Wenn or Als?
„wenn“ and „als“ express that two things occurred simultaneously at a specific point in time.
„als“ is used for something that occurred once in the past.
In the future and present, we always use „wenn“.
„Wenn“ is also used when something occurred more than once in the past.
In the Future
In the future: always „wenn“
- „Ich werde immer glücklich sein, wenn du mich besuchst.“
⇒ Each time
- „Ich werde froh sein, wenn du gesund wieder zurück kommst.“
⇒ Occured just once
Warning: „wenn“ can be seen as a condition (conditional clause) or point in time (temporal clause), depending on what else is in the sentence.
In the Present
In the present: always „wenn“
- „Ich komme nach Hause , wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin.“
⇒ Once
- „(Immer) wenn ich nach Hause laufe, komme ich am Kino vorbei.“
⇒ Often (again and again)
Warning: „Wenn“ can be a condition as well, depending on the focus of the sentence.
In the Past
When speaking about the past, you have to choose between „wenn“ and „als“
- „Als ich ein Kind war, habe ich hier immer Fußball gespielt.“
⇒ I was a kid only one time ⇒ als
- „(Immer) wenn ich in Berlin war, sind wir feiern gewesen.“
⇒ I partied in Berlin more than once ⇒ wenn
- „Heute bin ich schon im Büro gewesen, als du angekommen bist.“
⇒ You arrived only one time ⇒ als
Word Order
„wenn“ and „als“ are subordinating conjunctions. That means that they start a subordinate clause and send the verb to the end.
The subordinate clause often comes before the main clause, because we want to highlight the information of the temporal clause. It comes after the main clause only when it is the answer to a question.
But when the situation (the w-question) is clear, the main clause can be left out.
„Wann kommst du nach Hause?“
- „Ich komme nach Hause, wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin.“
- „Wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin, komme ich nach Hause.“
- „Wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin.“
Without the Question:
- „Wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin, komme ich nach Hause.“
- „Ich komme nach Hause, wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin.“
The main clause can not be left out. Whether the main clause or the subordinate clause comes first depends on what we want to highlight. Most often that´s the information of the temporal clause with „wenn“ or „als“.
Summary
| Time | Wenn or als? |
|---|---|
| Future | Always „wenn“ |
| Present | Always „wenn“ |
| Past | One Time – „als“ More than once – „wenn“ |
- If there‘s no question, the subordinate clause usually comes before the main clause.
- With a question about when something occured, the subordinate clause can stand alone.
Further Information
- The other temporal conjunctions are explained in the lecture: Temporal Conjunctions
- A general overview about subordinate clauses can be found in lecture: Subordinate Clause.
- Subordinate clauses start with subordinate conjunctions: „weil/da“, „obwohl“, „damit“, „wenn/falls“, „dass“, „so dass“ and „indem“
- Infinitive Phrases (infinitive with zu) and Infinitive Constructions (um/anstatt/ohne … zu) are subordinate clauses as well.
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