Nebensatz mit als
als-Sätze — for English Speakers
Introduction
German splits English 'when' into two words: 'wenn' for repeated or future events, and 'als' for single past events. 'Als ich Kind war' (when I was a child) uses 'als' because it happened once. This when/als/wenn three-way split doesn't exist in English, making it one of the trickiest B1 distinctions. Like wenn, als also sends the verb to the end of its clause.
German vs English
In German
Als ich Kind war, spielte ich viel. (one-time past)
In English
When I was a child, I played a lot.
Key Difference
English uses 'when' for all past events; German uses 'als' only for one-time past events.
In German
Als er ankam, regnete es. (single event in past)
In English
When he arrived, it was raining.
Key Difference
If the past event is unique and completed, German requires 'als', never 'wenn'.
Common Mistakes for English Speakers
Wenn ich ein Kind war, spielte ich viel.
Using 'wenn' for a one-time past event — English 'when' covers both, but German requires 'als' here.
Als ich Kind war, ich spielte viel.
Forgetting to invert the main clause — after an als-clause, the verb comes before the subject.
Practice Examples
Als ich 18 war, zog ich nach Berlin.
When I was 18, I moved to Berlin.
Als er ankam, war das Essen schon kalt.
When he arrived, the food was already cold.
Als wir Kinder waren, hatten wir keinen Computer.
When we were children, we had no computer.
Memory Tip
ALS = 'at long-ago single moment' — one past event. WENN = 'whenever' — repeated or future.
View Grammar Rule
Nebensatz mit als
als-Sätze — B1
Practice Exercises
Nebensatz mit als Übungen
8 exercises
Other Languages
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