What are Consecutive Clauses?
Consecutive clauses are subordinate clauses. Consecutive clauses express the result/consequence of something that already happened in the past.
The main clause MUST come before the subordinate clause because otherwise we would be describing the reason for something.
Example:
- „Es regnete zu wenig, so dass viele Menschen kein Wasser zum Trinken hatten.“
Versions
The „so“ can also be placed in the main clause before an adjective.
- „Es hat so wenig geregnet, dass viele Menschen kein Wasser zum Trinken hatten.
- „Ich habe so viel gelernt, dass ich die Prüfung ohne Probleme bestanden habe.“
- „Es hat so viel geregnet, dass die Stadt vom Fluss überschwemmt wurden.“
⇒ This version is more popular.
Warning: The separable version is only possible when there is an adjective in the main clause that relates to the subordinate clause:
- „Ich habe vergessen meine schönen Blumen zu gießen, so dass ich mir jetzt neue Blumen kaufen muss.“
Also, there can‘t be any other adverb in front of the adjective:
- „Es war zu kalt, so dass ich nicht spazieren gehen konnte.“
In both examples „so dass“ can not be separated.
Other Versions
It is possible to express the same idea with the consecutive adverbs: „also“, „daher“, „darum“, „deswegen“, „deshalb“, „folglich“, „infolgedessen“
„Es regnete zu viel. Darum konnte ich nicht spazieren gehen.“
= „Es regnete zu viel, so dass ich nicht spazieren gehen konnte.“
It means the same but then it isn‘t a consecutive clause, because there are two main clauses and no subordinate clauses.
Summary
- Consecutive clauses are subordinate clauses. Consecutive clauses express the result/consequence of something that already happened in the past. The conjunction is: „so dass“.
- „So“ can also be placed before an adjective in the main clause.
- The same idea can be expressed with the consecutive adverbs „also“, „daher“, „darum“, „deswegen“, „deshalb“, „folglich“, „infolgedessen“.
Further Information
- A general overview about subordinate clause you can get in lecture: Subordinate Clause.
- Infinitive Phrases (infinitive with zu) and Infinitive Constructions (um/anstatt/ohne … zu) are subordinate clauses as well.
- Subordinate clauses start with subordinate conjunctions: „weil/da“, „obwohl“, „damit“, „wenn/falls“, „dass“, „indem“ and „als/wenn“
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