Temporal Subordinate Clauses in German

Overview

Temporal subordinate clauses (temporale Nebensätze) allow you to express when something happens in relation to another event. At the B1 level, mastering these clauses is crucial for telling stories, describing sequences of events, and expressing complex time relationships. The key conjunctions are als (when, single past event), wenn (when/whenever), bevor (before), nachdem (after), während (while), bis (until), seit/seitdem (since), and sobald (as soon as).

Each of these conjunctions sends the conjugated verb to the end of the subordinate clause, following standard German subordinate clause word order. This is one of the most important structural rules in German and applies to all subordinate clauses, not just temporal ones.

A critical distinction at this level is the difference between als and wenn, both translated as "when" in English. German uses als for single events in the past and wenn for repeated events or anything in the present or future. Getting this right is a hallmark of intermediate German proficiency.

How It Works

Temporal Conjunctions at a Glance

Conjunction	Meaning	Tense Context	Verb Position
als	when (single past event)	past only	final
wenn	when / whenever	present, future, repeated past	final
bevor / ehe	before	any tense	final
nachdem	after	requires tense shift	final
während	while / during	simultaneous events	final
bis	until	any tense	final
seit / seitdem	since (point in time)	present perfect or present	final
sobald	as soon as	any tense	final

Tense Agreement with nachdem

Nachdem requires a tense shift: the event in the nachdem clause must be one tense "further back" than the main clause.

Nachdem Clause	Main Clause	Example
Plusquamperfekt (hatte ... gemacht)	Präteritum / Perfekt	Nachdem er gegessen hatte, ging er.
Perfekt (hat ... gemacht)	Präsens	Nachdem er gegessen hat, geht er.

Als vs. Wenn

Situation	Conjunction	Example
Single past event	als	Als ich Kind war, wohnte ich in Berlin.
Repeated past events	wenn	Wenn es regnete, blieben wir drinnen.
Present / future	wenn	Wenn du kommst, rufe ich an.

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Als ich jung war, spielte ich Fußball.	When I was young, I played football.	Single past event = als
Nachdem er gegessen hatte, ging er.	After he had eaten, he left.	Tense shift required
Bevor du gehst, ruf mich an.	Before you leave, call me.	bevor + verb at end
Während ich kochte, las er die Zeitung.	While I cooked, he read the newspaper.	Simultaneous actions
Bis er kommt, warten wir hier.	Until he comes, we'll wait here.	bis + present tense
Seitdem ich hier wohne, fühle ich mich wohl.	Since I've lived here, I feel comfortable.	seit/seitdem for ongoing
Sobald ich fertig bin, rufe ich dich an.	As soon as I'm done, I'll call you.	sobald for immediacy
Wenn es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause.	When(ever) it rains, I stay home.	Repeated/habitual = wenn
Als wir ankamen, war das Restaurant geschlossen.	When we arrived, the restaurant was closed.	Single past event = als
Bevor ich das Haus verließ, schloss ich alle Fenster.	Before I left the house, I closed all windows.	bevor in past tense
Während des Essens sprachen wir über Politik.	During the meal we talked about politics.	während as preposition (+ genitive)
Ich warte, bis du fertig bist.	I'll wait until you're done.	bis in present/future

Common Mistakes

Using wenn instead of als for single past events

• Wrong: Wenn ich ein Kind war, wohnte ich in Berlin.
• Right: Als ich ein Kind war, wohnte ich in Berlin.
• Why: For a single, non-repeated event in the past, German requires als. Wenn would imply "whenever" or refer to present/future.

Forgetting verb-final order in the subordinate clause

• Wrong: Bevor du gehst weg, ruf mich an.
• Right: Bevor du weggehst, ruf mich an.
• Why: In subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb must go to the very end. Separable prefixes rejoin the verb stem at the end.

Ignoring the tense shift with nachdem

• Wrong: Nachdem er aß, ging er.
• Right: Nachdem er gegessen hatte, ging er.
• Why: Nachdem requires the subordinate clause to be one tense step further in the past than the main clause (Plusquamperfekt for past narratives).

Confusing während (conjunction) with während (preposition)

• Wrong: Während dem Essen sprachen wir. (common in speech but grammatically incorrect)
• Right: Während des Essens sprachen wir. (preposition + genitive)
• Why: As a preposition, während takes the genitive case. As a conjunction introducing a clause, it simply sends the verb to the end.

Usage Notes

In everyday spoken German, the tense shift with nachdem is sometimes simplified, and you may hear nachdem with Perfekt in both clauses. However, in writing and formal speech, the proper tense distinction is expected. The conjunction ehe (before) is a more literary synonym of bevor and is less common in everyday conversation. Während with dative instead of genitive (während dem Essen) is widespread in spoken German, especially in southern dialects, but is considered incorrect in standard written German.

Practice Tips

1. Write a short paragraph about your daily routine using at least four different temporal conjunctions. Then check that every subordinate clause has the verb in final position.
2. Practice the als/wenn distinction by writing ten sentences about your childhood (single events with als) and ten sentences about habits or recurring events (with wenn).
3. Create nachdem sentence pairs, making sure the tense in the nachdem clause is always one step further back than the main clause.

Related Concepts

• Subordinate Clauses: wenn, ob — the parent concept introducing subordinate clause word order