One word for if and when
If it rains, I stay at home. When I'm tired, I drink coffee. English keeps if and when apart. German writes both with wenn, and in practice the difference hardly matters. Like weil and dass, wenn sends the conjugated verb to the end of its clause.
This lesson is about the present and the future. For one single event in the past, German uses a different word; more on this later.
The three meanings
Wenn du Zeit hast, komm doch vorbei.
If you have time, do come round.
Wenn ich müde bin, trinke ich einen Kaffee.
Whenever I'm tired, I have a coffee.
Wenn ich in Berlin ankomme, rufe ich dich an.
When I get to Berlin, I'll call you.
German uses the present tense here, just like English
Condition first: the verb comes right after the comma
A wenn clause can stand at the end or at the front. At the front it fills position 1 of the whole sentence, so the main verb comes immediately after the comma, before its own subject. You can hear the pattern: two verbs meet at the comma.
Moving the condition to the front
You may add dann after the comma. The verb still comes next, never the subject: Wenn es regnet, dann bleibe ich zu Hause.
Condition first and condition last
Wenn es regnet, nehmen wir ein Taxi.
If it rains, we'll take a taxi.
Wenn du willst, dann können wir morgen kochen.
If you like, we can cook tomorrow.
Wenn du fertig bist, sag mir bitte Bescheid.
When you're finished, let me know.
a command works in the main clause too
Ruf mich an, wenn du zu spät kommst.
Call me if you're going to be late.
condition last: the main clause keeps its normal order
