In this lesson you will learn what types of double conjunctions in German and into what semantic groups they are divided. You can also practice distinguishing them.
Double conjunctions can connect both members of a sentence and two main clauses.
Double alliances distinguished by meaning:
1. Denial with clarification:
Nicht (kein)…, sondern (not…, but…)
Das ist kein Tablet, sondern ein Reader – This is not a tablet, but a “reader”
Das ist kein Junge, sondern ein Mädchen - This is not a boy, but a girl
2. Alternative:
Entweder…, oder (or…, or…)
Ich möchte entweder nach Deutschland, oder nach Österreich fahren – I would like to go to either Germany or Austria
Thomas will entweder ein rotes, oder ein weißes Auto kaufen – Thomas wants to buy either a red or a white car
3. Double transfer:
Sowohl..., als/wie auch (both... and...)
Meine Schwester spricht nicht nur Deutsch, sondern auch Englisch - My sister speaks not only German, but also English language
Diese Arzneimittel sind sowohl im Ausland, als auch in unserem Land zu kaufen – These medicines can be bought both abroad and in our country
Nicht nur..., sondern auch (not only..., but also...)
Er kann dir nicht nur raten, sondern auch helfen - He can not only advise you, but also help you
Wir fahren nicht nur in die Schweiz, sondern auch in die Türkei – We will go not only to Switzerland, but also to Turkey
4. Double negative:
Weder..., noch (neither..., nor...)
Mein Bruder isst weder Fisch, noch Fleisch - My brother eats neither fish nor meat
Ihm gefällt weder Tee, noch Kaffee – He doesn’t like either tea or coffee
5. Controversy:
Zwar..., aber (although..., but also...)
Sie ist zwar klug, aber sie hat kein Buch gelesen - Although she is smart, she has not read a single book
Wir wohnen zwar in Deutschland, aber wir können kein Deutsch sprechen - Although we live in Germany, we do not speak German.
Exercises(insert the necessary conjunctions into the sentences):
1. Dortin kann man entweder mit dem Flugzeug fliegen, oder mit dem Zug fahren
2. In der Hand hielt er kein Handy, sondern einen Rechner
3. – Was kannst du über diesen Menschen sagen? -Er war weder hoch, night niedrig und weder jung, night alt
4. Diese Frau war weder klug, night schön
5. Er liebt zwar Sophie, aber flirtet auch mit Natali
6. Sie mag die Haustiere: sowohl Katzen, als auch Hunde
7. Viele Businessleute haben zwar viel Geld, aber wenig Zeit
8. Es gibt nur weinige Jugendliche, die weder Alkohol trinken, night Zigaretten rauchen
9. Wir können nur entweder ans Meer, oder ins Gebirge fahren
10. Das ist kein Notizblock, sondern ein Buch
There are quite a lot of conjunctions in the German language, and they are all used in different types proposals.
According to its composition German alliances are divided into:
1. monosyllabic or simple: "und", "dass", "weil" and etc.;
2. compound or complex: "nachdem", "solange" and etc;
3. consisting of two elements: "so dass", "und zwar" and etc.;
4. doubles: “weder…noch”, “entweder…oder”, “bald…bald”, “nicht nur…sondern auch” and others.
Conjunctions in German
There are coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
Essays- connect homogeneous members offers, subordinates- form a connection between parts of a sentence that are dependent on each other. This lesson will focus on coordinating conjunctions.
Frequently occurring conjunctions include such simple conjunctions as und(And), sondern(A), aber(But), oder(or).
Have you already met them?
Ich habe einen Bruder und zwei Schwestern.
Magst du Tee oder Kaffee?
Gehen wir ins Kino heute oder morgen?
Er ist aber nicht so klug.
These conjunctions can connect not only homogeneous members of a sentence, but also simple sentences as part of a complex one. They serve as a connecting element and do not affect word order: Ich studiere Deutsch, und mein Bruder studiert English.
The same thing happens with paired conjunctions: they can connect both simple sentences as part of a complex sentence and homogeneous members of a sentence. For example: Ich studiere nicht nur Deutsch, sondern auch English.
The most common pairings include:
Let's look at a few more examples of using paired conjunctions. Pay attention to the word order:
Sowohl ich als auch meine Schwester studieren an der Universität.— Both my sister and I study at the university.
Sie gehen heute abend etweder ins Kino oder zum Konzert.- Tonight they are going either to the cinema or to a concert.
With the union "weder...noch" negation is not used - this conjunction is negative in itself: Ich esse weder Fisch noch Fleisch.— I don’t eat fish or meat.
Conjunctive words
In addition to conjunctions, allied words are also used in the German language. They differ from conjunctions in that they affect the order of words in a sentence - after allied words the subject follows, i.e. inversion is used.
Associated words include:
Let's look at a few examples of the use of allied words:
Das Wasser war kalt, trozdem schwammen wir.— The water was cold, despite this, we took a swim.
Zuerst gehen wir zur Post, dann müssen wir nach Hause fahren.- First we will go to the post office, then we must go home.
After allied words "doch", "jedoch" word order can be either direct or reverse.
Practice using different conjunctions by doing the following exercise.
