Subordinating Conj.

Verb-Kickers

weil, dass, obwohl, and their relatives don't just connect two clauses: they change the second clause's word order entirely, sending its conjugated verb all the way to the end.

The Rule That Matters

The verb always jumps to the end

The moment a subordinating conjunction opens a clause, that clause stops behaving like a normal sentence: its conjugated verb moves to the very last spot, no matter how many words come between.

On its own

Sie kommt heute.

After weil

…weil sie heute kommt.

The verb doesn't move for meaning; it moves because the conjunction turns the clause into a dependent one.

Forms

The Subordinating Words

Unlike ADUSO's tidy set of five, subordinating conjunctions are a much bigger family. These are the ones you'll meet first:

Word	Meaning	Function
weil	because	gives a reason
dass	that	reports a fact or statement
obwohl	although	concedes a contrast
wenn	if / when	sets a condition or repeated time
während	while	marks two things happening at once
bevor	before	marks what comes first
nachdem	after	marks what comes second

In Practice

Joining Two Clauses

The main clause keeps its normal word order: all the movement happens in the clause after the conjunction.

Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil es heute regnet.

Er sagt, dass er müde ist.

Wir gehen spazieren, wenn das Wetter schön ist.

Sie lächelt, obwohl sie traurig ist.

Ruf mich an, bevor du ankommst.

The Sticking Point

dass vs. ob

Both introduce a clause and push the verb to the end, but they answer two different kinds of questions.

dass

Reports something known or stated as fact: "that."

Ich weiß, dass er kommt.

Reports an unresolved yes/no question: "whether."

Ich weiß nicht, ob er kommt.

In Context

Spot It in Real Sentences

Wenn der Kaffee zu kalt ist, kann er ihn nicht trinken.

If the coffee is too cold, he can't drink it.

Er hat jetzt Angst, weil er seine Katze sehr liebt.

He's scared now, because he loves his cat very much.

Sie springt lieber auf seinen Schoß, während er ein neues Buch liest.

She'd rather jump onto his lap, while he reads a new book.

Watch Out

The Trap: Modal Verbs Left Behind

With a modal verb (können, müssen, wollen…), it's tempting to leave the conjugated modal in place and only push the infinitive to the end, but the whole verb cluster moves together. weil er kann nicht kommen is wrong; it's weil er nicht kommen kann, with kann landing last, after the infinitive it's modifying.