German two-part conjunctionsNo definition set for conjunctionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (or “correlating conjunctions”) are pairs of words like entweder… oder(either… or) that connect other words or phrases. The pair you use will also explain how the words or phrases are connected, showing contrast, giving alternatives, listing things, etc.
For example, imagine it’s Saturday morning and you are still in bed. You are pondering whether to get up or not. You might say…
Ich möchte einerseits weiterschlafen, andererseits (möchte ich) aber auch meine Freunde treffen.
On the one hand I want to continue sleeping, but on the other hand I also want to meet my friends.
In this post, we’ll introduce you to some common two-part conjunctions, and give you some tips on how to use them like a native! Let’s dive in!
Conjunctions are words like “and,” “or,” “because,” or “although,” that connect words, phrases, or clausesNo definition set for clausesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. German conjunctions fall into two major functional categories, which we’ve introduced in other posts: coordinating conjunctions, used when the two linked phrases have similar functions, and subordinating conjunctions, used when one linked phrase supports the other.
In those earlier posts, however, we mostly talked about simple, one-word conjunctions. When conjunctions are made up of paired words, things can get a little more complicated! Two-part conjunctions in German can be either coordinating or subordinating, but there are some special word order and punctuation rules you’ll want to follow with these linkers. Let’s have a look!
Here is a quick overview of the most important German two-part conjunctions:
Conjunction | English | Type* | Comma? |
|---|---|---|---|
sowohl... als auch | as well as | coordinating | no |
nicht nur... sondern auch | not only... but also | coordinating | no |
weder... noch | neither... nor | coordinating | no |
entweder... oder | either... or | coordinating | no |
zwar... aber | (indeed)... but | coordinating | no |
je... desto | the... the | subordinating | yes |
ob... oder | whether... if | subordinating | yes |
teils... teils | partly... partly | exception | yes |
mal... mal | sometimes... sometimes | exception | yes |
einerseits... andererseits | on one hand... on the other hand | exception | yes |
Two-part coordinating conjunctions in German connect elements of the same type, just like any other German coordinating conjunction. So, for example, they may connect two nouns, two adjectives, or two independent clausesNo definition set for independent clausesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. They do not affect word order of the surrounding phrases, and of course, we love them for that!
The first part of a two-part conjunction will come before the first linked element, while the second will come before the second linked element. For example:
Ich will sowohl im Bett bleiben als auch meine Freunde treffen.
I want to stay in bed as well as meet my friends.
Ich brauche jetzt sowohl Kaffee als auch Frühstück.
Now I need coffee as well as breakfast.
Let’s look at some examples illustrating how to use these two-part coordinating conjunctions!
If you want to debate or state two facts sowohl… als auch(as well as) comes in handy as it helps you make lists of actions, nouns, descriptions, etc.
Ich will sowohl im Bett bleiben als auch meine Freunde treffen.
I want to stay in bed as well as meet my friends.
Ich will sowohl chillen als auch aufstehen.
I want to chill as well as get up.
Ich brauche sowohl Kaffee als auch Frühstück.
I need coffee as well as breakfast.
Mein Bett ist sowohl gemütlich als auch warm.
My bed is cozy as well as warm.
Nicht nur… sondern auch(not only… but also) can also be used to make lists, but here there is a bit more emphasis on the second item.
Der Fluss ist nicht nur schön sondern auch erholsam.
The river is not only nice but also relaxing.
Meine Freunde sind nicht nur lustig sondern auch totale Sportskanonen.
My friends are not only funny but also total sporting aces.
When making a negative list, you can use weder… noch(neither… nor). When using this, none of the options given are a possibility or an option.
Ich finde Handball allerdings weder cool noch entspannend.
However, I find handball neither cool nor relaxing.
The two-part conjunction entweder… oder(either… or) is used for giving alternatives — a choice is necessary, both are not possible.
Ich mache jetzt entweder Kaffee oder ich gehe duschen.
Either I make coffee now or I go have a shower.
If you use entweder … oder(either…or) to give some options, it can quickly sound like an order–or even an ultimatum. So be careful!
Entweder du machst mir jetzt Rührei oder ich bleibe für immer im Bad.
Either you make me scrambled eggs or I stay in the bathroom forever.
Zwar… aber(indeed… but) is used to present contrasting truths. It’s used in cases where you could use “but” in English, but it provides a bit more emphasis.
Kaffee macht mich zwar wach, aber auch nervös.
Coffee makes me (indeed) awake but also nervous.
In German, some two-part conjunctions are associated with changes to the word order. Some of them change the word order because they’re subordinating conjunctionsNo definition set for subordinating conjunctionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. but others are just exceptions, like einerseits… andererseits(on the one hand… but on the other hand) and teils… teils(partly… partly). Let’s have a look!
Two-part subordinating conjunctions are pairs of words that are used to connect a main idea with a clauseNo definition set for clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. that supports or completes that main idea.
You may recall that the clause introduced by a one-word subordinating conjunction in German will follow a different word order from the standard because the verb comes at the end rather than in second-position.
