What are Temporal Clauses?
Temporal clauses are subordinate clauses. They always begin with a temporal conjunction. Temporal clauses give information about the beginning, end, and length of an action.
They can also show whether or not two actions occur simultaneously.
The Temporal Conjunctions
„seit / seitdem“
Meaning: Condition/action began in the past and isn‘t finished yet.
- „Ich lerne Deutsch, seitdem ich in Deutschland wohne.“
⇒ Both actions/conditions began at the same time and are not finished yet.
- „Seitdem ich einen Unfall hatte, sitze ich im Rollstuhl.“
⇒ When the action in the subordinate clause has already occurred, we use the past tense. The main clause always uses the present tense.
„bis“
Meaning: Bis expresses that two actions occur simultaneously and gives a point in time when both will end.
- „Ich bleibe hier, bis ich mit meiner Arbeit fertig bin.“
- „Bis du mit der Arbeit fertig bist, sehe ich ein bisschen fern.“
- „Ich warte hier auf dich, bis du wieder zurückkommst.“
⇒ The two actions end at the same time.
„während“
Meaning: Two actions occur simultaneously.
- „Ich gehe einkaufen, während du die Wohnung aufräumst.“
- „Während du Computer spielst, lerne ich.“
⇒ The actions take place at the same time.
„solange“
Meaning: Simultaneous actions with the same endpoint (time period).
- „Ich werde putzen, solange ihr eure Hausaufgaben macht.“
- „Solange du bei mir bist, habe ich keine Angst.“
⇒ The two actions end at the same time.
„nachdem“
Meaning: „nachdem“ expresses that two things didn‘t happen at the same time. The action in the main clause happens after the action in the subordinate clause.
A subordinate clause with „nachdem“ has to be one time stage before the main clause.
Examples:
„bevor / ehe“
Meaning: „bevor“/“ehe“ expresses that two things didn‘t happen at the same time. The action in the main clause happens before the action in the subordinate clause.
- „Ich putze Zähne, bevor/ehe ich schlafen gehe.“
- „Bevor/ehe du dich setzt, machst du deine Hausaufgaben.“
„Bevor“ is used much more often than „ehe“.
„Bevor“ and „ehe“ are opposites of „nachdem“.
„solange/sowie“
Solange and sowie express that two things do not / did not happen at the same time. It is a sequence of two actions. The action of the subordinate clause ends when the action of the main clause starts.
For that reason a subordinate clause with „solange / sowie“ has to be one time stage before the main clause.
Examples:
Summary
The temporal conjunctions:
| Conjunction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| während | Two simultaneous actions |
| solange | Two simulaneous actions that also have the same end point (period of time) |
| bis | Two simultaneous actions that have the same end point (point in time) |
| seit / seitdem | Actions that started in the past and are still going on |
| nachdem | Main clause takes place AFTER the subordinate clause |
| sobald / sowie | Two actions that don‘t occur at the same time (the second action starts directly after the first) |
| bevor / ehe | Main clause takes play BEFORE the subordinate clause |
Further Information
- The temporal conjunctions „wenn“ and „als“ are a bit special so I made a separate lecture: Temporal Conjunctions „wenn/als“
- 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“, „so dass“, „indem“ and „als/wenn“
- Infinitive Phrases (infinitive with zu) and Infinitive Constructions (um/anstatt/ohne … zu) are subordinate clauses as well..
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