als, wenn or wann: German's three ways of saying when
CEFR B1
What you will learn
- Recognise the pattern taught in “als, wenn or wann: German's three ways of saying when” in a short example.
- Choose the appropriate form from “als, wenn or wann: German's three ways of saying when” using explicit evidence.
- Apply and justify the rule from “als, wenn or wann: German's three ways of saying when” in a new case.
The idea
In this temporal contrast, wann keeps interrogative force, als locates a non-repeated past frame, and wenn presents repetition, present or future time, or a condition. Translation alone cannot choose the form.
Two questions guide this contrast. First: does the expression ask about the time, directly or indirectly? If it does, use wann: «Wann kommst du?», «Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt».
If there is no interrogative force, ask whether the connector opens a past time frame presented as non-repeated. If so, use als: «Als ich klein war, wohnten wir in Bonn». The frame may last for some time; what matters is that it is not presented as a series of occasions.
wenn serves for repeated temporal relations, present or future reference, and conditions: «Wenn ich Zeit habe, lese ich», «Immer wenn er kam, brachte er Blumen». In the past, the relevant contrast is a non-iterative frame with als versus an iterative series with wenn; immer reinforces the repeated reading in the second example.
Word order is a separate decision. als, wenn and the wann of an indirect question open subordinate clauses and place the finite form at the end. The wann of a direct question does not open a subordinate clause: the finite verb follows it, as in «Wann kommst du?».
Thus wann keeps interrogative force; als and wenn work as temporal connectors, and wenn can also express a condition. The same translation can hide different functions, so check interrogative force, iteration and word order.
decision als wenn wann
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| 1 | pregunta directa · wann · verbo segundo · Wann beginnt der Kurs? |
| 2 | pregunta indirecta · wann · verbo final · Ich weiß nicht, wann der Kurs beginnt. |
| 3 | marco pasado no iterativo · als · verbo final · Als der Zug ankam, regnete es. |
| 4 | repetición temporal · wenn · verbo final · Immer wenn wir kamen, war er da. |
| 5 | presente/futuro o condición · wenn · verbo final · Wenn ich Zeit habe, komme ich. |
How it sounds
- Wann kommst du nach Hause?Direct question: wann, with the verb right after.
- Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt.Indirect question: still wann, and the verb goes to the end.
- Als ich klein war, wohnten wir in Bonn.Once, in the past: als.
- Immer wenn er kam, brachte er Blumen.Past but repeated, and with immer in front: wenn.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
Bilde den einmaligen Zeitrahmen in der Vergangenheit: ___ der Zug gestern ankam, begann es zu schneien.
Als — This is a single arrival located in the past: als.
Weißt du, ___ der Kurs beginnt?
wann — The subordinate clause contains a question about time, so it uses wann and ends in beginnt.
Immer ___ wir in Köln waren, besuchten wir das Museum.
wenn — immer marks repetition in the past; the temporal conjunction is wenn.
When it doesn't hold
What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.
- wenn also introduces a condition, and there it is not about time.Wenn es regnet, bleiben wir zu Hause.
- als has another job: comparing, in the sense of than.Er ist größer als ich.
- wenn can be dropped, and then the clause starts with the verb.Hast du Zeit, komm vorbei.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong When ich klein war…
Right Als ich klein war…
English has one word for all three uses, and when maps onto wenn by sound, so the past narrative als never gets picked. The English when of a single past event is als and nothing else.