibe zu Hause, wenn es regnet.
obwohl = "although": Ich spiele Tennis, obwohl es kalt ist.
als = "when" for a single past event: Als ich klein war, wohnte ich in Köln.

wenn vs als: use als for one moment in the past ("when I was little"); use wenn for the present or repeated events.

Sort it

Verb second, or verb to the end?

Sort each connector by what it does to the verb.

Verb stays 2nd

Verb to the end

Flipping the order

Subordinate clause first → "verb, verb"

You can start with the subordinate clause. Then the whole clause fills slot 1, so the main clause must begin with its verb — giving a tell-tale verb–comma–verb:

Weil es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause.…regnet, bleibe… → two verbs meet at the comma

Wenn ich Zeit habe, spiele ich Gitarre. — When I have time, I play guitar.

The "verb-comma-verb" collision is correct and a mark-winner: …habe, spiele…. Aim for it in writing.

Quick check

Starting with the clause

?Which is correct German for "Because it's raining, I'm staying at home"?

A classic trap

denn vs weil — both "because"

Two words mean "because", but they belong to different families:

word	type	word order
denn	coordinating	verb stays 2nd: …, denn ich bin müde
weil	subordinating	verb to end: …, weil ich müde bin

Same meaning, opposite word order. Pick weil to show off subordinate word order, or denn if you want to keep it simple.

Quick check

denn or weil?

?Which sentence is correct?

Game · Match

Match the conjunction to its meaning

Tap a conjunction on the left, then tap its meaning on the right.

CONJUNCTION

weil

dass

wenn

obwohl

aber

oder

MEANING

although

because

or

that

but

if / when

Type it

Your turn — a "dass" clause

3Complete: Ich glaube, ___ = "… that sport is healthy" (dass · Sport · gesund · ist).

Hint: dass + subject + adjective + verb (ist) at the end.

Type it

Your turn — a "wenn" clause

4Complete: Ich bleibe zu Hause, ___ = "… if it rains" (wenn · es · regnet).

Hint: wenn + es + regnet (verb at the end).

Type it

Your turn — a whole sentence

5Translate "I learn German because it is useful" (use weil).

Hint: main clause, comma, then weil … verb last (ist).

Recap

Your joining-ideas toolkit

Coordinating (no change): und, aber, oder, denn, sondern — verb stays second.

Subordinating (verb to end): weil, dass, wenn, obwohl, als, ob — finite verb goes last, after a comma.

Clause first → verb, verb: Weil es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause.

denn vs weil: same meaning, opposite word order.

Spelling: dass (conjunction) vs das (article).

Next: the advanced structures that lift you to the top. Press Finish to see your score.

🏆

Mini-Lektion geschafft!

⭐⭐⭐

You can now join ideas in Cambridge IGCSE German. 🎉

Your stars: 0 / 0

Next in the spine: advanced structures — Konjunktiv II, the conditional, comparatives/superlatives and relative clauses. Then lock this in with the Evaluate confidence quiz.

📣 Nailed it? Share your score

Challenge a mate to beat your stars, or show a parent how you got on.

→ Back to the grammar spine