Lesson assignments
Exercise 1. Translate into German.
1. My parents go to the theater, but I stay at home.
2. I'm sick, so I'm not going to work tomorrow.
3. The weather was good, despite this, we stayed at home.
4. You must do this today, otherwise you won’t have time tomorrow.
5. Despite my request, she did not call.
6. I was at school, and you had already left.
7. Either it’s snowing, or the sun is shining.
8. I wanted (möchte) to buy this book, but it was too expensive.
9. Tonight I will either read a book or watch TV.
10. I translated the text, but it was too difficult for me.
Answer 1.
1. Meine Eltern gehen ins Theater, aber ich bleibe zu Hause.
2. Ich bin krank, deshalb gehe ich morgen nicht zur Arbeit.
3. Das Wetter war sehr schön, trotzdem blieben wir zu Hause.
4. Du musst das heute machen, sonst hast du morgen keine Zeit.
5. Trotz meiner Bitte hat sie nicht anrufen.
6. Ich war in der Schule, sondern du bist schon weggegangen.
7. Bald regnet es, bald scheint es.
8. Ich möchte dieses Buch kaufen, doch es war sehr teuer.
9. Heute abend ich entweder lese ein Buch oder sehe fern.
10. Ich überzetzte den Text, aber es war zu schwierig für mich.
A conjunction is an auxiliary part of speech that connects several simple sentences together to form a complex sentence, as well as homogeneous subjects, predicates and other members of the sentence. In German, conjunctions are called Bindewörter, that is, literally “connecting words.”
Classification
In German, conjunctions, as in Russian, are divided into two main groups: coordinating and subordinating. Conjunctions belonging to the first category form complex sentences, and those that make up the second category form, accordingly, complex sentences.
In turn, within these two groups, conjunctions in the German language are also distributed into subgroups based on what functions they perform in a sentence. For example, coordinating conjunctions can be connecting, co- and contrasting, causal, concessive and consequential. Subordinating conjunctions include conditional conjunctions, target, temporary, comparative and others.
Coordinating Conjunctions in German
You should start studying with compositional ones, since they are much simpler in terms of grammar. In most cases, coordinating conjunctions in German do not affect the order of words in a sentence and serve as a kind of connecting element.
For example, such conjunctions are und (and) - connecting, aber (but) - opposing, sondern (a) - opposing, oder (or) - opposing and others.
Ich studiere Französisch. Mein Freund studiert Englisch. (I am studying French. My friend is studying English).
Die Sonne ging unter. Es ist noch sehr warm. (The sun has set. It is still very warm).
With conjunctions, these sentences would look like this.
Ich studiere Französisch, sondern mein Freund studiert Englisch. (I am studying French and my friend is studying English).
Die Sonne ging unter, aber es ist noch sehr warm. (The sun has set, but it is still very warm).
Coordinating conjunctions that change word order
However, among coordinating conjunctions there are also those that affect the order of words in a sentence. These include jedoch (nevertheless) - concessive and also (so that) - causative.
Sie isst nur Obst und Gemüse, jedoch nimmt sie schnell zu. (She eats only fruits and vegetables, yet is gaining weight quickly).
As you can see from the example, in a sentence with jedoch the predicate comes immediately after the conjunction, and then the subject and all remaining members. In the case of also, the word order will be similar.
Subordinating conjunctions of the German language
Sentences with subordinating conjunctions are called complex. In them it is possible to distinguish the main and subordinate parts and, unlike complex sentences in which both parts are equal, in a complex sentence the subordinate part directly depends on the main one and cannot exist separately.
The most common subordinating conjunctions- this is deshalb (therefore) - investigative, weil (since) - causal, damit (so that) - causal, wenn (when) - temporary and others. These conjunctions in German have a significant impact on word order.
Ich gehe nach England. Ich lerne Englisch. (I'm going to England. I'm learning English).
With the causal conjunction weil, the sentence will sound like this.
Ich gehe nach England, weil ich Englisch lerne. (I'm going to England because I'm learning English).
You may notice that the word order has changed. After the conjunction comes the subject, then all other members of the sentence. In turn, the predicate moved to the very end.
If we consider the same sentence, but using a different conjunction deshalb, then its meaning will remain the same, but the construction itself will look slightly different.
Ich lerne Englisch, deshalb gehe ich nach England. I'm learning English, so I'm going to England.
The main and subordinate clauses have changed places, since the conjunction deshalb is investigative. The order of words has also changed: now after the conjunction there is a predicate, then the subject, and after it everything else.
Another subordinating conjunction is damit.
Ich gehe nach Russland. Ich lerne Russisch. I'm going to Russia. I learn Russian.
Ich gehe nach Russland, damit ich Russisch lerne. I'm going to Russia to learn Russian. (Literally - “so that I learn Russian”)
The subject comes after the conjunction, and the predicate comes at the very end.
This conjunction can be replaced by an infinitive construction, and the sentence will be translated in exactly the same way.
Ich mache Sport, um Russisch zu lernen.
However, one thing should be taken into account. The causal conjunction can be replaced by this construction only when only one subject is mentioned in the sentence. IN specific example“I’m going to Russia” and “I’m learning Russian.”
