Konjunktionen

Conjunctions vs Prepositions
A conjunction is a "little word" that connects two clauses: "You're so fine, and you're mine"; "Long
stemmed roses are the way to your heart, but he needs to start with your head." In German, a
conjunction either "cooordinates" two "equally important" clauses, or it "subordinates" one clause
to the101Deutsch
other. Subordinating conjunctions make the verb go to the end in the clause they introduce, 326
while an der
coordinating conjunctions leave the verb position unchanged (==> the verb will usually, but not always,
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be in position 2 after a coordinating conjunction). Since conjunctions determine the relation between
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clauses (and, because, although, as if...), it's crucial for you to be familiar with their meanings.
A preposition is a "little word" that brings a noun or pronoun into the sentence: "Zephyr in the sky
night I wonder, do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun?" Prepositions don't affect word order in
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German, but they do determine the case of theKursseiten
noun or pronoun they bring into the sentence. Since
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prepositions determine what the nouns or pronouns
they bring into the sentence are doing there (on,
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under, with, without, instead of...), it's again crucial
for you to be familiar with their meanings.
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here for more information on prepositions.
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A few words (e.g. seit, whrend) can be bothHren

conjunctions and prepositions, and you have to
determine their function by looking to see if they
are connecting
two phrases (Ich esse SPAM,
Learning
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in Amerika bin: conjunction; Ich esse seit drei Stunden SPAM: preposition). English uses "after" and
"before" as both conjunctions and prepositions, but German distinguishes the conjunctions nachdem
and bevor from the prepositions nach and vor.
German
Dept.
Even after reading this explanation, you're likely
to sometimes
confuse prepositions and conjunctions.
LRC
==> When your instructor uses either term and you're not sure what s/he means, please ask. Many of
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your classmates will be grateful to you!
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Summary Tables

PONS online dict.

L.E.O. online dict.
dict.cc Please refer to the Word Order
Duden page for practice exercises and
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diagnostic exercises on this
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topic

Usage Notes and Examples:

Coordinating Conjunctions

Resources for
German Students
and Teachers

Und, denn, sondern, aber,

oder
Other coordinating
conjunctions: allein,
doch, jedoch,
beziehungsweise

Two-Part Coordinating
Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions
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Coordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions

These ocupy position 0 and leave the verb position the same
as in the preceding clause.

These send the conjugated verb to the

end of the clause.

und

and

bevor

before

denn

because

ehe

before

sondern

but (rather)

nachdem

after

aber

but

whrend

during, while, whereas

oder

or

seit,
seitdem

since (for time, not for

"because")

beziehungsweise or, or more precisely