Because two-part subordinating conjunctions work on subordinate clauses, they’re often (though not always!) associated with changes to the word order. Compare:
Ich lerne mehr Deutsch. Ich werde besser in Deutsch.
I learn more German. I get better.
Je mehr Deutsch ich lerne, desto besser werde ich.
The more I learn German, the better I get.
In this section, we’ll go over how to use the correct word order with some of the common two-part subordinating conjunctions.
In sentences with subordinating two-part conjunctions the two clauses are separated by a comma. It has to go before the clause with the second part of the two-part conjunction. For example:
Je öfter ich Hip Hop höre, desto mehr will ich selbst rappen.
The more often I listen to hip hop, the more I want to rap myself.
In German, the conjunction je … desto/umso is used a lot like we use “the x the y” in English sentences like “The more the merrier” or “The faster you drive, the worse the accident will be.”
This two-part conjunction is generally used with two adjectives or adverbs in the comparative form (e.g. “bigger,” or “more intelligent”). German comparatives are formed much like English ones — you add an -er at the end of the adjective — though there are also some irregularNo definition set for irregularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. forms, like besser(better).
Just like the English “the x, the y,” you can use je… desto to form a statement without any verb at all, like:
Je größer, desto besser.
The bigger, the better.
But you can also use je… desto as a proper two-part subordinating conjunction. Just follow these two word order rules:
The clause that follows je is a subordinate clause, and so the verb will come at the end, rather than in second-position.
The clause that follows desto or umso will start with the comparative + conjugated verbNo definition set for conjugated verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
For example:
Je vielfältiger die Gruppe ist, desto interessanter werden die Gespräche.
The more diverse the group is, the more interesting the conversations will be.
Je größer die Gruppe ist, umso besser kann man Handball spielen.
The bigger the group is, the better you can play handball.
We use ob… oder (ob) much like “whether x or y” in English — to reinforce that something will or won’t happen, no matter the circumstances. The situation that will always arise is put in the main clause, while both parts of this two-part conjunction introduce subordinate clauses, which means that the conjugated verb will come at the end:
Ich muss jetzt aufstehen, ob ich will oder (ob) ich nicht will.
I have to get up now, whether I want to or I don’t want to.
Just like when you use “whether… or” in English, you will often drop repeated words after oder (ob):
Ich muss jetzt aufstehen, ob ich will oder (ob) nicht.
I have to get up now, whether I want to or not.
You can also move the “whether… or” part to the beginning of the sentence:
Ob ich will oder (ob ich) nicht (will), ich muss jetzt aufstehen.
I have to get up now whether I want to or not.
The conjunctions einerseits… andererseits(on the one hand… on the other hand) and teils… teils(partly… partly) are also associated with word-order changes, even though they are coordinating in their meaning.
The two-part conjunction einerseits… andererseits(on the one hand… on the other hand) typically connects two main clauses that express a contradiction. Notice that the verb precedes the subject in both parts of the sentence!
Einerseits ist Schlaf eine Notwendigkeit, andererseits (ist Schlaf) pure Langeweile.
One the one hand sleep is a necessity, on the other hand (sleep is) pure boredom.
However, it’s also possible to insert einerseits and anderseits into a clause after the conjugated verb, and if you do this the conjugated verb will remain in second position.
Tom will einerseits Handball spielen, er quatscht andererseits aber immer mit Jamie.
Tom wants, on the one hand, to play handball, but always chats, on the other hand, with Jamie.
You can also use the two-part conjunction auf der einen Seite… auf der anderen Seite exactly the same way, though it’s used more in written language like academic papers and newspaper articles.
Auf der einen Seite wollen sie Handball spielen, auf der anderen Seite haben sie stets viel zu besprechen.
On the one hand they want to play handball, on the other hand they always have a lot to talk about.
Lastly, if you want to explain that a certain aspect has two different components that come into play, you use teils… teils(partly… partly). Notice that the verb immediately follows teils, then the subject:
Teils mag ich meine Freunde, teils finde ich sie nervig.
Partly I like my friends, partly I find them annoying.
With this conjunction, we often delete repeating words.
Teils mag ich einen ruhigen Morgen, teils nicht.
Partly I like a quiet morning, partly not.
The two-part conjunctions mal… mal(sometimes… sometimes) and bald… bald(soon… soon) work exactly like teils… teils. However, they are quite old-fashioned and you would find them in literature more than in daily conversations. There is one exception, though: If someone asks a question with two options, you can answer like this:
Magst du Rührei lieber mit Mayo oder Ketchup?
Do you prefer scrambled eggs with mayonnaise or ketchup?.
Mal so, mal so.
Sometimes this way, sometimes that way.
Let’s review the most important information about two-part conjunctions:
Two-part conjunctions are pairs of words that are used to link two phrases, one before each, in a fixed sequence.
While two-part coordinating conjunctions don’t generally affect the word order of the phrases or clauses they connect, two-part subordinating conjunctions and some exceptional two-part conjunctions do follow special word-order rules.
Head over to these two-part conjunction exercises to practice what you learned about two-part conjunctions.
