"When she comes, we eat."
Translation:Wenn sie kommt, essen wir.
42 Comments
I have noticed this trend elsewhere, but haven't understood the connection: in the second half of the sentence, why is it "essen wir" instead of "wir essen". If the sentence was simply "We eat", I expect it would be "Wir essen".
http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa032700a.htm (see "verb second")
"Note that these examples on a dependent clause can precede or follow the main clause. When it precedes, it normally occupies the first position, necessitating an inverted order in the independent clause (i.e. with the subject is located in the third position)."
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~german/Grammatik/WordOrder/WordOrder.html
I thougt verb is the second unit of a sentence. I wrote "wenn kommst sie" ,but it was marked incorrect.
I know that verbs are put in the begining of a sentence when asking a question
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When a sentence starts with a subordinate clause, must be the very first word after the comma (before the main clause) the verb?
What's wrong with 'Wann sie kommt, essen wir'? Duolingo thinks that 'wann' should be 'wenn' (if).
"als/wenn/wann: when. To refer to a completed event in the past, use als, even if that event went on for a long time (Als ich jung war,...; Als ich fünf war,...). Use wenn with the past tense only if you are referring to a repeated event.
In present and future tense, use wenn for when.
Use wann only for questions and indirect questions (i.e. a statement without a question mark that directly or indirectly implies uncertainty about when the event will take place)."
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/german/hmr/Grammatik/Konjunktionen/Konjunktionen.html#wann
So I'm confused because I would have expected this to be translated "If she comes, we will eat." How would that be written in German if not "Wenn sie kommt, essen wir." ?
Hi, you're right! When I studied German at university, my lecturer explained that wenn=if and als=when, so in this sentence it should technically be translated as "als", which I wrote, but it wasn't accepted.
this explanation of when to use "wann" has left me more confused: there IS uncertainty about when she will arrive, so aren't you arguing that Duolingo is wrong in this translation?
Don't even get me started on this new confusion about "als" vs. "wenn"... what if something went on for a long time, but was also repeated several times...???
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The explanation above made me think of a misuse of the word whenever. Als would be when something happened, while wenn would be used for whenever something happened. Als ich fünf war... I was five only once in my lifetime. Wenn ich ein Jahrzehnt verbraucht... I have spent a decade on things a few times in my lifetime.
is there any rule about the second one sentence? why "essen wir" and not "wir essen"
When using a subordinating conjunction first, it causes the word after the comma to be the verb.
Hello,
Should not the verb come in second place on the sentence?
Like this: Wenn kommt sie, essen wir.
Thank you
Yes, the verb is already in the second position.' essen' is the main clause verb. wenn causes a sub-clause, that is why 'kommt' is at the end of its clause. Because the subject of this sentence is we 'wir'. you could write it as
Wir essen, wenn sie kommt.
List of sub-clause conjuctions http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa010910b.htm
Doesn't 'sobald' mean 'as soon'? And if this is the case, as the question is 'when she comes'...etc why is Wann wrong?
I typed "Wenn sie kommt, essen wir" and Duo told me it was "Sobald sie...." .. then I clicked on the translation in this discussion and it says I was right in the first place, what gives?
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Do "Wenn sie kommt, essen wir" and "Wenn sie kommt, wir essen" mean the same thing?
'Wenn sie kommt, essen wir' is the proper translation. When using a word such as 'wenn', the word after the comma must be a verb.
What's the difference between Weil and Wenn? I cannot seem to remember though I'm sure they aren't synonyms, and thus get the multiple choice question wrong every time.
Wann sie kommt was given as meaning "when she comes", but then was marked as correct when i wrote the same thing...!
Wenn is translated to 'when' here as well because if/when here can be used interchangeably. 'Wann' moreso translates to 'when' in a time-manner.
I put "essen" at the end and got this: "Pay attention to the word order after 'wenn'."
This is an erroneous tip, as "essen" follows a comma, not "wenn."
When using a subordinating conjunction such as 'wenn' is used, the word after the comma must be the verb.
Why is 'Wenn' translated into 'When' instead of 'If'? I thought 'Wann' is 'When'. It should be "If she comes, we eat."
Wenn is translated to 'when' here as well because if/when here can be used interchangeably. 'Wann' moreso translates to 'when' in a time-manner.
