FormHauptsatz, obwohl + Subjekt … Verb (Ende)
Meaning and usage
obwohl means although or even though. The obwohl clause names a fact that would make you expect the opposite, and the main clause says what happens anyway: in Ich ging aus, obwohl es regnete, the rain would keep most people at home, but the speaker went out.
Because obwohl is a subordinating conjunction, the conjugated verb moves to the end of the obwohl clause: obwohl sie krank war, obwohl er ein Auto hat. The clause can also come first, and then it fills position one, so the main-clause verb comes second: Obwohl es regnete, ging ich aus. The usual mistake is word order: learners say obwohl sie war krank with the verb in second position, but in an obwohl clause the verb must go to the end.
Examples 5
Ich ging aus, obwohl es regnete.
I went out even though it was raining.
Sie arbeitete weiter, obwohl sie erschöpft war.
She kept working even though she was tired.
Ich half Tom, obwohl ich beschäftigt war.
I helped Tom even though I was busy.
Warum läufst du, obwohl du ein Auto hast?
Why do you walk when you have a car?
Sie ist schon reich, obwohl sie erst 26 Jahre alt ist.
She's already rich even though she's only 26 years old.
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Frau Meyer geht zur Arbeit, obwohl die Kinder krank .
Show answer
Correct answer: sind
In an obwohl clause the conjugated verb goes to the end, and it must agree with its subject. Die Kinder is plural and present, so sind is the only form that fits.
- War is singular and past; with a plural subject the past form would be waren.
- Sein is the infinitive, and a subordinate clause needs a conjugated verb at the end.
- Ist is singular, so it does not agree with the plural subject die Kinder.
In this topic: Subordinate clauses
- weil … Verb because, with the verb at the end
- weil … Verb / denn + Hauptsatz denn keeps normal order, weil sends the verb to the end
- dass … Verb say, think or know something with dass, verb at the end
- wenn … Verb if or whenever, with the verb at the end
- obwohl … Verb although: a contrast clause with the verb at the end
- nicht …, sondern not X, but rather Y
- …, dass er kommen kann. two verb parts in a subordinate clause: finite verb last
- …, weil ich früh aufstehe. separable verb joins as one word at the end
- Weil ich krank bin, bleibe ich zu Hause. Subordinate clause first, then verb, comma, verb
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.