A2 · Subordinate clauses · about 4 minutes
When: als, wenn, wann
Als ich klein war. Wenn ich Zeit habe. Wann kommst du?
Three words English writes as "when", separated by one question: once in the past, or repeatedly?
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 2 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need3
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- zwölftwelve
- vorbeiover, past
- deckento lay (the table); to cover
Understand
RememberOnce in the past is always als.
- Signal words
- als
- wenn
- wann
- immer wenn
- sobald
- während
- bis
- nachdem
- bevor
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in German.
| a question, direct or indirect | Wann kommst du? |
| once, in the past | als ich klein war |
| repeatedly, or present and future | wenn es regnet |
| every time, made explicit | immer wenn er anruft |
| as soon as, while, until | sobald, während, bis |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
wann introduces a question about time.
Weißt du, wann der Zug kommt?Do you know when the train comes?
als is for a single event in the past.
Als ich ankam, war niemand da.When I arrived, nobody was there.
wenn is for repetition, and for present and future.
Wenn ich Zeit habe, rufe ich an.When I have time, I will call.
All three send the verb to the end.
Immer wenn es regnet, bleibt er zu Hause.Whenever it rains, he stays at home.
Example sentences
Als ich zwölf war, zogen wir um.When I was twelve, we moved.
Wenn du fertig bist, sag Bescheid.Let me know when you are done.
Wann fängt der Film an?When does the film start?
8 more example sentences
Sobald ich kann, komme ich vorbei.I will come round as soon as I can.
Während er kochte, deckte sie den Tisch.While he cooked, she laid the table.
Als der Film zu Ende war, gingen alle.When the film ended, everybody left.
Wenn ich müde bin, lese ich nicht mehr.When I am tired I stop reading.
Ich weiß nicht, wann sie zurückkommt.I do not know when she is coming back.
Bevor du gehst, ruf mich an.Call me before you go.
Nachdem wir gegessen hatten, gingen wir spazieren.After we had eaten, we went for a walk.
Bis er kommt, warten wir hier.We will wait here until he comes.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Childhood happened once, so it takes als. Using wenn makes the sentence mean "whenever I was small", which describes a person who was repeatedly a child. German speakers will understand and will notice, and this is the single most common mistake in the whole area — worth checking every time a past-tense "when" appears.
Quick check
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English "when" covers three German words, and choosing between them is decided by two simple questions. Is it a question? Then it is wann — direct or indirect, Wann kommst du? and Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt.
If it is not a question, the second test applies: did it happen once in the past, or does it happen repeatedly? A single past event takes als: Als ich klein war, Als er ankam. Anything repeated, and anything in the present or future, takes wenn: Wenn ich Zeit habe, Immer wenn es regnet.
All three send the verb to the end of their clause. The difficulty is purely in the choice, and the choice is mechanical once the two questions are asked in that order.
A closer look
The rest of the time conjunctions
Beyond the three, German has a full set and each takes a verb-final clause. Bevoris beforenachdemafterwährendwhileseitdemsincebisuntilsobaldas soon assolangeas long as
Nachdem carries one extra rule worth knowing: the tense in its clause is one step further back than the main clause. Nachdem wir gegessen hatten, gingen wir — past perfect with a simple past. The sequence is built into the grammar rather than left to the reader.
Exceptions and special cases2
Exception
When wenn introduces a condition rather than a time
then it means "if".
Wenn es regnet, bleiben wir hier.If it rains, we will stay here.
Why? German uses one word for both; falls is available when the difference matters.
Exception
When als is used with a comparison or a role
then it means "than" or "as".
Er ist älter als ich. Als Kind war er schüchtern.He is older than me. As a child he was shy.
Why? Three different als exist and only the context tells them apart.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
als also means than, and as
German has three unrelated als: the time conjunction, the comparative "than" (größer als ich) and the "in the role of" preposition (als Lehrer). Nothing distinguishes them but the sentence around them, and all three are common from level A2 onwards.
Worth knowing
wenn is also the word for if
The overlap between time and condition is real in German too: Wenn ich Zeit habe can mean "when I have time" or "if I have time". Where the difference matters, falls makes the condition explicit and sobald makes the time explicit.
The verbs on this page, in every form: sein · kommen · bleiben · regnen · haben · können · sagen · ziehen