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Wenn and Wann | ||
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| Zeitgeist21 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5645 days ago 156 posts - 192 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, French | Message 1 of 6 22 July 2009 at 6:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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Grr these two words have annoyed me ever since I started learning German. Originally when I began, learning mostly with exposure and L-Ring I didn't realise these were two words, I thought it was one word for both concepts in English. I eventually realised they were two and thought that wenn = if and wann = when and while this generally holds to be true I often see examples where this doesn't fit. Could somebody explain to me exactly what these words mean as for the level I'm at in German I really should already have this down.... Edited by WillH on 22 July 2009 at 7:56pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 Jiwon Triglot Moderator Korea, South Joined 6436 days ago 1417 posts - 1500 votes Speaks: EnglishC2, Korean*, GermanC1 Studies: Hindi, Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 6 22 July 2009 at 7:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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What you figured out is correct.
More specifically, wann is used when posing a question. Wenn is used when making assumptions or setting a condition. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| JW Hexaglot Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/egw Joined 6122 days ago 1802 posts - 2011 votes 22 sounds Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Ancient Greek, French, Biblical Hebrew Studies: Luxembourgish, Dutch, Greek, Italian | Message 3 of 6 22 July 2009 at 7:55pm | IP Logged | ||
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Here's a good explanation. Sorry that it is in German but I lifted it from another forum and I don't have time to translate (but I think you actually prefer it in German?):
Zuerst vier Beispiele - I don't know, when he will come. - Ich weiß nicht wann er kommen wird. - When I was a child... - Als ich ein Kind war... - It will be dark when I come home. - Es wird dunkel sein wenn ich nach Hause komme. - If there is snow ... - Wenn es Schnee gibt ... Wie du siehst gibt es nur eine Situation, in der man "wann" benutzen kann. Es wird nach einer Zeit gefragt. (Wann?) oder es wird eine Aussage über eine nicht näher genannte Zeit gemacht. (wie im Beispiel) Auf Englisch kann man "when" durch "at what/which time" ersetzen. Im zweiten und dritten Beispiel ist die Bedeutung auf Englisch "by the time". Wenn der Zeitpunkt in der Vergangenheit oder Gegenwart liegt, wird "als" benutzt in der Zukunft "wenn". Im dritten Beispiel ist es ganz klar, jedes "when", dass durch ein "if" ersetzt werden kann ohne die Bedeutung sehr zu verändern ergibt auch immer ein "wenn". 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Zeitgeist21 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5645 days ago 156 posts - 192 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, French | Message 4 of 6 22 July 2009 at 8:01pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks both of you for the help, I finally get it!
And JW you're actually right, I do prefer it in German all the exposure helps =) Out of interest what was the forum that you lifted it from? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| zerothinking Senior Member Australia Joined 6372 days ago 528 posts - 772 votes Speaks: English* | Message 5 of 6 23 July 2009 at 5:53am | IP Logged | ||
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if and when
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| JW Hexaglot Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/egw Joined 6122 days ago 1802 posts - 2011 votes 22 sounds Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Ancient Greek, French, Biblical Hebrew Studies: Luxembourgish, Dutch, Greek, Italian | Message 6 of 6 23 July 2009 at 1:57pm | IP Logged | ||
It is a private forum run by a member of this forum. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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