B1/B2 Video of the Week #36: Als Wenn Wann
When I was a child, I read almost the entire day.
If I stayed in the house too long, my parents would send me outside.
They said, “When are you finally going outside?”
When they asked something like that, I simply said,
“Why should I go outside? Everything that I need is in the house.”
Then they said, “Go outside.”
“Ok. When I have to.” I said.
Then I went into the yard, climbed into my treehouse and read there.
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Als? Wenn? Wann?
They all mean “when” in English.
What is the difference?
How can I know which word to use?
That’s what I am explaining today.
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You use “als” when you are talking about a specific time span in the past.
For example:
When he came into the house, the baby cried.
I had no hair when I was 5 years old.
The man just walked around the corner when he was hit on the head.
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You also often use the conjunction “wenn” in order to talk about the past,
but it doesn’t have to be used that way.
You use “wenn” if you want to express a prerequisite.
The tense plays no role for the conjunction “wenn”,
because “wenn” introduces a condition
and the time is expressed through the tense (for example, present perfect, present, and so on).
In English you can say “if”.
When/If the man was at home, he often sat on the sofa.
When/If the man is at home, he often sits on the sofa.
When/If the man will be at home, he will often sit on the sofa.
When/If I am sick, I take medicine.
The dog sleeps when/if he is tired.
I often fall asleep when/if I watch a film.
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Don’t forget that als and wenn are subordinating conjunctions.
That means that they influence the word order.
If the subordinating conjunction is in the first clause,
the verbs of both clauses are in the middle next to the comma.
Just like in the last sentence.
The word order in the first clause is normal
if the subordinating conjunction is in the second clause.
The verb in the second clause is at the end of the sentence.
Exactly like in the sentence before the last one.
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“Wann” is actually not a conjunction, but rather a question word,
but you can of course use question words as conjunctions.
You use “wann” if you are asking for the time of an occurrence.
You can answer such questions with either “wenn” or “als”.
For example:
When the word ends, we don’t know.
When there will be food, mom decides.
When there will be rain, the weather forecast says.
When did the man sit on the sofa? When/If he was at home.
When did the baby cry? When the man came into the house.
When do you take medicine? When/If I am sick.
Transition
In summary, the words als, wenn, and wann all translate as “when” in English.
You use “als” when you are talking about a specific one-time time span in the past.
You use “wenn” if you want to express a prerequisite,
to which there must be a consequence added,
introduced often, but not necessarily with “dann”.
The time plays no role for “wenn”.
You use “wann” in order to ask a question, whose answer can include “wenn” or “als”
or as a conjunction when “wann” can only be understood as a time.
Like in the first three example sentences.
This question can also be formed in a subordinate clause.
Hopefully this is now a bit clearer.
If you understood this topic, write a few example sentences in the comments.
If you didn’t understand this topic, write your questions in the comments.
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